European Car Free Day a great success

Monday 22 September 2003 was European Car-Free Day and cities throughout Europe promoted the use of bikes and buses because they are quicker, cheaper and cleaner than cars. Oxford’s new cycling campaign group, Cyclox, organised a special event to celebrate the day and to raise awareness of its campaign to make Oxford a worry-free zone for cyclists.
Around one hundred cyclists rode into Broad Street for a free breakfast with fair trade coffee, cereals and bananas. The Lord Mayor of Oxford led a group of 50 cyclists, including many city and county councillors, on a cycle parade along Broad St at 8.15 a.m.

All morning, cyclists voted on their cycling blackspot in Oxford – Cyclox will analyse and use the 165 ballot results when it discusses the improvement of cycling facilities with the County. The vast majority of ballots cast condemn, predictably, the following areas: Cowley Road, the Plain; High Street especially in front of Magdalen College and over the bridge, the station junction and the railway bridge at the beginning of Botley Road.

Cyclox calls for the safe and widespread use of cycles in the city and organises events designed to encourage people to change their thinking about cycling vs car use (e.g. the Commuter Challenge in June 2003).

Cyclox lobbies the County Council to achieve:

a properly connected-up and safe cycle network
reduction of vehicle speeds
improved cycle facilities (e.g. cycle parking)
James Styring, of Cyclox, said “Cycling has declined dramatically in the city over the past 10 years. The County Council should be actively seeking to reverse that, and do more to promote cycling throughout Oxford. By gathering on European Car-Free Day, cyclists demonstrated of one of the easiest ways to free Oxford from the blight of car traffic.”
Our sponsors included:

Oxfam who served free fair trade coffee and cereals at the breakfast
Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-op who donated 200 fair trade bananas
Unigate who donated 20 pints of milk and two trays of yoghurts
Morton’s who opened for breakfast from 8 a.m.
Oxford University Press / Oxuniprint who printed all of our publicity for free
More information
For more information contact  cyclox@oxfoe.co.uk.