A SERIES OF SCARECROWS (SCARECARS) TO FRIGHTEN OFF ANTICIPATED ADDITIONAL EASTBOUND TRAFFIC CAUSED BY PROPOSED ONE-WAY ADJACENT B-ROAD

PROPANE PATIO HEATER, CLOTHES, DERELICT BICYCLES, STREETLAMPS, CAR

£5

2 DAYS PREP, 6 HOURS SETUP

Halloween provides an irresistable opportunity for Road Witch Trials. This time, we legally closed the street and put this propane heater dressed up as a scarecrow (aka scarecar) in the middle of the road.

The street's lampposts were also decorated to mimic the main scarecar (although these didn't come out in photos).

All the scarecars were facing west, ostensibly to scare off the additional eastbound traffic that Oxfordshire County Council's Highways Department suggests we happily accept as a result of them monkeying around with a nearby problematic intersection. An adjacent B-road will have all of its eastbound traffic thrown on to smaller adjacent streets if the scheme goes through to make the B-road a one-way.

Trick or Treat was a massive success, with hundreds of kids coming from as far away as London.

Only two cars made the point of breaching the road closure (both driven by women) and one delivery van upon whom we took mercy and did not make them do a three-point turn in the middle of a narrow street.

Much of the afternoon was sorting out politics with the Council arriving to remove our 'ROAD CLOSED' signs (although they were perfectly legal---they gave them back cheerily when we assured them we were legit) and a complaint from the Nursing Home at the end of the street, despite the fact that I'm helping their clients campaign to make the road safe for them to walk on, which it is not a the moment.

We got lots of press on this one, including BBC Radio Oxford's Bill Heine show, as well as the radio's news headlines, and coverage in the Oxford newspapers.