ONLY three of nearly 60 projects have started since the launch of a four-year cycling ‘revolution’.

Last year Oxford City Council launched its £840,000 ‘cycling city’ scheme which is supposed to see a wide range of projects carried out to make the city more cycling friendly.

The city council drew up a list of 57 projects to make Oxford a better place for people on two wheels. This included safety improvements to the Botley Road rail bridge, selective removal of obstructive barriers and a Thames crossing from Osney Mead to Oxpens.

The council never said it would be able to do them all as the costs varied from £2,000 to £450,000.

But 12 months after the scheme was agreed, according to a list provided by the city council, only a handful are underway including £50,000 towards improving The Plain and installing new signs between Headington and the city centre.

City councillor Craig Simmons, the leader of the Green group, said more needed to be done to make Oxford a safe cycling city.

He said: “It is not being done fast enough. “It is disgraceful that this money is not being spent.

“There are very simple things the council could do like repainting the cycle markings on Cowley Road which have worn away.”

When it drew up the cycling city scheme, the council planned to spend £100,000 from its capital budget in each of the first two years followed by £50,000 in each of the following years.

It also planned to spend £10,000 from its revenue budget in each of the four years of the scheme.

But according to the list the Oxford Mail was sent by the council, only £62,000 has been spent to date.

Simon Hunt, a member of cycling campaign group Cyclox, said he had seen a few improvements over the year, such as barriers being removed.

He said: “It is very obvious that a route I quite often use has been signed from the centre of the city through to Headington and on to Thornhill.

“All these things are much more expensive than you think and you don’t get much change back.”

City councillor Colin Cook, executive board member for city development, said he had noticed some barriers being removed as part of the scheme.

He said there were ongoing discussions with the county council and they would try to chivvy things along, but added many things took time.

Mr Cook said: “It is easy to send people down to take a barrier out but it takes more time to design a junction. “We have got a lot lined up and we will keep plugging away.”

WHAT'S DONE

  • £50,000 committed as match funding for Government money to make significant improvements to The Plain for cyclists. The £835,000 project at The Plain will see all lanes approaching and leaving the roundabout in East Oxford narrowed to slow traffic and make conditions more cyclist-friendly
  • Approximately £12,000 invested on providing direction signs for the North East Cycle Route, connecting Green Road roundabout to the city centre, and linking with county council cycle hire scheme in Headington
  • Unknown cost – selective removal of obstructive barriers across the city