Cycle safari to Florence Park Estate

​The cycle safari ran in the morning and afternoon of the Like Riding a Bike conference, taking participants by bicycle to the highlights of the proposed Florence Park Mini Holland. The aim of the workshop was to discuss practical elements of liveable neighbourhoods for ages 9 to 90. The ride was guided by professional cycle leaders on a quiet route and attracted eight participants in the morning and twelve in the afternoon, fortunately the weather was kind to us. 

​​On arrival to Florence Park, the group was greeted by local residents and members of Oxfordshire Liveable Streets (OLS) to look at road junctions and areas where change was being proposed to deliver a low traffic neighbourhood. Participants discussed a report created by OLS looking at solutions for modal filters, gateway junctions and public realm enhancements, each ranked by low cost, medium cost and high cost options. Local resident and architect, Joelle Darby had prepared illustrations to help participants visualise how the future layouts could look and feel.

The cycle safari was part of the Oxford Mini Holland Weekend, a celebration of the remarkable changes put into place in Waltham Forest, London. There, several 0.5 to 1.0 square kilometre areas have been converted into no-through-traffic zones. Residential street junctions into larger roads have been narrowed, making it much, much easier for people to negotiate on foot and with a pram, scooter, wheelchair or cycle. The net effect of these changes is to create a welcoming environment for people — an environment where people feel safe to leave the car at home. 
 
We hope that the event has inspired people to think about how their residential areas could be made more ‘liveable’ and motivated them to do something about it