Here is an update from last night’s open meeting.The news is good in that they are going to retain a couple of pieces of toddler play equipment after all, and they are hoping to put a proper boundary around the play area comprising hedges and fencing, both wooden and metal, so that should sort out the concern about dogs.And yes! there WILL be a zip wire! And a ship like structure (allegedly), a rope bridge over a hollowed out pit, a low wall children can climb over but high enough to keep the dogs out, a sandpit, big stones/rocks to walk on, springy ‘stepping stone’ platforms to walk on or springy ride-ons, etc. The theme is to use natural materials like wood and stone whenever possible to tie in with the park’s featuresI’ve asked them about further consultation, they say they’d like to put out the contract to tender by 6 September, and we discussed the possibility of them putting up their design plans in either Bury Knowle Library or the Baptist Church towards the end of the month so people can look at them and make comments – they don’t have these plans finalised yet but may be able to provide a link electronically at some point in the near future, I’ll post it up when I
get it
Some good points from parents this afternoon – face the slide away from the sun as it gets too hot, and put a slope up in front of the swings to stop toddlers running in front of them and getting hit. Lots of questions about disabled access too. Toddler play equipment appears to be divvied up across the whole area rather than in one toddler zone – views, anyone?
Notional timelines liable to slippage: order equipment beginning of October, start the work mid November, complete January 2011 though subject to weather conditions. Fortunately delays in the process have meant work won’t take place over the summer, that’s a relief!
Ruth is holding a surgery in McMaster House in Latimer Road on Friday 25 June at 10.30This will be a great opportunity to listen to the concerns and comments by some of our elderly residents. If you can’t make the surgery, but have something on your mind, please do drop David and me a line
Got an issue you want to raise? Altaf and Ruth are holding a street surgery at the junction of Windmill Road and Langley Close from 6-8 pm. No need to book! Just turn up and tell us what’s on your mind!
Successful lobbying by Highfield Residents Association for measures to make Highfield streets less congested with through traffic and to reduce the speed of vehicles using its streets has heightened the awareness of county planners of the problems experienced by residents in their area
The county planners have now produced proposals for a traffic management scheme for Highfield that is currently out for consultation. We asked the county officer responsible for these proposals to convene a meeting with residents’ groups, and she kindly agreed.
The meeting took place on 10 June. Here are some of the notes I took away with me from it. The closing date for comments and objections to the scheme is 1 July
Notes from the meeting about the traffic scheme held on Thursday 10 June
Present:
Cllr Altaf-Khan (County Councillor and Chair of the meeting)
Joy White (County planning officer)
2 representatives from Highfield Residents’ Association Traffic Group
3 representatives from New Headington Residents’ Association Traffic Group
2 representatives from Friends of Old Headington Traffic Group
1 representative from Friends of Old Headington (the Chair)
1 representative from Central and North Headington Residents’ Association
Cllr Ruth Wilkinson (Headington ward)
What we agreed about:
·There should be a master plan for traffic management across the whole of Headington
·The strategic health authority and the hospitals trust should be required to manage transport issues more effectively, particularly in respect of hospital staff
·Everyone wants safer, less congested traffic routes in their area
·Traffic calming in residential streets is a good idea
Things people were worried about included:
·Traffic is like water: if you stop it in one area, it will spread into another and this will result in more rat runs. Some feel this scheme is piecemeal
·No right turns would mean longer journeys and restricted access to homes and businesses for some affected residents – more fuel, more time and less freedom
·Possible loss of parking spaces
·Confusion for visitors and delivery drivers (won’t show up on sat navs)
·The disadvantages of the scheme outweigh the benefits for some residents
·The bollards in All Saints Road
·We need some traffic flow modelling to be done so we have more evidence to go on
·The timing: some people felt we should wait until after the London Road redevelopment as this may affect the way traffic flows through Headington
·The London Road junctions with Windmill Road and Headley Way will come under much more pressure, and some people are worried about safety at the Windmill Road junction already. Can the existing infrastructure accommodate the dispersed traffic?
We thought about new ideas which would not restrict access so much including:
·The replacement of some pinch points with a pedestrian crossing in Lime Walk
·The possibility of making Bickerton Rd and Stapleton Rd one way
·Ways to makeLime Walk look more like a residential road than a main road to calm speeds, for example planting (non-sticky) lime trees on alternate sides of the road
·Putting bollards in New High Street at the junction with All Saints Road
Actions
·Residents’ associations will hold open meetings to discuss their response to these plans
ØNew Headington: Fri 25 June All Saints Church Hall at 6.15
ØHighfield: Mon 21 June (tbc)
·Ruth and Altaf will continue to hold street surgeries in New Headington, McMaster House and in Windmill Road: next surgery Wed 16 June at 6.00-8.00 pm, 24 Wilberforce St.
·It’s important that people have more time to make a considered response after they have attended open meetings. Many people are still angry and upset. Joy has now made 1 July the closing date for responses
PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT CONSULTATION
– the feedback form is on the link above.
Please contact David and Ruth if you have particular concerns
Don’t forget to come along to Sunday’s Headington Festival! There will be lots to see and do for all the family from 1.30-5.00 pm. Let’s hope the weather stays fine!
Ruth will be helping to staff the Friends of Bury Knowle Park stall. If you want to talk to me informally about any local issue, do feel free to come and discuss it with me! I shall have fliers for the next street surgery too – it’s on Tuesday from 6 pm -8pm at All Saints Road
There have been cycle thefts from Ruskin Hall and Old High Street in the last week. Our Neighbourhood police team have teamed up with the East Oxford team to help recover your bike if it gets stolen or lost. Simply email Headington@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk, and provide the team with details about the cycle including frame number, colour, make and any distinguishing features. They will place the details you provide on a local police database and when they stop a thief on a cycle they will check the details against the database. It doesn’t matter if the cycle is worth £20 or £2000. If you would like them to engrave your cycle with a postcode then please feel free to email the Headington North neighbourhood team at Headington@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk to arrange a time for them to visit you.
Our next councillors’ street surgery will be held on Tuesday 8 June from 6 pm – 8 pm on the corner of All Saints Road. There’s no need to book!
We are working hard to help you with local issues and want to hear what concerns you – currently our top two email topics are the new traffic management proposals in Highfield, and the level of traffic accidents and near misses both locally and in the London Road corridor
***The traffic management scheme has been proposed by County officers, and this is your chance to talk to your local County Councillor Altaf-Khan.***
If you can’t make it, but have something on your mind, please drop us a line.
The proposals for traffic management in the area bounded by Old Road, Windmill Rd., London Rd. and Gipsy Lane can be viewed here
Please do fill in a feedback form online or tel 01865 815882 for a paper copy.
David and I have already received a number of phone calls and emails about this. Please do continue to copy us into your views and suggestions for alternative improvements.
We shall be holding street surgeries in this area shortly- please watch this space for details. You may also wish to contact Altaf Khan, your County Councillor, on 01865 798777 or mob 07931 345554, and Clly Rodney Rose at the County Council who has responsibility for transport within the City
A new H1 bus service will operate from Old Marston-Marston shops-Headley Way- Franklin Road-White Horse-London Road-Headington shops on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9 June. Times will be 11.05 at Franklin Rd to Headington and 12.30 return from Headington. Yes! Not only will it run directly TO Headington Shops, it will RETURN via the same route!
You may remember that David and I have been lobbying hard for this for some time, ever since the bus companies re-routed their services away from the London Road end of Headley Way. Elderly folk were left without a direct service to the shops and it’s been a real problem for them.
We gave our comments at the consultation held at North East Area Committee, and have been exchanging emails on this issue with county officers and county councillors. This is a great example of successful collective lobbying by residents, ward councillors and Oxford Bus User Group. The County’s Assistant Public Transport Officer in the Integrated Transport Unit has worked hard on this and deserves our thanks for identifying this possible extension to the Old Marston route and recommending this to the Cabinet Member for Transport
The new route will be run by a low floor wheelchair accessible bus and will be free to all users. Our elderly residents in the Franklin Rd/Fortnam Close area will be able to access the Farmers’ Market as the new service is available on Fridays. If you know anyone who would make use of this new service, please tell them about it – I have dropped off timetables to every house in Franklin Rd, Fortnam Close, top end Headley Way, Woodlands Rd and Woodlands Close. I’ll make sure timetables are available in the Library too.
PS..before anyone tells me, yes I know that Southern Gas are about to dig up Franklin Road for 18 weeks commencing from a date between 18 and 26 May….watch this space!
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