Dear neighbours

I have submitted an ePetition to Oxfordshire County Council asking that the
cycle tracks in Marston are gritted in bad winter weather.

Marston has the highest rate of cycle commuting in the city (see Guardian link
below), and if you or your family use the tracks to get around you will know
that they can become unusable or dangerous for days at a time, especially after
snowfall.

The petition has now been approved and is open until 14th March. Please
consider signing the petition here ...

http://mycouncil.oxfordshire.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=45&;RPID=2927388&;HPID=2927388

You can also follow the petition on Twitter at http://twitter.com/marstongrit .
I will be posting updates, linking to articles about how other cities deal with
the problem, and hopefully getting some discussion and general publicity going
there.

The registration processes for both sites are very simple.

thank you for your support!

Bill Coumbe

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2013/feb/01/cycle-drive-work-map-census-2011?zoom=13&;lat=51.79304429395074&;lng=-1.2482468835448301

I support this petition. I would further press the county council to move ahead
urgently with laying down a permanent, useful pedestrian/cycle track from
Rippington Drive to Ferry Road. This track is almost completely unusable by
pedestrians and cyclists after rain when pools of water form every few metres,
across the whole track. Plans to improve it go back years, nothing happens!

I agree about Rippington Drive to Ferry Road. This is a complete mud bath in
winter and there are some nasty rocks in the surface on some sections which
could cause damage to bike and/or rider. Some lighting wouldn't go amiss either
...

It's the "missing link" in connecting up the cycle and pedestrian routes
linking the City, Marston and North Oxford.

An ePetition with Oxfordshire County Council only needs 9 signatures then the
council must respond. I'd start another but am busy with the existing one at
the moment.

I have been struggling to get progress on the long awaited upgrade to County
Footpath 74 which runs from Rippington Drive to Edgeway Road. This project has
been mooted for many years and money set aside to pay for the work by County
Council. The state of this section is a disgrace. I walked it today having
after meeting constituents in Rippington Drive etc. Even after a few relatively
dry days the puddles and mud are still almost impassable.

The project has been beset by difficulties. Some residents in Purcell Road
whose back gardens look onto the path have been negative about the upgrade
particularly plans to put lights along the path. A consultation after the
original scheme was published found some who did not want any lighting along
the stretch from New Marston Rec. to Edgeway Road. A compromise was proposed
(and I thought reached) which would have put low level lights (height and
intensity) into this stretch rather than sodium lights on lamp standards.
However, some residents continued to resist this thoughtful compromise.
Consequently the Tory Cabinet Member at County Hall has approved a 'no lighting
scheme' for reasons best known to himself.

A lot of the delay is due to other obstacles as I have explained before. Land
ownership is not known for the parts of the path. This has entailed a drawn out
legal process. Acquiring some land from a private owner to allow a new bridge
at the Rippington Drive end has taken yet more time.

I believe that the paving / bridge work will start in the next month or two but
the lighting issue is unresolved between City and County.

It is all frustrating and exhausting but I am working with Mary Clarkson to get
the whole scheme completed as soon as possible.

Roy Darke
County Councillor Marston / Headington division
Sent from my iPad

On 17 Feb 2013, at 12:25, "John Batey" <<email obscured>> wrote:

> I support this petition. I would further press the county council to move
ahead urgently with laying down a permanent, useful pedestrian/cycle track from
Rippington Drive to Ferry Road. This track is almost completely unusable by
pedestrians and cyclists after rain when pools of water form every few metres,
across the whole track. Plans to improve it go back years, nothing happens!
> John Batey
> Old Marston, Oxford City
> About/contact John Batey:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/5fVX71KN0F5VaXx4iAqH4e

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ePetition to grit Marston cycle tracks in winter

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