Sir – Oxfordshire County Council’s proposals to introduce a controlled parking zone (CPZ) in the Divinity and Southfield Road area are ill thought out, dangerous and discriminate against vulnerable road users, such as people in wheelchairs, the elderly, schoolchildren and parents with young children.

The favoured option proposes to maximise parking spaces on both sides of the road by reducing the pavement width to just one metre, compared to the Department of Transport's guideline of a minimum of 1.5 metres, which is generally the current width.

As a consequence the roads will be wider which will encourage even more speeding which is particularly dangerous at the top end of the two roads where there is a steep decline.

The two streets are crucial corridors for the hundreds of Cheney School pupils who walk up and down Divinity and Southfield Road. Many of these pupils will be forced to walk on the road at a time when the Department for Transport has identified the teenage age group as the most vulnerable to road traffic accidents, and has urged local authorities to take steps to allow for safer travelling to schools.

It is clear to local residents that the traffic problems are mainly generated by students and staff from Brookes University as out of term time the streets are quiet and there is ample parking space.

In order to allow residents to live in a safe and inclusive community I would urge the county to withdraw the current CPZ proposals for pavement parking and come up with new proposals.

Not allowing parking permits to Brookes students would be a step forward and would leave our pavements intact.

Dr Sietske Boeles, Oxford