FIRSTLY, congratulations on your election to Oxfordshire county council. You may be an old hand returning or this could be your first week in elected office.

Either way we hope that you take this new beginning to look at things with fresh eyes and find new ways to help to deliver a world-class city.

As I am sure you are aware, Oxford is a great cycling city but if you are not familiar with it take some time to understand our cycling culture and our cycling economy.

There are shops and coffee shops, bike hire and electric bikes, DIY workshops and cycling clubs for all ages and abilities, and much more.

We want Oxford to be a leading European and global city for learning, innovation, economic growth, tourism and culture.

The wellbeing of the city and its inhabitants should be supported by clean air and active travel. We want to see cycling at the heart of that future, enabling everyone to get in, out and around the city freely and safely.

Of the 63 elected councillors, 22 have already pledged to support this process through the Cycling UK’s Space for Cycling campaign, with its ‘Plan, Invest and Build’ programme.

The council already has a high-quality plan for cycling infrastructure within the Oxford Transport Strategy. The OTS maps a network of super and premium cycling routes throughout the city but the challenge now is to commit to the investment and make these routes a reality.

We know there is ‘no money’ but other councils are investing a higher percentage of their transport budgets or using existing maintenance budgets more wisely. There are opportunities for funding through the Local Economic Partnership and from development monies. If you are not one of the 22 councillors, please sign the pledge on the Space for Cycling website.

Cyclox is a cycling campaigning organisation run by a committee of volunteers. We represent people who cycle and people who would cycle if well-signed, safe and continuous routes were available to help them travel from their homes to schools, places of work and shops.

Our approach is collaborative and not adversarial. We aim to work with politicians and council officers to get the best deal for the people of Oxford. As political decision-makers you are going to be grappling with complex issues of congestion, air pollution, obesity, inactivity and mental health. A city designed so that people can walk or cycle for short journeys is a cheap and effective way to tackle these problems.

We hope that you will get involved in helping to realise this vision for cycling in Oxford.

You can join Cyclox – it is only £10 a year – join our forum at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cyclox-forum or get involved in discussions on our Facebook page. We also hold monthly meetings where we get together in person.

Thank you for standing and good luck in your position. You will be hearing from us!