All posts in the topic Broad Street (Short link)
Summary
- There are 12 posts — by 9 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Richard Mann at Apr 23 13:35 UTC
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| Stephanie Jenkins | view_from-mhf.jpg | Apr 21 09:51 UTC |
Could someone tell me, what are the current plans for Broad Street?
I am aware of various proposals being discussed over the years, but so far
nothing has happened. What I do know is that potentially one of the great urban
spaces of Europe is still being used as a car park, which I think is shameful.
Imagine if the Piazza del Campo in Siena or the Market Square in Krakow were
used as convenient parking for shoppers - there would be an outcry. Yet in
Oxford it is quietly accepted - why is that?
Broad Street, is not one of Europe's most beautiful streets. In fact, it feels at times more like an empty theme park or film set, than part of a living city. Its people, the shops and the traffic that make the place interesting, without it Broad Street, can be a dull place for us town folk. Suggestions to get rid of parking, will damage the economic viability of shops, the bars and restaurants in the Broad Street neighbourhood. These facilities bring vitality to the area, without them Broad Street is just an extension of the lifeless university ghetto, that is the Science Area. An area unknown to the majority of us long term residents, only populated by students and tourists. http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/index.htm
The road itself does looks awful, but that is because of ugly street furniture
and parking.
The buildings on each side of the street are spectacular. There are three
Grade I listed buildings of national interest (the Clarendon Building, the
Sheldonian Theatre, and the Museum of the History of Science) and one Grade II*
(Trinity College's Kettell Hall). Nearly all the rest are Grade II listed, and
these are mostly shops, not part of the University.
But why do you hate the University so much? It is what makes Oxford so very
beautiful.
I will upload a picture of Broad Street showing how the car parking ruins it.
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I remember an article in the oxford Mail where John Tanner stated:
Mr Tanner called for a street market to be held in Broad Street every
Saturday and when asked whether he thought the road should become permanently
car-free, he added: "I think we could pedestrianise Broad Street and get the
cars
out and put trees down the middle - it could be a Unter-den-Linden in Oxford.
"We have got the coffee tables already. It would be good for the university,
good for the traders and good for the tourists."
In my view Broad Street should be pedestrianised - it's a complete waste of
such a lovely space at the moment, trees and decent street furniture would
be an asset to the city.
Regards
Eric Murray
I’d forgotten John Tanner’s intervention. I’d suggest he’s never been to Berlin, the Unter den Linden is a busily trafficked street leading up to the Brandenburg Gate, and a poor model for how Broad Street could be. Ironically John Tanner’s City Council have chopped down the tall lime tree at Bonn Square, so there’s not much chance of sitting in the shade ‘unter der Linde’ there now. I see the Oxford Preservation Trust has plenty of information here on the project to re-develop the street here – http://www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk/news/broadstreet.php But progress seems to have stopped – does anyone know why?
The Working Party continues to meet and to discuss alternatives, but there has been no commitment of County Council funding, and that is crucial as the County is the highways authority. Cllr Bob Price CSWAC Chris Brewer wrote: > I’d forgotten John Tanner’s intervention. I’d suggest he’s never been to Berlin, the Unter den Linden is a busily trafficked street leading up to the Brandenburg Gate, and a poor model for how Broad Street could be. Ironically John Tanner’s City Council have chopped down the tall lime tree at Bonn Square, so there’s not much chance of sitting in the shade ‘unter der Linde’ there now. > > I see the Oxford Preservation Trust has plenty of information here on the project to re-develop the street here – > > http://www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk/news/broadstreet.php > > But progress seems to have stopped – does anyone know why? > > Chris Brewer > > Info about Chris Brewer: http://forums.e-democracy.org/contacts/chrisbrewer > > This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/3t36EQ8WcAvfdhHburmo7v
If I were the Council, I would take a long second thought at committing funds
to any near-future project unless it is absolutely necessary. I am concerned
that with the permanent increase in the price of oil and fossil fuels, the
situation over the foreseeable future will lend itself to steeply escalating
prices. Any set of contracts entered into today will likely result in huge
cost overruns for multi-year projects, and perhaps even abandonment. Further,
current pressures towards global recession will significantly impact Council
budgets over that time frame. As an example, to commit to a huge project like
the Westgate might well not only result in cost overruns, but it would be
developing at a time when the retail sector will be suffering most. Shops will
go empty for lack of financing, and the customer base will shrink. In the end
the Council will have to answer the questions "Who is responsible for that very
large white elephant standing over there where County Hall used to be?", and
"Why did we not instead devote that money to the development of a better
bike/bus/trolley transport system, localisation of food production and
distribution, and other much more worthy and critical projects?"
Wherever we can reduce traffic we should. Wherever we can encourage the use of
Park and Ride, we should. Wherever and however we can promote and encourage
biking, we should. Large retail developments will do precisely the opposite,
and likely end up being a tragic waste of money that could have been so much
better spent to place Oxford at the forefront of visionary cities in the UK and
helped immensely to ease the transition to a more energy efficient economy.
I believe we truly need to begin assessing the future of Oxford, not from a
purely commercial perspective by rather from a sustainability one.
I'd prefer a design such as Las Ramblas (Barcelona), which has a narrow
carriageway (about 6m) either side of the street with the middle
pedestrianised. This could accommodate loading/parking without taking over
the central space, which is where you have to stand if you want to see all
those lovely buildings. I'd probably go the whole hog and make it a single
one-way loop, though it might be advisable to put in a contraflow cycle
lane on the south side.
Richard
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If only the City Council had as much sense as Victor Wood.
I went to Las Ramblas last year and although its trees are pleasant I found it
rather touristy, with too many silly souvenir stalls and dubious takeaway food
businesses.
A better model is the Cours Mirabeau at Aix-en-Provence which manages to
accommodate cars, shoppers and sociable town life in a leisurely way
side-by-side.
It would be helpful if Julia could give a rough summary of the layout in
Aix.
It is the layout of Las Ramblas that I think might work (peripheral
one-way circulation and parallel loading/parking). I wouldn't want to
reproduce the stalls - certainly not the caged birds.
Richard
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into which they are received and opened, it is the responsibility of the
recipient to ensure that they are virus free and no responsibility is accepted
by Cross Country Trains for any loss or damage arising in any way from receipt
or use thereof.
Any opinions expressed in the e-mail are those of the individual and not
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