Temporary closure of Gipsy Lane 10/11 March

A request has been received for a temporary road closure to apply to the full length of Gipsy Lane whilst essential Carriageway Resurfacing works are carried out.

A Temporary Road Closure Notice is being made to implement the closure, and will operate from Saturday 10th March 2012.  The estimated duration of the works is 2 days.

Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and for businesses and residents within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works.

“All the news that’s fit to print”?

Today has seen mass media exposure of the mysterious yellow lines saga first reported on the Headington and Marston Forum, I have found this a strange experience

My personal view is that although the double yellow lines across the width of Latimer, Stapleton and Bickerton Roads are decidedly odd, they cause bemusement for local people, rather than overwhelming  concern. My only issue with them would be if drivers become so distracted by the yellow lines that they don’t pay attention to what else is going on around them, or start trying to turn round thinking they’re in a cul de sac.

It’s bizarre how comments attributed to me have got swapped around too.  Instead of quoting a resident’s view that ‘an accident is waiting to happen at the top of Latimer Road as cars cut the corner’, I find that the attribution has been made somewhat differently, but I’ll put that down to experience.

The different slants of the interviewers have been curious too. The radio interviewer wanted a light, lively interview, the Oxford Mail covered the story as a ‘what will the planners do next?’ , and we have yet to see what the TV clip will be like.

And the mad thing about it all  is that it distracts attention away from the really important issues. Issues like the need for a transport strategy for the whole of Headington. Issues like the continuing expansion of the universities and the hospitals, and the impact this has on the local infrastructure.

Latimer Grange Len and I stood at the corner today and watched cars and bicycles! cutting the corner from London Road into Latimer Road. The percentage cutting the corner while we watched (including Royal Mail vans, interestingly) was around 50%. It’s clear the cyclists don’t know quite what to do when their cycle lane runs out, assume they pedal across the “yellow brick road” and set off diagonally across the road from the London Road pavement to the left hand side of Latimer Road. There are a lot of elderly people living close by, and there is a clear concern about their safety on that corner, as they may be too frail to move quickly enough to evade cyclists and other vehicles.

We saw some dreadful driving, and that was at an off-peak time.

What can we do about it? That’s the real story here. Lit bollards in the centre of Latimer Road to make motorists drive properly?

Would that story make the media sit up and pay attention?

I wonder?

Dog chipping day for Headington!

Some of you told us that you had concerns about dog fouling and dog behaviour in our ward spend survey, so we approached the Community Wardens to see how much it would cost to hold an event which provided education for dog owners

The City Council thought this a great idea and suggested the event could include a dog chipping day. Following this we contacted the Board Member and he agreed to allocate council spend to this event

Street Wardens have already held a community dog day in other areas to promote the responsibilities of dog ownership.  The last community dog day was attended by Oxford City Council’s Dog Warden, a vet providing free advice of a variety of issues and various stalls provided by organisations.

Free micro chipping will be provided to the first  dogs whose owners contact the Street Wardens and book an appointment before the event. Chipping will also be offered on the day at a discounted rate. We are trying to find a good venue for this and will post up details very soon!

Bird box bonanza in Bury Knowle Park!

Pupils from St Andrew’s School made 24 bird boxes for Bury Knowle Park at a weekend workshop on Saturday 4 February under guidance from the Friends of Bury Knowle Park and the RSPB. The boxes were funded by Headington Action.

It was an exciting day today for the children as the City Council’s Tree Officer put the boxes up in trees in Bury Knowle Park as part of the British Trust for Ornithology’s National Nestbox week