Cllr. Ian Hudspith, the Conservative County Councillor responsible, will attend the next Central South & West Area Committee to receive questions and hear opinions. Although it seems clear no final decisions have been made yet and Transform Oxford is still very much aspirational, it is important that clear messages are sent. The meeting is on Tuesday 10th February at St. Barnabas School, Jericho at 5.30pm.

Please contact Stephen Brown or you County Councillor, Alan Armitage, if you can’t attend and wish to make a comment.

At the last meeting of the full county council, members unanimously agreed to a motion proposed by Lib Dem Cllr Alan Armitage proposing 20 mph speed limits on all non-arterial residential roads in Oxford. A council officers’ report has since proposed how to do this, and the cabinet has agreed to consult on the details of how the 20 speed limits can best be introduced. If no major difficulties emerge, the limits could be in place by May 2009.

Alan said: “this is all about saving lives and reducing injuries in Oxfordshire, where there are an estimated 30,000 road accidents of all types each year. In 2006 – the last year for which there are figures - there were 68 deaths in our county from road accidents, and 304 people suffering ‘Serious’ effects.”

He added: “there is little dispute that cars going at 20 mph have a less catastrophic effect when they hit people, than cars going only slightly faster. Tests indicate that a child hit by a car at 20 mph is killed in something like 5% of cases, this rises to over 30% of cases at 30 mph. Across the county cars speeding in residential areas is one of the top three law-and-order issues for local people.”

STOP PRESS: This report will be discussed on Tuesday 9th September at the Central, South and West Area Committee commencing at 5.30pm at the St. Matthew’s Parish Centre, Marlborough Road. County Councillor Ian Hudspeth, who is responsible for this matter, will be present and answering questions from your Carfax LibDem Team. As always the meeting is open to the public, who may ask questions, but if you are unable to attend do please contact either Alan or Stephen with your views.