London Road redevelopment

 We have held site meetings over the past couple of weeks with county officers, representatives of the contractor, residents and representatives of voluntary groups to sort out some concerns and perceptions about various aspects of the London Road project. These are some of the issues we raised

1          La Croissanterie/Monaco, Old High Street

 

  • Extra bollard to be put in by access road to stop Waitrose delivery lorries mounting the kerb near Monaco (safer for pedestrians)
  • Bike racks to be re-positioned to increase pavement space for buggies and wheelchairs outside the cafe


2          Stephen Road/Nat West corner

 

Road surface will be brought up to pavement height with gentle slope to rest of Stephen Road surface. It will be OK for buggies once this has been done


3          Osler Road – dangerous crossing point/sight lines

 

  • Look both ways sign still being debated: pedestrians assume the raised box is a crossing point pedestrian stop place, but it’s a box to govern the lights for the bus gate. County officers consider this an unsafe crossing place for pedestrians  so they have raised the platform and covered it in pyramidal shapes that are harder to stand on
  • Confusion over white line dividing cycle track/pedestrian footway and the white kerb edging for partially sighted people – we are informed that this will improve as soon as the kerb edges get worn and dirty

 

4          Junction with Kennett Road

 

  • Litter bin obtrusive on corner and spoils sight lines for motorists emerging from junction, officers will consider moving this to a location next to the bus shelter on the South side

 

5          Noticeboard on the south side of London Rd and bus shelter

 

  • Bus shelter to be installed adjacent to noticeboard so the latter will then not stick out so obviously and will get read.
  • Bus shelter only has a back to it so the shelter will give some shelter from the west
  • Bus stop to be placed as before except that the coach stop is moving further up London Road

6    Lamp post by pedestrian crossing (outside Iceland) in front of pedestrian crossing

 

  • This is still a concern. A lamp post has been positioned directly in front of the pedestrian crossing and a partially sighted resident has objected to this
  • Lighting is needed thereabouts for safety at the crossing and from the construction point of view needs to be at a building line (this happens to be exactly where the crossing is located). Lamps also have to be alternate sides of London Road so this one has to be in that area
  • We asked if we could combine the lamp post and the pole with the pedestrian crossing button on it in one pole: this would require a lamp column with a wider base, in part to accommodate the extra electrical fittings needed. This appears to be something that can’t be changed at this stage, but we have asked our county councillors to assist in lobbying for this

  • If the lamp post can’t be relocated, then we decided that lines should be painted on it so that partially sighted people can see it more clearly, possibly black lines (for contrast against the grey) at eye height (standing) and another at eye height (wheelchair)

 

7          London Road (Andrews estate agents)

  • The landlord for this property did not wish to take part in the repaving scheme. The management of the uneven surfaces and area around the tree outside is the responsibility of the landlord, not the County Council. The Area Steward’s team has advised them that they are responsible for any accident occurring on that private land and that they are likely to be sued by members of the general public should they trip or fall in that area

Trees and the London Road building work

Residents have asked us where the trees have got to in the new London Road redevelopment work. New trees will be planted in the planting season so this will be near the end of the scheme.  The actual trees are currently being selected from nurseries.

In at least one place, workers have prepared the hole and root barrier and then filled it in with a temporary filler and paved over it.  The hole will be opened up to put the tree in later.  We are told this is easier for the paving teams.  Don’t worry, the trees won’t be overlooked!

London Roadworks latest

Many of you will have seen the article on page 9 of today’s Oxford Mail “Driving us to despair” on the hazards faced by pedestrians and motorists at the London Road/Windmill Road traffic lights

Meanwhile there has been a hold-up further down the London Road. The County Council website reveals the answer why:

In Phase 12A (outside Iceland), work to divert underground services in the area of the new retaining wall was unfortunately delayed due to reasons outside our control, which means this phase will not be completed until late September. To ensure that the overall scheme is completed on time, we will be starting work in Phase 8 (opposite St Andrew’s School) sooner than originally planned, which means that this section can be reopened to the public in time for the start of the new school term.

We are still on target to complete the kerbline changes and paving around the Windmill Road junction, so that the junction is running at normal capacity in time for the start of the school term.

Pedestrian crossing lights outside Brookes are a trial!

We have received enquiries about the duration of the pedestrian lights outside Brookes, and there have been reports that they ‘switch themselves on’.

Sure enough, we learn from the County that, as part of the traffic management scheme of that section of road, the pedestrian crossing has been designed to revert to all red if the frequency of vehicles approaching the pedestrian crossing falls below a certain level.
A red light will be shown to both the traffic and pedestrians until such time as a vehicle is detected or a demand at the crossing is made which will initiate the appropriate change in the lights.

We are told this is a trial – let us know what you think!

Fill up on washing liquid at the new Fair Trade Shop!

fair-trade-2-shopfront-100302.jpg

 It was a great privilege to attend the opening of the Fair Trade Shop in London Road this lunchtime and to thank all those concerned for their dogged hard work and enthusiasm in bringing us this exciting new venture.

fair-trade-1-recyclables.jpg

I was particularly interested in the Ecover containers of fabric softener, non bio laundry liquid, and washing up liquid available – at last, there is no need to buy plastic containers full of washing up liquid, just bring in your old ones and fill them up in the shop! What a great idea, and one that I know will appeal to many Headington residents who are concerned about their environment


 

 

 

Latest on the pavements outside the NatWest Bank

Several residents have asked for an update on the unsightly barriers outside the Nat West Bank on the corner of Stephen Road and London Road. David and I have been investigating the cause of the delay in mending the pavements there following damage by tree roots. We were also concerned about a water leakage from the building onto the pavement next to the cash machines which was freezing in the bitterly cold weather and causing a safety hazard for residents.

