Today has seen two news items that are not good for cycling and active travel in Oxfordshire.
The first news is that Councillor Dr. Suzanne Bartington has resigned from her position as Oxfordshire Cycling Champion. Suzanne was not only a cyclist but a researcher and lecturer in public health with particular research in the impact of air pollutant exposure. So she was the ideal candidate for championing active travel in the County. However she has been frustrated by the lack of progress on the active travel agenda over the years and has decided enough was enough. This is a shame for cycling in Oxfordshire.
The second item is the shocking response to a tweet, which was offensve to cyclists, by Councillor Liam Walker who is the Cabinet Member for Highways Delivery and Operations. Councillor Walker has form with anti-cycling tweets (as published in our recent newsletter).
You can read more about Councillor Walker’s tweet in this Oxford Mail article: Complaint lodged against highways boss councillor’s tweet.
The loss of Suzanne Bartington and having somebody like Liam Walker in charge of roads means that campaigning for cycle infrastructure in the area has got harder – but we will keep trying.
P.S. HarBUG is not a political organisation we are just expressing the situation from a cyclists point of view, both councillors are Conservative.