Sir – I have recently moved to Oxford from the London Borough of Richmond and, as a councillor who champions cycling and cycles everywhere, I can truly say I feel quite at home in the city of Oxford.
I was pleased to read in The Oxford Times that Nicola Blackwood MP is calling for the reintroduction of cycling proficiency tests and an increase in cycle safety training to make the city safer for cyclists.
As a brilliant result, the cycling campaign group, CTC, is now offering free cycle safety training for Oxford University students.
But has everyone forgotten about the 18,000+ students up the hill at Oxford Brookes? I called CTC, and they said, sadly, they did not have any money to offer training at Oxford Brookes.
They would, however, be happy to offer safety training if someone could come up with some funding.
Oxfordshire County Council cycle safety training team would be happy to train a lecturer at Oxford Brookes to provide cycle safety training for students, but I suspect it needs a bit more than one willing and cycle-savvy lecturer.
And, of course, it isn’t only students who cycle and need to know how to cycle safely.
Nicola Blackwood has made a brilliant start in getting cycle safety training on the agenda and sorted for Oxford University students, but, lovely as they are, they are not the entirety of the city’s cycling population. How are we going to help everyone else?
Katharine Harborne, Spokesman for Oxford East Conservatives
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