Community Campaigning in Oxford

In Oxford we seem to have come a long way in a short time with regard to our 20mph campaign. In my presentation I’ll be describing how Oxford’s two major transport campaign groups, OxPA and Cyclox, came to agree that among their many common objectives, safer streets were at the top of the list.

To succeed, our Oxford campaign needed to be less about transport and more about the daily lives of people who weren’t transport campaigners - people for whom the street environment was very important to their choices about, for example, whether their children were allowed to go out to the shops, or to school, by themselves.

I will relate our experiences in ways that should help campaigners elsewhere to establish what it is they are trying to achieve, why, and how they might set about attaining their goals.

I will describe how we brought together the individuals who have been key to what’s been achieved so far, the skills that have been needed and the organisation that has enabled us to motivate local people to re-think their streets, and to ask for safer and more liveable streets and communities.

I will describe what has been involved in persuading local politicians (we have a City Council as planning authority and County Council as highway authority) of the merits of streets that are safer for everyone. This has included petitioning and use of local press, radio and television to publicise our campaigning and our arguments. I will talk about the work involved in persuading Council officers that 20mph was about much more than road safety, and hence deserving of an approach going beyond conventional road safety assessments.

I will describe some of the lobbying that we have undertaken, including approaches to residents’ and tenants’ associations and other lobby groups, and to health trusts, schools and bus operators, in the latter case including a policy note on all the benefits of lower maximum bus speeds.

I will talk about some of the potential benefits that come with 20mph – reductions of street clutter, removal of redundant traffic management, for example. And I will talk about some of the ‘driver focused’ objections to a 20mph limit, such as being unenforceable, slowing motor traffic down unacceptably, creating more air pollution; and how we have dealt with these.

With the consultation period on Oxford’s 20mph proposals having recently closed, I will give a measure of our achievements and bring the conference up to date on just how far we think the County Council is prepared to agree with our contention that 20mph is needed on almost all Oxford’s streets and not just the residential roads and some shopping streets. That has been perhaps our toughest battle to date.

	Warrington Cycle Campaign has over 200 members and is committed to making better use of the roads for all sectors of the community. Our main objectives are:- A safer environment by the adoption of a 20mph speed limit in all urban areas On-road cycle training for all children Better account taken for the needs of cyclists at road junctions and roundabouts Responsible cycling - using lights at night and respecting pedestrians Take a look at their website to view topical issues, etc
	20's Plenty For Us provides a wide range of resources, information and material for local 20's Plenty campaigners. These include many mixed groups where cyclists and pedestrians are working together for lower speed limits where people live.
	Cyclenation (formerly Cycle Campaign Network) works to create a nation of cycle friendly communities and is the federation of local cycle campaigns with nearly 90 such campaigns throughout the UK.
	CTC - the UK's national cyclists' organisation, are the country’s largest group of people on bikes. Their mission is to make cycling enjoyable, safe and welcoming for all. Their work includes high-profile campaigning on behalf of all cyclists.

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