Oxfordshire County Council vows to end all road deaths

Residents gathered near Oxford Parkway station to remember cyclist Ellen Moilanen

An authority has vowed to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries from traffic collisions by 2050.

Oxfordshire County Council has committed an initial sum of £250,000 to Vision Zero, which will see changes to road infrastructure.

It has set interim targets of a 25% cut in casualties by 2026, and 50% by 2030.

Dan Levy, the council's cycling champion, said: "A commitment to minimising deaths on our roads has been long overdue."

Vision Zero is a strategy that began in Sweden in the 1990s and has spread to several European cities.

The commitment made at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday follows the establishment of a working group to improve cycling safety in Oxford after three women were killed in six months.

'Clear ambition'

Andrew Gant, cabinet member for highways management, said: "Recent tragic incidents on our roads have focused everyone's minds on the vital importance on making our roads and streets safer for all users - especially the most vulnerable."

He said while adopting the strategy signalled a "clear ambition", achieving change would require a look at "infrastructure, behaviour, technology and legislation".

Road deaths have remained unchanged in the county over the past 10 years, with an average of 25 per year. The serious injuries average is 210.

Mr Levy said Vision Zero was the aim of cycling campaign groups "in the aftermath of these recent tragedies, and its successful implementation will be our commitment to the memory of the cyclists who have lost their lives".

Alison Hill, chair of cycling campaign group Cyclox, said: "To eliminate deaths and serious injury on our roads is going to require huge commitment and a change in approach from the council and its partners.

"We need to design out danger, particularly for people who cycle and walk."

The council said the strategy will include tackling speed management in partnership with Thames Valley Police, improvements for cyclists, road safety education and training, and its 20mph speed limit scheme.