I READ Peter Newell’s letter regarding Frideswide Square with interest and would like to respond to some of the issues he has raised.

The aim of the project is to create a civic space appropriate to the role of Frideswide Square as a gateway into Oxford.

At the same time the project aims to improve the flow of people and traffic to create a more safer, efficient and attractive environment for all.

While there are no on-carriageway cycle lanes, the completed scheme includes a shared space in the off-road areas for pedestrians and cyclists to both sides of the square. It is true that Oxford is a cycling city and this is very much reflected in this new arrangement and we trust responsible cyclists to travel safely alongside pedestrians as they do in other parts of the city. Of course, the more confident cyclists can also use the road.

Letters

I’d like to clarify a point made in the letter regarding the “speed” of traffic. The intention of the new layout through Frideswide Square is to keep traffic moving rather than “speed” it up – the speed limit here, as is the case throughout the city, is 20mph. The days when traffic was held up by traffic lights, with vehicles and cyclists having to change lanes to get where they were going, on the square is now a distant memory and even during construction we have seen the new layout working well with respect to the flow of traffic.

The same idea applies when we look at cyclists and cars on the road. There is a defined amount of space available and the Highway Code applies to all road users. We trust drivers and cyclists to travel safely and responsibly just as they would anywhere else.

Having said all this I would also like to point out that we will be keeping an eye on how things work once everything is complete. There will be a safety audit and if this shows that changes need to be made then we will consider them.

IAN HUDSPETH Leader of Oxfordshire  County Council