Headington Liveable Streets

Re-imagining Headington’s roads and junctions

Anyone who cycles, walks or wheels around Headington knows how difficult and dangerous it can be, and feels, on our local roads, and experiences how our roads seem designed to prioritise people driving over everyone else. This car-centric design is clear every time you can’t use a bike lane

Spotlight on school travel: no safe routes for children in Headington - Part 2

The first post in our series on school travel looked at the reasons behind the lack of infrastructure enabling active travel for children in Headington. This second post looks at the infrastructure available to children in other parts of Oxford and compares this with what we have in Headington -

Community

Review of the Windmill School Street: ANPR vs barriers

The barrier + steward experience Several Headington Liveable Streets members acted as stewards for the School Street when it was manually operated with physical barriers. During this stage there was truly a safe space around the school. Apart from a few aggressive drivers that unlawfully forced their way through, there were

Carspiracy - you'll never the see the world the same way again

Global Cycling Network's 20-minute film Carspiracy - you'll never see the world the same way again is a deep dive into how we are convinced to think that modern car culture, and its many negative effects, is acceptable in our lives, looking at: * How we'

Headington neighbourhoods found to be pollution hotspots

New analysis by Friends of the Earth (FOE) has found that over a quarter of neighbourhoods in England are pollution hotspots - areas where people and wildlife are harmed by a toxic cocktail of dirty water, polluted air and disruptive noise and light. FOE analysed data for 4 types of

Get Informed

Oxford’s traffic problem: the big picture

The Oxford Clarion interviews Oxfordshire County Council's highways chief Andrew Gant about the "big picture" of Oxford's traffic problems.

Opportunity to take part in cycle safety pilot project

The Soteria project is inviting people in Oxfordshire to test the Rebo smart camera on their bikes and contribute data to the project, with the aim of preventing accidents and near-misses, understanding cycling behaviours, identifying risks, and ultimately making cycling safer and better for everyone. Further detail on the project

OLS Traffic Filters presentations published on YouTube

Zuhura Plummer, Oxfordshire Liveable Streets' Campaign Director, has been visiting large and medium-sized employers and community groups across Oxfordshire to give a talk about the Traffic Filters which is straightforward and accessible and importantly explains *why* they are going to be tried. (Headington Liveable Streets hosted such an event

Botley Bridge replacement delays lead to Traffic Filters delay

Network Rail were not in a position to do the deck replacement work on Botley Bridge in the planned weekend in July (when the lines had been allocated for closure), so will not be able to meet their deadline of October this year for reopening Botley Road. The length of

Study finds clear health benefits of active commuting

A new study published in July identified clear and consistently lower risks of adverse health outcomes among active commuters, especially cyclists. The study found that, compared with non-active commuters, cyclists had a: * 47% lower risk of death from any cause * 10% lower risk of any hospitalisation * 24% lower risk of

New bus ticket offers almost unlimited travel in Oxfordshire

A new Oxfordshire bus ticket offering unlimited travel on nearly all local services has launched. The MyBus Oxfordshire ticket offers passengers daily or weekly travel around the county for a fixed price, covering most routes and operators. It means that one ticket, costing £6.50 a day and £25 a

Study finds lower mortality among public transport users

A recent study has added evidence on the health benefits of public transport, particularly among older people, finding that public transport users were at lower risk of mortality than non-users. The study authors estimated 34% lower mortality for public transport users compared with non-users, and a 41% lower mortality for

Low traffic neighbourhoods reduce road traffic injuries by half

A recent study of LTNs implemented in London in 2020 found that the number of injuries inside LTNs halved relative to the rest of London. Using police data from October-December in 2018 and 2019 (pre-LTN) compared with the same period in 2020 (post-LTN), the researchers found: * Substantial reductions in pedestrian

Annual air pollution report shows pollution in Oxford down in 2023

According to Oxford City Council's annual air pollution report for January – December 2023: * 📉 Air pollution levels in Oxford decreased by 14% on average compared with 2022 levels, against a 9% average reduction across the UK. NO2 levels across Oxford are now (on average) 33% below 2019 levels, and

Free cycle parking available for local businesses and community venues

Oxford City Council is working with ParkThatBike again to make free cycle parking available to voluntary sector groups, businesses, shops, offices, cafés, pubs, churches, dental practices and surgeries. Various designs of cycle stand are available. The cycle stands are free of charge, with the business/group responsible for installing them

Could you drive less? Come along to LCON’s Car Free Cafes and join the national car free challenge

Earlier this year, 12 Oxford residents who regularly drive successfully completed the Oxford Car Free Challenge: with guidance and support, they tried alternative ways of getting around for three weeks. The project was run by Low Carbon Oxford North (LCON) in partnership with climate charity Possible and the Centre for

Oxford Traffic Jams – 250 years of history

Congestion in Oxford is nothing new - Oxford has had traffic problems for a very long time. People were complaining about it even back in 1771! Attempts have been made to reduce traffic over the years, including the 1999 Transport Strategy which put 5 Bus Gates in the centre. But

Headington to benefit from new bus services thanks to traffic filters

Oxford's traffic filter scheme is due to start in November 2024, about 5 years later than originally planned. With the core aim of tackling Oxford's centuries-old traffic problems to reduce congestion to the free-flowing traffic we see in school holidays, the anticipated outcome is significantly improved

The innovative way Ghent removed cars from the city: a blueprint for Oxford?

Ghent's 'circulation plan' was implemented in 2017 and has proved to be a highly successful way of transforming the city into a safe, attractive and economically flourishing place. Like Oxford, Ghent had a serious congestion problem it needed to address. Oxfordshire County Council's traffic

New traffic filters leaflet and microsite launched by Oxfordshire Liveable Streets

Oxfordshire Liveable Streets has produced the leaflet shown below explaining how the traffic filters will work, which people can reference and share with others to help get accurate information out to Oxfordshire communities and answer common questions about the traffic filters. A digital version of the leaflet is available here.

Police and Crime Commissioner Elections 2024

Elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police will take place on 2nd May 2024 (at the same time as the City Councillor elections). This role oversees police priorities, budgets and communications to the public. The five candidates nominated are: * Matthew Barber (Conservative and current holder of

East Oxford and Cowley LTNs to lose some bollards at end of April

At the end of April, the County Council will remove bollards and replace them with ANPR cameras on the following roads: * Divinity Road * James Street * Magdalen Road * Crescent Road * Littlehay Road * Littlemore Road The decisions to do this were taken at Council meetings on 22 June 2023 (for Cowley) and

Bus Service Improvement Plan survey

The County Council is conducting a survey to find out what bus improvements people would most like to see, to help shape its Bus Service Improvement Plan for 2025 and beyond. The Council wants to hear from people who already use buses and those who currently don’t, as well

Kiddical Mass bike ride 28 April

Join Cyclox for another fun, free and family friendly ride on 28 April from 2-4pm as part of the global action events to call for safer streets for kids and grown-ups. The Headington ride will meet at 2pm in the John Radcliffe hospital grounds opposite Manor Surgery, Osler Rd and

Opportunity to take part in focus groups on travel

Oxfordshire County Council has engaged Brightsparks Agency Ltd to talk to residents and businesses in a series of focus groups how people travel, what transport they use and what is important to them when it comes to making decisions about how to move around. The aim of these focus groups