The London Road Study: make sure you have your say!

9.22.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 16th Jun 2005

A busy road (okay, so not the London Road; but it so easily could be).

It should be crystal clear from the news items I've posted tonight that the London Road traffic situation is getting worse. The crumb of comfort is that this is being more widely recognised, and a County Council transport study of this 'corridor' is underway. Unfortunately, even this crumb is a bit mouldy, as the level of consultation planned is not what one might wish.

The County has planned three exhibitions, all of which take place within just five days. So bad luck if you're away. And that's it. There is scant publicity, and no survey of local residents and businesses. Compared with the exhaustively effective 'Cowley Road Matters' public consultation - which, despite some local residents' grumbles, has been brilliantly run - this is pathetic. (Of which more below.)

But let us make the most of what we do have. The dates, times and venues are as follows:

• Tuesday, 28th June: Barton Neighbourhood Centre, 3.30 pm to 8 pm.

• Thursday, 30th June: Clarendon Centre, Central Oxford, 9 am to 6 pm.

• Saturday, 2nd July: St Andrew's School, 10 am to 4 pm.

So please do make sure you get along to one of these to make sure the strength of local opinion is heard loud and clear.

My colleague, David Rundle, has written to the Oxford Mail to highlight these dates, and to make the point that the County must positively engage with our community. That is the only way they will be able fully to understand the issues in order to develop policies which address local people's worries.

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Sir,

Congested and sometimes downright dangerous - the London Road needs urgent attention. I'm sure everyone can agree on that, but I'd also guess that most of us would have strong opinions - and strong disagreements with each other! Any solution will prove controversial. That's why it's critical to involve local residents at every step in planning change.

So, I'm pleased that the County Council is working on how to improve the main route through Headington. They've got to the stage of having some ideas - and from what I've seen some of them are very radical. It's time for the Council to test them against local opinion.

But the consultation that's planned is in danger of being too brief and too limited. I've been told this week that consultation will consist of three public displays, and that's it. I honestly can't see how this will be enough to gauge the opinion of the many local people whose lives this will affect.

I'm pleading with the County to do more to find out what people think. I'm also pressing for there to be more publicity for the displays. Can I use your pages to alert people to these events. They are:

• Tuesday 28 June: Barton Neighbourhood Centre, 3.30 pm to 8 pm.

• Thursday 30 June: Clarendon Centre, Central Oxford, 9 am to 6 pm.

• Saturday 2 July: St Andrew's School, 10 am to 4 pm.

Please do get along to one of them, if you can. Let's try to make sure that the County can make decisions fully aware what local people think.

David Rundle

City Councillor (Liberal Democrat), Headington Ward

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