Brad Baines, Labour & Co-op County Councillor for Isis, is pushing Oxfordshire County Council to make cycling easier and safer across Oxford.
“With the new Congestion Charge launching on 29th October, the Lib Dems are expecting over 10,000 Oxford residents to switch from driving to cycling. This is a worthy ambition, but without any extra investment in cycling infrastructure this is just unrealistic,” says Brad.
“Too many people still see cycling as unsafe and inconvenient. This needs to change. It’s one thing cycling into town on a segregated, well-lit cycle lane – it’s quite another to have to travel from a council estate on the edge of Oxford dodging potholed roads, large lorries and speeding traffic.”
“That’s why Labour is calling for a infrastructure-led approach to tackling congestion – putting funding upfront to investing in safer walking and cycling as well as better buses. We want to ensure that regardless of where you live in Oxford, it is safe and easy to get to your destination by active travel.”
Labour Councillors aren’t just calling for infrastructure investment, we’re already delivering it.
In recent years Labour on the County Council has secured:
- £6 million extra in 2024-26 for repairing potholes and pavements
- £8 million for walking and cycling improvements in East Oxford
- £6 million to improve junctions to improve safety and tackle congestion
- Almost £2 million for generations of new school streets to improve safety outside Oxfordshire schools
- Funding plans for new greenway cycleways linking Oxford with nearby towns and villages
- Plans to increase cycle parking through a new Kerbside Strategy
Labour-led Oxford City is also leading the way in installing additional cycle parking. After installing 140 new stands earlier this year, the City Council is embarking on installing a further 56. You can feed into the consultation on these before 5pm on Friday 24th October 2025 here.