A CONTROVERSIAL scheme which has blocked off roads in East Oxford and Cowley has divided the city and unfairly penalised working class people, according to an opponent on the city council.
Oxfordshire County Council introduced a trial of three low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNS) in Cowley in March of last year, with roads blocked to through traffic in Church Cowley, Temple Cowley and Florence Park.
A decision on making the Cowley LTNs permanent was deferred in February after the previous cabinet member for highway management, Tim Bearder, received a large number of emails, expressing anger at the scheme.
READ AGAIN: Cowley LTN decision deferred to full council cabinet
More bollards and planters were last month installed in the Divinity Road, St Clement’s and St Mary’s areas of East Oxford under an experimental traffic regulation order.
A consultation there will run until November 30.
The aim of the scheme is to make neighbourhoods more liveable by preventing ‘rat running’, improving safety for cyclists and cutting air pollution.
But Saj Malik, a city councillor for the Temple Cowley ward, questioned why LTNs hadn’t first been introduced in the north of the city, focussing instead on the east.
He said: “It’s like a divide in the city between the north and the east.
“These schemes would make more sense in North Oxford and Summertown, where the roads are wider.
“Plus, North Oxford is more affluent and people can use public transport, compared to my ward where there are more working class people who might have two or three jobs, and need their vehicle to get around.
“People in North Oxford are intellectual people with secure jobs. In East Oxford, you’ve got all the working class people and carers who need to drive to their jobs.
“It’s a class issue against the most diverse area – all these schemes are always in East Oxford. Why are they not in North Oxford?”
A spokesperson for the county council said there is already provision in the north of the city to prevent through traffic in the form of the North Oxford cycle path, and Walton Street/ Kingston Road – Bainton Road traffic filter.
The spokesperson continued: “The Cowley and East Oxford LTNs were funded by the Active Travel Fund, made available by the Government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and primarily to promote the quickway and quietway cycle routes through them.
“Typically, LTNs are trialled in residential roads that are inappropriately used as through routes.
“East Oxford had multiple through routes, a high number of families with children travelling to school and high levels of air pollution due to the proximity to the eastern bypass.
“LTNs being trialled in these areas therefore have the greatest potential to give households the choice of quiet, safe and convenient local walking and cycling routes.
“Our Local Transport and Connectivity Plan has made clear that there is a wider need for measures to incentivise more active travel (such as cycling and walking), including using a wide variety of interventions to achieve this, and improve access to public transport.
“Encouraging active travel requires a countywide approach and is not specific to individual areas.
“The county council will continue to work with local communities to promote schemes that benefit residents, businesses and visitors to Oxfordshire.”
BREAKING: Oxford City Council warns ‘tough choices’ ahead as services could be cuthttps://t.co/rQmNsR8Sej
— Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) June 29, 2022
The Walton Street closure prior to the pandemic has been regarded as a precursor to the LTNs, with a spokesperson for the Jericho Traders Association saying the central suburb is already an LTN.
“When Walton Street was closed in July 2019 for road works to mend the sinkholes we all expected it to reopen after the work was finished,” the spokesperson said.
“However, Oxfordshire County Council decided to keep Walton Street closed as their first LTN experiment.
“The road closure pitted neighbour against neighbour, damaged the Jericho businesses and funnelled the displaced traffic off the wide thoroughfare of Walton Street onto narrow residential streets such as St Bernard’s Road, Observatory Street and Leckford Road.
“It turned our previously thriving shopping neighbourhood into a backwater overnight.
“Walton Street was closed for a full nine months before Covid was even heard of and during those nine months, a business impact survey was carried out and 82 per cent of Jericho businesses said they had a drop in turnover and footfall as a direct result of the road closure.
“Jericho is already a low traffic neighbourhood due to its limited entry and exit roads.”
On Walton Street, the county council spokesperson said: “The improvements proposed for Walton Street in Jericho were initially progressed before the Government’s active travel funding was launched and involved the closure of a distributor road designed to incentivise walking, cycling and public transport.
“This would have complemented the North Oxford cycle path, which already ran through low traffic streets.
“The measures were largely developed independently of other active travel funded measures and at a cabinet member decision meeting in April 2021, it was decided not to make trial measures in Jericho permanent.”
Last week, firefighters were forced to remove an LTN bollard in order to attend an incident in Cowley.
The fire service was called to Clive Road, but had to cut down a previously damaged bollard to get to the scene. The bollard has since been replaced.
Read more from this author
This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.
Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel