Street Surgery in Old Headington

Many thanks to all who came to our street surgery in Old High Street on Tuesday evening, we learned a great deal about the issues that concern the residents in that area, including cycle routes, concerns about poorly maintained properties, gardens, hedges and trees, interest in a new Friends of Bury Knowle Park group, the need for a noticeboard at the entrance to The Croft, speeding, the no. 10 bus route and traffic hold-ups in Osler Road, the need to re-design the entrance/exit at Somerfields, and the licencing conditions of local public houses.

The nights are beginning to draw in now, so an excellent suggestion has been made to hold a forthcoming street surgery in a local hostelry.  Watch this space for details!

York Road improvements

York Road residents showed us the poor pavement surfaces in their road when David, Roz and I held our site inspection there recently.  We have good news to report!  We asked the City Council engineering team to assess the problem for us and they confirmed today that improvement work will be done on the stretch of pavement from nos. 4-34 later on this week.  Together we have made it happen – thanks to all residents for your feedback!

Ticket to ride? Stagecoach bus services

We have a meeting with Martin Sutton of Stagecoach on Wednesday evening and we are hoping to raise a number of issues that have been reported to us by residents in our ward. If you have any specific concerns, please contact us (see left hand toolbar for details)

Issues so far include:

the number 10 service – change of route from Headley Way to Osler Road, whether some services should turn round at Cowley Centre, safety of cyclists and other road users in Osler Road and the lack of space for queuing at the Windmill Road bus stop (the latter is not an easy problem to solve);

the frequency of Brookes buses at weekends and in vacation;

the possible issue of joint-provider scholars’ tickets;

the resurrection of a through service from Headington to Summertown;

a possible switch of designated taxi and bus spaces outside Iceland

and more..

All views welcomed, including positive comments – I know some people have said how pleased they are with the buggy-friendly and disabled-friendly service provided by Stagecoach and we will make sure to mention this!

New Disabled Persons’ Parking Places

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The County Council has given notice that it intends to provide additional disabled persons’ parking places and confirms others at the following locations in our ward. If you want to see the proposals in full, please consult them at Bury Knowle Library. The closing date for observations/comments is Friday 10 October, and they need to be sent to Mike Ruse, Traffic Regulation Officer, at Speedwell House, Speedwell Street, Oxford, OX1 1NE tel 01865 815700 email: mike.ruse@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Outside no. 13 Gathorne Road

Outside 70 Lime Walk

Outside no. 102 Lime Walk

Outside 8 Norton Close

ALSO

Old High Street – west side; from a point 2om north of a point opposite the southern kerb line of North Place, northwards for a distance of 6.6m. At the southern end of the residents’ parking bay

Sandfield Road – North-east side; from a point 60m north-west of the north-western kerb line of London Road, northwards for a distance of 6m

At times like this, I wish I possessed a compass!

 

 

 

 

 

Ward walkabout with City Officers

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This afternoon, I walked round the social housing areas in the ward with officers from Oxford City Homes, City Works and the Area Co-ordinator to identify areas that need maintenance or upgrading. Here is one area we found in Mattocks Close, and we have asked the Works Dept to submit quotes for levelling this pavement to City Homes so that it can be upgraded. If you would like more details of this site inspection, please hit the comment button or contact us for more information.

Below is a picture of North Place, David and I have asked OCH to tell us when the properties will be double glazed, and we have asked them to investigate internal noise reduction too

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Oxford Mail exclusive on the London Road lights

Residents may like to see the Oxford Mail coverage of our endeavours to get the crossing lights repaired in London Road, which was featured in our earlier post.

David and I would like to thank the Oxford Mail for helping us resolve this long-running issue, and also say a big thank you to Len and Audrey and Mrs Cox for assisting with our photo-shoot.

How to report crime in South Headington

As those who attended the Area Committee last night will know, the email address for Headington South Neighbourhood Action Group has been withdrawn due to technical problems and David and I have been pressing for details of the new one.

There is now a new email address for this NAG and it is not yet on the NAG website.  The new address is

headingtonquarrywoodfarm@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

Don’t be put off by this address, this NAG covers a huge part of our ward too – all roads on the South side of the London Road including Brookside, Latimer Road, Lime Walk, New High Street, Kennett Road, Windmill Road, Stapleton Road, Bickerton Road, York Road, Rock Edge, St Anne’s Road, Old Road and all the interconnecting roads in between.

Do contact this NAG if you are aware of any antisocial behaviour in the area

London Road – crossing signal failure

That’s it. We’ve had enough. We are organising a press call and photo shoot with the Oxford Mail regarding the power failure of the crossing lights at the Latimer Rd/Windmill Rd junction

Ruth is calling the Oxford Mail Friday morning to arrange for a photographer to take photos of elderly folk from Latimer Grange who have had extreme difficulty in accessing the shops, church, and the doctor’s surgery, along with David as City Councillor. This is the last chance for the utility company and the County Council to address this issue before it goes to the press

Safety worries at the Windmill Rd/London Rd junction

Following our street surgery in St Anne’s Road, we have reported residents’ concerns about near misses due from the traffic light sequencing to the County’s Safety Officer. Here is his reply:

As you will be aware, the changes to the traffic light phasing here were introduced in late 2007 to help improve traffic flows. We have been monitoring safety here very closely, and although there have been two reported accidents (one resulting in serious injury to an elderly pedestrian, and one resulting in slight injury to a pedal cyclist) neither appear to have been in any way related to the changes. It is nevertheless worrying to hear about the recent incidents; we are now working on the next phase of the London Road project covering the length between Osler Road and Wharton Road, and one objective will be to make the shopping area as friendly a place as possible for pedestrians, and an important part of this will be trying to achieve consistently low speeds on the approach to , and through the junction. We hope to consult on the proposals in the spring 2009, which will be an opportunity for all users to express their views and help shape the scheme.

Tree planting in Headington

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We have been in contact with the officer in charge of planting trees within the City, as a diseased tree was taken down in Latimer Road, and residents have asked if a new one could take its place.

We have had a promising response which I post below – maybe there are other locations in Headington suitable for tree planting requests? Please hit the comment button or use the Contact us button on the left hand tool bar if you have any ideas.

I have a number of trees available for planting this winter. I will
ensure an appropriate replacement is reserved for this location.