By Kate Seal
When I moved to Oxford a few years ago, I became obsessed about where to park my car. Previously I had lived in a rural area where every journey I made was by car. I was shocked to discover that I had to pay for a parking permit and even more shocked to discover how difficult it was to find a parking space near to my house.
By Roger Symonds
As we gradually emerge from this latest lockdown, we are seeing Oxford’s roads getting much busier. But they are busy not only with motor traffic, but also with people on bikes.
By Kathryn McNicoll
I met Iona on a bright May morning in a park in Barton. Iona is the Community Health Development Officer for Oxford City Council in Barton, a part of Oxford in which she lives and works and one she obviously feels passionate about.
By Alison Hill, Chair of Cyclox, Brenda Boardman and Simon Pratt Co-Chairs of CoHSAT
Dear County Councillor,
Congratulations on your election to Oxfordshire County Council. The Coalition of Healthy Streets and Active Travel (CoHSAT) is a group of voluntary and campaigning organisations working across Oxfordshire to create attractive, accessible and people-friendly streets. We want to see a future where everyone is able to walk and cycle for everyday trips on quiet streets and in liveable neighbourhoods, and where no-one has to own a car because there is always an alternative form of transport.
By Alison Hill
At Oxfordshire County Council’s Transport Decisions meeting on the 29th April, Councillor Yvonne Constance ruled that the barriers at the south end of Walton should be removed when the traffic regulation order times out on the 18th May, and that there should be no alternative scheme in place to restrict traffic along Walton Street and Kingston Road. After 18 months of promises of a better Jericho, her recommendation was to do nothing.
By Andy Chivers
We think of the 1930s as the bicycle heyday – car ownership was minimal, long-distance commuting was confined to train and bus, and employers provided mass bike parking facilities. Pictures of hordes of bike riders exiting Cowley Motor Works are emblematic of that time. What is less well known is that the Department for Transport was enthusiastic about bike use too and funded 500 miles of high-quality bike routes around the country.
By Andy Chivers
At its most basic, riding a bike requires the coordination of balance, steering, and turning the pedals. Then comes the most important skill – paying attention to your surroundings. This has been well described by the father of urban bike riding, Richard Ballantine, as ‘Relaxed Concentration’.
By Leo-Jay Black
Well, where to begin? It all started in 2007 when I part-exchanged a BMX and £60 for a Kona Yeeha (Steel frame) that was for sale, second-hand, in a local bike shop in Exeter. I liked it because it had big wheels, good gear ratios, 700c wheels, hybrid tyres and flat handlebars.
By Kathryn McNicoll and Josh Lenthall
One year on from the start of the Bikes for Key Workers project we have handed out our last bike to a key worker, making the total in Oxford 345 bikes. With the Windrush Bike Project in Witney refurbishing at least 100 bikes, and the Bicester project over 60, that means 500 bikes county wide.
By Andy Chivers
No, this isn’t a joke (like ‘When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar!’), but a look at ‘non-motorised vehicles’ and see how broad that category might be. Motorbike riders call their vehicles bikes which can be confusing, but they are motorised, whereas (perhaps surprisingly) an electric bike isn’t.
