Paul Troop
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paultroop.bsky.social
Paul Troop
@paultroop.bsky.social
Academic, barrister, builder, campaigner. Rides bikes from A to B where possible.

Founder and Secretary, Bicester Bike Users' Group
June 1, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Was asbestos in the building, and has the advice for residents to stay indoors until further notice been lifted?
May 16, 2025 at 6:42 AM
In a pressure cooker?
May 13, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Is that millions? Or €2.8 per person who cycles a km? Or something else?
March 11, 2025 at 3:49 PM
The 'Class Sketch'
March 7, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Looking at it again there are two obvious issues: both parallel crossings are the wrong way round (cyclists should be closer to the junction) and there is curious mix of segregated and shared (better to make more shared).
March 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
From the designers...
March 3, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Overall, a curate's egg. Much better than it would have been, but significantly worse than it could have been, despite a massive lobbying effort from us. This was mainly due to being a legacy project from the former Conservative administration, picked up late by the new 'Rainbow' OCC coalition.
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Another issue that was not addressed, despite being reassured that it would be, was the sharpness of the exit slip lanes. These are quite oblique, requiring cyclists leaving the highway to slow down in the teeth of the traffic, rather than on the slip lane. So frustrating!
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
The while lines are already trapping water against the gradient, this will freeze, it will not be gritted, and it will be a serious slip hazard.
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
A massive bug-bear is the use of non #LTN1/20 compliant path separation. Despite raising this with the designers and #OCC repeatedly, we were left with painted white line separation. The justification was claimed to be that 200m of Cambridge Kerb would cost £500,000 to install!
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Instead, we get a narrow coloured area marking the edge of the path. Fine for adult cyclists, but troubling if you are a parent cycling with vulnerable young children. Another issue is that the coloured area obscures the kerb, such that a partially sighted user might not be aware of the kerb.
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Another massive frustration was the lack of buffers or horizontal separation between the paths and the highway. Again, these were removed for cost cutting, but never reinstated despite OCC subsequently approving more funding: www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2459124...
Extra £1.3m approved by council for roundabout project
An extra £1.3 million in funding has been approved by Oxfordshire County Council for the Banbury Road Roundabout improvement project in Bicester.
www.oxfordmail.co.uk
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Not so good is the unholy mix of shared and segregated provision which we were told was unavoidable due to lack of space. Unavoidable? Judge for yourself...
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
We lobbied hard for small improvements, such as access to the public right of way having smooth corners suitable for cyclists and this was delivered.
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Another good point is that cyclists can make both crossings in a single movement while pedestrians are making a single crossing. This will vastly expedite cycle crossings and make them as quick as a vehicle movement.
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
A positive point is that thanks to @andrewgant.bsky.social 's intervention, the pedestrian and cycle paths orientations are of an orthodox Dutch arrangement with bikes staying closest to the vehicles. This avoids a massive amount of unnecessary conflict envisaged under the previous #CYCLOPS design.
March 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM