You had a scowl like a Klingon beauty queen

[venta]

Probably of no interest to anyone who doesn't live in Oxford. Possibly of not much interest to anyone who does, either :)

Walking along Cornmarket yesterday evening, we overheard someone saying "But what is it ? Is it art ? No, it's bollocks."

They were talking about the extremely peculiar benches which have appeared. There's several of them, on both sides of Cornmarket. A sort of upright, with chrome and wood benches down one side, and chrome and wood... things down the other. The things are nearly benches, but are too high, and utterly the wrong shape. Does anyone know what they are ? Or possibly why they are.

If there's anyone in the area with a camera who can provide a photo, that'd help immensely here :)

And this morning, on Cowley Rd, I observed in the window of the empty shop opposite Boots the plans for the Cowley Rd redevelopment. Which were actually quite interesting. They seem to be based round making it a more people-orientated and safer place but - get this - seem to have finally noticed that reducing parking and slapping down sleeping policemen doesn't actually make the cars go away. From a quick skim through, it actually sounded like they might make a sensible job of it. Brief summary of what I can remember:

• Put crossings in places people want to cross. This applies particularly to the zebra down by the Plain. Move/ditch some of the traffic islands which make it difficult for buses to get through.


• Stop people parking too close to junctions. Mark out proper bays where people can park.


• More cycle lanes/signs warning motorists to watch out for bikes.


• Impose 20mph speed limit. (Hardly relevant in the day at present, but people go along like bats out of hell at night)


• Put the bus stops closer to the places people want to go - like Tescos - and make them long enough for more than one bus at once.


• Widen pavements where possible, and make sure bike racks don't block pavements.

All pretty common-sense stuff, you'd think. There's also a plan to have some form of symbolic 'gateway', to be decided with local artists, at either end of the main shopping part of the road. This is supposed to make motorists more aware that they're entering an area of a slightly different nature. I'm imagining them doing something similar in principle to the big gateways at either end of Mumblemumble Street (Gerard ?) in Chinatown in Soho. I rather like this idea. Cowley Rd is a good place, and I think it should be celebrated.

I was planning to recommend everyone go to http://www.eastoxford.com and have a look at the plans, but it appears that that site has expired :( Have a look if you're on Cowley Rd, though.


Oh, and Joe Jackson is great. I sporadically forget this, but am currently remembering.

Comments

[smiorgan.livejournal.com]

Cycle lanes? No way. Cycle lanes turn responsible motorists into sanctemoneous wankers. And they get parked on by the kind of wanker who thinks hazard lights are a sign that "I am about to make an illegal manoever".

Cycle signs? Better idea - especially ones that read "coppers cycle up and down this road, day and night".

As for the rest of it - signs that say "vehicles left here will be clamped" for those spots where the buses pass the traffic islands would be a good thing, except for the fact that if you clamp an offending vehicle, it then obstructs the bus. Better to have a bylaw that allows pedestrians to vandalise stupidly parked vehicles. Maybe with council-provided baseball bats. Perhaps the Mayor could inaugurate the scheme by bringing a gold-painted bat to the windscreen of a badly paked, bodykitted BMW with furry dice and a jeweled tissue box on the parcel shelf.

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

I think the candidate for East Oxford has some competition...

[narenek.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the blue underlighting (though this may not be evident in a parked car).

[venta.livejournal.com]

I saw a little red metro with a red strip light underneath, the other day. neilh tells me such things are called cruise lights.

[narenek.livejournal.com]

Just because they have a name, doesn't make them any less Wrong.