Having visited various European cities, I can’t help thinking that an Oxford equivalent in France or Germany would be light years ahead of what is fast becoming a very mediocre city.
There would be a tram or light railway service, plus clearly-separated bike highway systems linking surrounding towns and villages.
The A40, A34 and A44 would meet in one smooth junction north-west of the city, not far from one of two or three out-of town university campuses which would free-up central housing for local residents.
(Undergraduates would not be allowed cars, as is the case in Cambridge I believe).
The Westgate Centre would be a distant memory, as its redevelopment, along with all these other projects, would have happened in good time for the Millennium.
For all this to happen there would admittedly have been a good deal of compulsory purchase and demolition, but the university, city and county councils would have found visionary solutions instead of stepping on each other’s toes.
I sincerely hope that when the Infirmary project is completed, it is of sufficient quality to inspire the powers-that-be in Oxford to want to do more of the same – plan together, and on a grand scale, rather than piecemeal.
I’m not holding my breath, though.
HUW EGGINTON Rackham Place Oxford
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