News on meeting with County planners

Ruth has supplied the County planners with a transcript of all the comments we have received from you on the All Saints/Lime Walk junction

Officers have agreed to look more closely at the lighting, drainage and sight line issues

They feel that the corner cutting across dropped kerbs by vehicles will stop when they put up timber bollards at the end of the month (6-8 in total) They will consult Highfield Residents Association on where these should go

The corner cutting is happening at the top of Latimer Road too, so we need to get this sorted out before there is a casualty

Officers want to stick with the idea of not having priority signage as they believe this makes drivers more cautious. This premise was challenged in our meeting!

The possibility of painting 20MPH roundels on the road has not been ruled out, but officers want to monitor the  speed of traffic following the works before a decision is taken on whether or not this is necessary

The County team is meeting reps from Highfield RA on Thursday

Countdown to Oxfordshire Cycle Challenge 2011 begins

Schools, colleges, and major businesses have signed up and are raring to go for the county’s largest ever cycling competition: The Oxfordshire Cycle Challenge 2011.

However, there is still time to sign up to the challenge. All you have to do is visit the dedicated website

The challenge begins on Monday 9 May and ends on Sunday 29 May. It aims to encourage as many people as possible to discover the benefits of cycling as well as logging their details of the journey on the website when they get on their bikes.

It’s a fun, free competition which saw over 1,300 people take part last year.

Workplaces and community groups can compete in six size categories to see who can get the most members of staff to ride a bike for at least 10 minutes.

The Oxfordshire Cycle Challenge is being organised in conjunction with CTC Challenge for Change, NHS Oxfordshire, Go Active, Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire District Councils.

There are ‘weekly spot prizes’ which will be presented during the three weeks of the competition which include a lunch time river cruise for two from Oxford River Cruises, a pair of theatre tickets from Pegasus Theatre or tickets for Cotswold Wildlife Park.

Warning: cycle thefts in Headington

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.

Options for Old Road cycling and walking

I attended a meeting last night at which the County’s transport planning officers set out some options for improvements to Old Road. There is £90K developer funding available to make improvements for cyclists and pedestrians, and it may be possible to obtain some extra funding in a bid to Sustrans for some of options 2 and 3. The planners are talking to representatives from all different agencies and groups including those representing cyclists and pedestrians, and local residents’ groups. Further consultation will follow later.

I thought I would outline some of the suggested options here. An overall aim is to encourage people back onto their bikes by enabling them to feel confident and safe when cycling to school and work.

Option 1

  • Install zebra crossing between Bickerton Rd/Stapleton Rd across Old Road
  • Install dropped kerb outside Old Rd cycle/pedestrian entrance
  • Shared use cycle path from Old Rd entrance to the NOC to Windmill Rd junction
  • Off-carriageway shared use cycle path in eastern part of Old Road
  • Short section of cycle by-pass leading to northbound Windmill Rd cycle lane
  • Remove centre line in Old Road except for Windmill Rd and Gipsy Lane junctions
  • Upgrade crossing facilities at Windmill Rd/Slade/Old Rd junction
  • Advisory cycle lane on Old Rd westbound from the Slade to Roosevelt Drive

Option 2

  • Cycle by-pass at Gipsy Lane lights leading to a shared use path to Finch Close
  • Entry treatment at Valentia Road to give priority to pedestrians and cyclists
  • Shared use pavement off-carriageway between NOC entrance and Windmill Rd
  • Advisory cycle lane (see last point in option 1)

Option 3

  • Cycle by-pass (see top bullet point in option 2)
  • Off-carriageway shared use path Gipsy Lane to Windmill Road (west-east)
  • Side road entry treatements on all side roads from Gipsy Lane to Windmill Road
  • Footway delineation lines at NOC entrance to formalise junction
  • Improvements to Old Road/Windmill Road junction(see options 1 and 2 above)
  • Advisory cycle lane (see last point in option 1)

Other points that were raised included: should this not be linked in with a longer term transport plan?, would it be better to spend all the money on the single most dangerous part of Old Road?, should we look at a cycle by-pass from the Slade into Old Road?, how do we reconcile the differences in height between cyclists on a higher shared path and motorists below? would it be better to hang onto the money and wait till a later funding source becomes available?

Which option do you prefer? Please click the comments box below the subject line and let us know your views.

Reporting stolen bikes

There has been a rise in cycle thefts around Oxford, including North Headington. If you want to report a lost bike, email eastoxfordbikedatabase@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk . Please provide details about the cycle including frame number, colour, make and any distinguishing features. This data will be input onto a local police database and the police will run a check when they stop a thief on a cycle. It doesn’t matter if the cycle is worth £20 or £2,000. If you would like the police to engrave your bike with a postcode then please email the Headington North neighbourhood team to arrange a time for them to visit you.  (see details on the central orange menu bar)

Survey: cycling on pavements

The police in Headington North have received a number of complaints from residents who say that too many cyclists are riding on pavements, and they are keen to find out how often this happens, where it happens, and what time it happens. They are producing a leaflet to give to cyclists that will explain to them the consequences of cycling on pavements, the safety hazards this causes for pedestrians, and some information on safer routes to take.

If you see a cyclist riding on the pavement rather than on the cycle track, please report it to Headington North neighbourhood team, giving the date, time and place.  This will help them identify the areas they need to focus on.

Cycling in Pullens Lane

We have been contacted by a resident who cycles along Pullens Lane who is concerned about the London Road improvements.  He contacted us to say that the junction with Pullens Lane has an obstructively high kerbstone and this is dangerous to those riding bikes, and particularly so for those riding trailer-bikes as the cyclist has to dismount to negotiate the junction between London Road and Pullens Lane safely.  We have contacted the County Officer concerned and here is his reply:

In the short term a fillet will be placed on the road to remove the vertical face on the kerb.

A change will be made to the kerb line but the inclined face was a requirement of the scheme.

We are discussing what further action we can press for with County Councillor Altaf Khan