A CYCLING campaign group is calling for urgent changes following a crash which saw a cyclist killed in Oxford on Tuesday.

The cyclist, a woman in her thirties, suffered serious injuries and died at the scene following a collision with a tipper lorry at the junction of St Clement’s Street and The Plain.

The incident follows the deaths of a cyclist near Oxford Parkway Train Station and a pedestrian in Chipping Norton, in recent weeks.

Book of condolences: Leave messages, condolences and tributes to the cyclist

Dr Alison Hill, chair of the Oxford group Cyclox, said reduced speed and segregated cycle routes were some of the options available in order to make roads safer.

She said: “We all should be calling for a ‘vision zero’ which is about total intolerance of any road user death because it is just awful for any road user to lose their life.

“There is this local consultation out called the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, and I know we should be using that opportunity to call for urgent action faster and sooner to make our roads safer.

“That involves a large number of different actions. It involves things like reducing speed and reducing traffic volume, which is utterly crucial because people see the huge number of cars and just feel too intimidated to get on their bikes.

“It involves making safe, segregated cycle routes that are separated from traffic because that is the only way people will feel safe.”

Oxford City Council leader Susan Brown said: “While it is too soon to know if this incident is related to the junction design, the city council will be writing to Oxfordshire County Council, asking them to urgently review the safety of The Plain roundabout.

“It is a key route into and out of the city centre, and despite the redesign which the county undertook a few years ago, we are still seeing accidents and fatalities.

“We believe that there is an urgent need to look at what can be done to improve safety, and to ensure that we involve cyclists and cycling groups as part of this review.

“We welcome the work the county council is currently developing on cycle quickways and quietways, but major changes are needed in order to create a safe road network for everyone – for cyclists, for pedestrians, and for drivers.

“In order to achieve this, road space should be reallocated to create safe and segregated cycle lanes.”

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For Oxfordshire county councillor Damian Haywood, the incident was particularly poignant as his wife cycles the section every day.

“I’m devastated for the family and friends, as it’s due to something that really shouldn’t be happening in our city,” he said.

“My wife cycles that section every day, and what’s happened is such a terrible loss of life.

“We have to massively improve the infrastructure for cyclists – I’ve been calling for quite a while that white lines do not work.

“We need dedicated cycling infrastructure, something which stops vehicles going in cycling lanes, a physical barrier.

“White line infrastructure isn’t infrastructure, they don’t stop vehicles going across.”

The city council’s shadow member for transport, culture and communities, Dick Wolff, added: “My heart sank when I heard the news, and sank again when I heard a lorry was involved.

“It’s absolutely crucial to get segregated cycleways. It’s difficult in Oxford because our roads are narrow and the levels of traffic, but they are ultimately the only way out of this.”

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