Charlie Hicks

London’s low-traffic zones ‘cut deaths and injuries by more than a third’ Exclusive: Study also finds no change in number of casualties on roads just outside low-traffic neighbourhoods

Interesting study around LTNs cutting deaths and injuries, with no impact to outside roads. An effective safety measure.

Conclusion of a new metaanalysis of 112 prior studies examining urban design & loneliness:

Residents are less lonely if their neighborhood offers green space, walkability, and proximity to amenities like bars, restaurants, and shops.

doi.org/10.1016/j.he...

Great work, congratulations!

Been cycling past this tagged bin for a couple of weeks and today we cleaned it up! 🧼

Latest innovation to the OxClean litter pick! Sign cleaning! 🧹

Great to see these pedestrian improvements coming forward, and very happy to see they include rain gardens. This design in particular covers an area recently affected by localised flooding

Labour are rolling out free breakfast clubs in primary schools

I'm delighted that both St Joseph's and Barton Park Primary Schools will be among the first to offer Labour's free breakfast clubs, supporting:
🧠 Hungry minds not hungry bellies
⏰ Parents' work choices
✨ Children's life chances

Very pleased to see this!! Hugely helpful for any council wishing to deliver improvements in walking and wheeling

Do check it out and share with your council comms/engagement & transport teams!

A graphic showing how much wider cars are getting and especially in the SUV market

Cars are getting 1cm wider every two years. That may not sound much, but over time it adds up, and they're showing no signs of slowing down 😬

That's #carspreading. Our new campaign is calling on city leaders to make parking policies fairer by varying costs based on the size of a car.

Why? 🧵1/8

£38m funding for new walkways and cycle lanes across South East It is part of a national £291million package to make people healthier and towns and cities greener.

Fantastic news. Labour is investing in new walking and cycling infrastructure to improve public health!

Oxfordshire County Council is set to receive over £3 million.

High quality infrastructure is key to making it easy and safe to walk and wheel.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@charliehicks.bsky.social is absolutely right in challenging the County Administration to commit to implementing the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly.

We need to bring people together around a sustainable way forward. This means putting residents at the heart of future decision-making.

here's the cause of the total chaos this morning on our roads 👇

I was told by staff on the ground that @thameswater.bsky.social were meant to reinstate the road this morning, but they had upped and left, leaving the hole there without fixing it, and with no-one monitoring the traffic lights

Oxford Bus Company 500 route map

A new limited-stop bus from Cowley to the city centre is the highlight of Oxford Bus Company’s new timetable from 23 February. The new 500, which stops only at five key locations along Cowley/Oxford Road, replaces the 11X which served only the BMW plant. Buses will run every 10–15 minutes.

There are lots of reasons I love being a local councillor but one of them is it empowers you to do slightly chaotic things like hold a party for a bridge 👌

🥰 Grandpont pipe bridge 🥰

Oxford station (Philip Halling at geograph.org.uk, CC-BY-SA)

Electrifying the railway from Didcot to Oxford – and beyond to Bletchley – was Oxfordshire County Council’s chief “ask” at a rail conference held in Oxford today. Chiltern Railways and GWR are seeking investment to electrify and upgrade their fleets.

Welsh 20mph speed limit: Fall in serious casualties in first year Ex-minister says it shows policy was the most successful road safety initiative in modern times.

Can't beat physics - 20mph speed limits work

✅ less deaths
✅ less injuries
✅ lower car insurance (!)
✅ cost effective (Welsh scheme past break even after 1 year)
✅ safer, more pleasant streets outside people's homes

Onwards to a blanket 20mph inside Oxford limits

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New study provides further evidence that when it comes to travel, what people think is less important than their environment www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... This nicely agrees with the Reverse Causality Hypothesis (www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...) which says attitudes FOLLOW behaviour

Expanding airports are not a silver bullet for economic growth - and the damage it would incur is massive.

Our new analysis in @businessgreen.bsky.social

Read more here: neweconomics.org/2025/01/airp...

50 Reasons Why Everyone Should Want More Walkable Streets From making you live longer to making cities more resilient: If you want a reason to make your city more walkable, it's in here.

“Someone with a 1-hr car commute needs to earn 40% more to be as happy as someone with a short walk to work. On the other hand, if someone shifts from a long commute to a walk, their happiness increases as much as if they’d fallen in love.” #CityMakingMath

50 reasons to want walkable streets.

Cyclists and pedestrians travel through a tunnel lined with blue and white tiles underneath Amsterdam Centraal Station.

A cyclist rides along a red asphalt bike path through a park in Rotterdam. A large mural of two women is in the background.

