Queen Street pedestrianisation (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

Queen Street pedestrianisation

April 23, 2009 10:10 AM
By Cllr Alan Armitage in Cabinet Member for Transport - decisions meeting

I am speaking as local member for the area that includes Queen St, Castle St, St Aldate's and the western end of the High Street.

I am personally very much in favour of extending pedestrianisation in central Oxford, and I would completely agree that Queen St is the area that merits the highest priority, for reasons of air quality and also because there are so many pedestrians there, with narrow pavements and constant worries for parents with children, and for those who can only get along slowly.

I have heard comments from a large number of residents, shoppers, retailers and other businesses in the area, and I have listened very carefully to the proposals of the bus companies. And, of course, I have carefully read all the documents produced by the county council, and I have attended at least five of the public discussion events where you, chairman, or officers of the council have asked for feedback from the public.

Fundamentally, I agree that the key to progress is reduction in the number of buses, and reducing the length of time they have to spend stationery within a few hundred yards of Carfax Tower.

I don't believe that anybody thinks that reducing the number of buses would be a bad idea. The bus companies themselves have said so too, and they have said they want to achieve it, using the new legislation which facilitates Bus Quality Partnerships. But it was a terrible blow to them and to almost everybody else when you, on behalf of the council, dismissed their proposals to collaborate and reduce the number of buses within 18 months. Your reply to the bus companies came within hours of their proposal being made public, and just cannot have been properly considered.

The impression most people have is that the county council is determined to steam-roller this short-term fix in Queen Street, and has no serious intention of working with the bus companies to achieve a permanent reduction in the number of buses.

In para 25 of the report, it is stated that the changes will involve a 50% reduction in buses, but I have read this and all the other documents very carefully, and this figure of 50% is just not explained or justified anywhere. The county council is not empowered to stop local buses from driving down Queen Street. But the bus companies are.

So in conclusion, I would urge you to decide today NOT to go ahead with these proposals as they stand, but to listen to the bus companies, and to give them time to deliver on their offer. They are accountable to the public - their customers - at least as much as the county council is.