An Oxford-based cycling charity is calling for 20mph speed limits on all Oxford roads by 2029. The charity, Cyclox, announced their “agenda for change” in a letter to newly-elected county councillors last week.
The letter welcomed councillors to their role and emphasised that there is much to do to make Oxford a safer cycling city for all. Cyclox advocated several policy proposals in addition to speed limit recommendations. These include “resurfacing Parks Road, South Parks Road and St Cross Road with wider cycle lanes”, as well as “all day cycling on Queen St and Cornmarket”. Contrary to common practices, cycling on Queen Street and Cornmarket is currently prohibited during certain hours.
Ian Loader, Chair of Cyclox, told Cherwell that the results of May’s election, which saw an increase in the number of Liberal Democrat and Green councillors, show that “voters have decisively supported an administration that promises to tackle Oxford’s car-dependency and make it safer and easier for people to get around.”
He added: “Cyclox will work constructively with the new Council to deliver this vision of Oxford’s future. But we will also publicly hold them to account if they fall short.”
Cycling in the city is big business with 35% of Oxford residents cycling at least once a week. Traffic collisions, however, remain a problem. In 2023, 205 cyclists were reported as casualties from traffic collisions, and in 2022 two members of Oxford University were killed whilst cycling.
Oxfordshire County Council’s road safety initiative, Vision Zero, aims to eliminate all fatalities and severe injuries on Oxfordshire roads by 2050. The previous council approved a budget of £8m for the implementation of 20mph areas as a replacement for 30mph areas “where there is local support”.
Green Councillor Emily Kerr has offered her support for Cyclox’s policy proposals, commenting: “most things they [Cyclox] are requesting are already standard in European Cities which see much higher levels of walking and cycling than Oxford.”
Not all councillors, however, are supportive of the group’s policy agenda. Independent Alliance Councillor David Henwood has expressed concerns that lowering speed limits across Oxford to 20mph could have a “detrimental” impact on bus timings.
Luke Marion, the Managing Director of the Oxford Bus Company, has raised similar concerns, telling the Oxford Mail: “additional 20mph zones would make travelling to and from Oxford by bus less attractive to the public, creating more congestion which neither supports road safety or achieving environmental targets”.
In response to these concerns, Cyclox told Cherwell that “there is no evidence that 20mph speed limits will significantly affect bus speeds – for most of the day, no buses go above 20mph”.
Cyclox’s Chair also told Cherwell that we should “focus on the bigger picture. Policies to set 20mph speed in towns and cities are today being introduced across the world. This is because social norms around traffic speed in built-up areas are changing.
“We will soon look back on allowing traffic to move at 30mph in urban areas the way we now look at smoking in pubs and restaurants, or drink-driving.”
Blanket 20mph speed limits have recently been implemented in other parts of the UK. Wales implemented such limits in built-up areas in 2023, and 20mph zones have also replaced 30mph zones in large parts of London and Bristol.
