COUNCILLORS in West Oxfordshire are seeking improvements to the district’s cycling infrastructure.

One impact of coronavirus has been the public perception on travel, with more people cycling due to a lessened public transport schedule.

This has led to calls for better conditions for cyclists.

In West Oxfordshire, councillors are hoping to implement those improvements.

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Laura Price, Oxfordshire county councillor for Witney, said: “The whole thing springs from the benefits of more people walking and cycling during lockdown.

“We quite quickly worked together - councillors from the county, district and town councils, and the Windrush Bike Project (WBP) to pull together ideas and thoughts.

“The WBP is integral to working out what might work, such as cycle lanes.

“These ideas were submitted to the county council to see what kind of infrastructure is wanted by people in Witney.

“I think there’s an urgency to it and we have to be really proactive as a community to push this.

Oxford Mail:

“We need this cycling infrastructure in our market towns and villages, as well as the city of Oxford.”

The WBP repairs and sells bikes from its workshop in Corn Street, and also delivers training in schools.

It has given away 70 bikes to keyworkers during lockdown.

Kevin Hickman, from WBP, said: “As well as keeping people moving we’d like to see cycling made easier on our streets and roads.

“We’ve seen a boom in cycling through April and May so there’s clearly no shortage of people who want to cycle here, given the right conditions.

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“That’s why we’ve put forward some ideas for discussion and we’re chuffed that councillors are keen to do something about it.”

Ruth Smith, Witney town councillor, said: “We’ve been seeing pictures on social media and online of pop-up bike lanes with plastic barriers, things that make people more confident in their cycling.

“In Witney, we started to think whether these things could happen here and looked at places in the town with the rule of thumb being whether young families would feel safe cycling in these areas.

“If public transport was your means of transport, then walking and cycling might now become your route of transport instead.”

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A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council confirmed that new cycle parking, removing A boards from narrow streets, additional grass cutting and maintenance of cycle routes, and a refresh of cycle routes would all be implemented in West Oxfordshire.

As part of its plans to reopen Witney town centre, West Oxfordshire District Council confirmed earlier this week there would be a pop-up cycleway southbound from Witan Way to High Street, in order to encourage more green travel.

Cycling Minister Chris Heaton-Harris announced on Wednesday new laws coming into force from June 22.

Local authorities in England will have new powers to use CCTV to issue penalty charge notices to drivers who park or load illegally in mandatory cycle lanes.

Mr Heaton-Harris said this would make travel safer for cyclists.