Pedestrians travel across a steel walking and cycling bridge in the harbor of Amsterdam on a dark and foggy night.

Cyclists travel across a car-free bridge in the harbour of Amsterdam. A neon light art installation sits on top the water.

When it comes to long-term behaviour change, attractiveness might be the most overlooked design principle.

Looking past comfort and convenience, it employs beauty—art, lighting, nature, etc.—to create a user experience that entices people onto a bike, even when a car makes the most practical sense.

Second homes in Oxford to be charged extra council tax Plans to make Oxford “a fairer place to live” by charging second homes in the city extra council tax have been approved by Oxford City Council.

LET'S GO 🌹

Broadest shoulders should bare the greatest weight

2x council tax for 2nd homes in Oxford

www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2487222...

Bar chart comparing public support for community-owned versus privately-owned energy projects, with higher levels of support for the former. The Caption reads as follows: Figure 1: More People Would Support a Community Owned Energy Project than a Privately Owned Energy Project Q: To what extent, if any, would you support or oppose the creation of a community/privately owned renewable energy project in your local area? [Asked to half of the the sample; n=2415] for community owned and [Asked to half of the sample; n=2415] for privately owned

Interesting new report from @cmmonwealth.bsky.social showing higher levels of support for community-owned energy projects than for privately-owned projects in the UK.

Better buses pledge must be backed by cold, hard cash The government’s grand plans for buses will not meet success without sufficient funding, says CPT CEO Graham Vidler.

Bus reforms will deliver improvements in services, as will sharing the cash more fairly and over longer timescales. But, buses also need more £££s. Anything less than £1.6 billion annually (+ cash for new buses), unlikely to get us to pre-Covid service levels

Cllr Elphinstone stands next to her art, of Cagney's coffee.

A community workshop took place this Saturday to gather community input on pieces of art to be featured across Cowley's Templars Square. The murals will reflect what Cowley means to locals and be created by local artist Lisa Made It.

Excellent to see this new bus service is soon to begin, linking Cowley to the hospital sites and Park and Rides 🚌

A workshop will take place this Saturday in Cowley, for community input on pieces of art to be featured across Templars Square. The murals will reflect what Cowley means to locals and be created by local artist Lisa Made It. All welcome.
Details 👇

www.templarssquare.com/events/commu...

Citizens' assembly During February and March 2025, 40 Oxfordshire residents will take part in our first ever citizens’ assembly. Participants will dedicate 45 hours across nine sessions to answer the following challenge...

A “Citizens’ Assembly” on Oxfordshire transport starts on 8 Feb. 40 residents have been randomly selected to discuss “What steps do we need to take so Oxfordshire's transport system enables our county's health, economy, and environment to thrive in 2050?” letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/citizens-ass...

Bus reform consultation - South Yorkshire MCA Have your say on taking back control of our buses in South Yorkshire. Our public consultation is your chance to feedback on bus reform in South Yorkshire.

Interesting point made in South Yorkshire's franchising assessment:

"Under a Franchising Scheme, it is easier to predict and control the improvements by the bus network in response to measures taken to discourage car use, which may make discouraging car use easier politically"

Insufficient funding and timeframes undermine England's active travel schemes, says evaluation | CiTTi Magazine A process evaluation of the UK Department for Transport’s (DfT) Active Travel Fund (ATF) has identified insufficient funding and short implementation timeframes as key challenges limiting the delive

“A process evaluation of the UK Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund has identified insufficient funding and short implementation timeframes as key challenges limiting the delivery of walking and cycling schemes in England.” 💯

I have big plans to transform public transport in the North East. Taking control of our buses is a big part of that.

This takes time, but I’m keeping fares down now!

As the national cap rises to £3 we're capping fares at £2.50 here with many shorter trips £2 or less.

CIPE Case Study Barcelona superblocks: Filling the city with life Barcelona is piloting a radical new strategy which will restrict traffic to main roads around consolidated 400m-by-400m city blocks. This will turn internal streets into "citizen spaces" with increased safe green space for culture, leisure and community activities. The city's Department of Mobility advocates a series of measures to give pedestrians and cyclists priority, to support an efficient mobility network and to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles. Superblocks are being piloted as an easily applicable and adaptable model that can improve quality of life for children, families and seniors. Assessment of health impacts has shaped the project, which is expected to help to reduce pollution, promote active travel, improve safety and encourage activity and social cohesion without compromising the mobility network. 45 CTPA students

How do we design cities for children:
- consider how the city looks & feels at their eye height
- make it safe and fun for kids to play and move around
- create places families want to live, and can afford to live
- clean up the city: the air and the ground