Council bosses call for urgent changes at The Plain roundabout

In a letter to Oxfordshire County Council, the authority in charge of the county’s roads, the deputy leader for Oxford City Council Tom Hayes said that The Plain roundabout is “among the most dangerous spots for cyclists in the country”.

Dr Suet Ling Felce was killed on the roundabout a week today after a crash with a lorry.

Mr Hayes, who is the councillor for St Clements – the ward which starts just behind the roundabout – said he was “horrified” at the news and that the whole council is “deeply saddened” by the death of the leading scientist.

Today the council is calling for action, he said.

Following the tragic death of Dr Ling Felce, I’ve written to @OxfordshireCC, on behalf of @OxfordCity.

The Plain is dangerous for cyclists and we need immediate action to keep cyclists safe.

We’re offering support to the County Council to assist them to make immediate changes. pic.twitter.com/cg1fD2qPyG

— Tom Hayes 🇺🇦 (@CllrTomHayes) March 8, 2022

In an open letter he wrote: “The Plain roundabout has consistently been identified as among the most dangerous spots for cyclists in the country.  This five-arm roundabout is among the busiest junctions in the city and must accommodate substantial numbers of buses, delivery lorries, and general traffic as well as cyclists. There are considerable numbers of pedestrians on adjoining pavements who must cross the various carriageways.

“In 2016 the last administration delivered a £1.61m rebuild of the Plain roundabout. As a councillor for St Clement’s Ward, I expressed concerns about the plans while they were being developed and implemented. Along with cyclists, cycling groups, and residents, I strongly felt that the council could have done a lot more with this significant amount of money to make cycling safer for citizens.

"From the outset local cycling campaign group Cyclox, supported by Cycling UK, said that the rebuild would not encourage less experienced cyclists or those we wanted to hop onto a bike for the first time to travel through the roundabout. From 2017-2019, there were nine serious and twenty-five reported incidents involving cyclists (source: DfT stats 19 Road Safety Data). We cannot delay action to make The Plain safer following th edeath of Dr Ling Felce and years of concern about the roundabout by cyclists, car users, and pedestrians. 

"Right now, we are calling for a full review of cycle and pedestrian safety to inform both immediate and medium-term solutions. We would like to offer support in the form of our staff team's expertise and experience for completing a full review and developing solutions. With a shared approach, we can jointly seek external funds which would be necessry to make The Plain roundabout safer for everyone.

"We would like to provide support int he form of our Inclusive Transport Forum, which brings together disabled citizens and representatives of disability groups, so that plans can be co-produced by key groups in society. And, we would like to play a constructive role by convening cycling, pedestrian, and community groups from every quarter of Oxford's life to ensure all plans reflect the views of local people.

"Before any review completes, however, we believe that there should be County Council signing to identify The Plain as an accident hotspot, which can help to encourage users of the roundbaout to proceed cautiously."