The owners of the property went into receivership in November 2009. The receivers have been appointed and David and I are in contact with their London-based agents.

The agents claim not to have been aware of various leaks from the building until January of this year following an intervention by the County Highways Dept at our request, however this is disputed by their tenants, and it is possible that there has been a communications problem.

We are informed by the agents that they have attended to the leakage issues and the guttering. Their contracter checked the premises earlier this month, and reported back to say that the only remaining piece of equipment requiring repair or maintenance is the air conditioning unit, and that as this had been installed by the tenant, it was deemed to be the responsibility of Nat West.

We also understand that a late decision has been made by the receivers that a sum of money can be allocated towards the repair of the pavement outside the Nat West on their private property. We have put the agent in touch with the County officer who is leading on the London Road redevelopment,  as it is the receivers’ intention to try and ‘buy into’ the pavement rebuild which is about to be carried out by the County’s contractors later in the year. We hope that they can come to an arrangement on this very soon.

One complication here will be the trees on that stretch of pavement – if replaced, the roots will continue to cause damage to the pavement surface, and the County planning officers are keen to see them replaced with trees of a more manageable size in line with the design proposals of the London Road redevelopment scheme. It is possible that the trees currently growing there may have Tree Preservation Orders on them, so we have given the contact details of the City Council’s Tree Officer to the agent for the receivers so that she can find out whether this is the case – if so, the correct planning application procedures will need to be followed.

Let’s hope it won’t be too long before the unsightly barriers disappear!

London Road redevelopment – latest!

The main redevelopment scheme will commence in April, but the following two actions will take place before that.
 
1)     Consultation on new Traffic Regulation Orders relating to the parking and loading restrictions within the scheme and extending into some of  the side roads –  these will be advertised mid March, and letters will be sent to all immediate frontagers.   The consultation period will be for 4 weeks.
2)     Street lighting works – lighting columns between Osler Rd and Wharton Rd will be replaced during April.  This will be carried out under a separate contract, and will cause minimal disruption to traffic.  Affected frontagers will be kept informed, and if there are any queries, these should be addressed to the Project Leader, Colin Baird, tel 01865 252149.
 

London Road: what happens next?

One of the most important topics in our area are the plans to change London Road. The County Council has now produced their response to the consultation, and what I’ll say first of all is that the consultation has been much better than previous ones. The proposal is to continue with the scheme with some small changes — for instance, it has been suggested that the Old High Street pavement does not need to be extended. But, other features, like getting rid of the subway, remain. As we have continually said, instead of replacing the underpass with a crossing, as the County proposes and which would please some pedestrians but infuriate others, what would be best is to have both a crossing and a subway in this major shopping area.

As reported in The Oxford Times, we are also calling for the County to step back and review what went wrong with Phase I of the scheme before giving the green light to another long period of disruption. I hope to be allowed to address the Committee to speak up for residents’ concerns.

The County’s report is available at on-line. Annex 5, in particular, is the response to the consultation. If you have any comments, do drop us a line.

St Andrew’s Road street surgery

Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday evening’s surgery, Altaf and Ruth enjoyed meeting you and discussing your concerns

These included issues around road signage, parking, ways to improve traffic junctions, hazardous traffic light sequencing at the Windmill Road/London Road junction, a county council legal matter, damage to pavements by refuse collection lorries, proposed Ruskin developments, sewage and drainage problems, and the lack of cycle track along London Road

It’s good to hear that so many residents enjoy living in Laurel Farm Close

We shall update residents as we make progress with their issues

Dorset House latest

The campaign to save Dorset House from demolition was mentioned briefly in yesterday’s Oxford Mail , click here for the link.

Five residents from Latimer Grange and McMaster Court attended yesterday’s site meeting with the demolition company, along with the Latimer Grange manager and Ruth.

The project supervisor’s name is Eric and he will be present on the site at all times during demolition. The work is scheduled to start on Monday 8 June and the hours of work will be between 8.00 and 18.00 Monday to Friday, and 08.00-13.00 Saturdays, this was agreed with approval of residents.  It is scheduled to take 8 weeks and all access will be from London Road.

The dismantled materials will be recycled as much as possible – bricks, roof tiles, timber. In the unlikely event that contractors’ machines will damage the pavement outside (making it difficult for the elderly with buggies), the demolition firm will make good the damage.  Asbestos is present on the site but appropriate safety precautions are being taken. Some of the trees have a protection order on them and ‘crowd barrier’ style fencing will be placed around them with signs to warn demolition staff to keep clear of them.  A map was produced which shows which trees have TPOs and which not (the majority along the London Road boundary). There will be no burning on site.  Dust will be damped down as much as possible.   The site will be locked up as now during the project, and the side gate to Latimer Road may need to be strengthened.  Contractor parking will be on site.

Representatives from Quintain arrived towards the end of the meeting.  They said that they would shortly be approaching Oxford City Council for pre-application advice regarding development of the site but they didn’t know what would be in the application. (They withdrew their previous application four years ago which was for student accommodation)  One person from Quintain said that in his view there was only one tree on site worth keeping and that was a copper beech at the rear of the site opposite Latimer Grange, but that was diseased.  It also turned out that this particular tree is in the way of the demolition.  I rang the Tree Officer immediately to ask him to do checks on this, and also the Head of Planning Control and Development at the City Council. To be frank, I am concerned that trees may be lost, although there is no evidence to back this up, and I have already arranged that an enforcement officer keeps a close watch on the project

The local residents have been invited to visit the site at any time and raise any issues they may have with Eric the supervisor.  If any resident from Latimer Grange needs Eric’s contact number I suggest they contact Andrew the manager, and I have it too.