Cowley's low traffic scheme leaves streets 'quieter and safer'

The Cowley LTN scheme, approved for a six-month trial by Oxfordshire County Council, is the first of its kind in the city or the county.

In LTNs, bollards or planters are used to turn through-roads into cul-de-sacs to deter drivers from rat running, and the first of these traffic filters have now been put in place on roads in Cowley.

The rollout began on Monday, March 1, and residents have said they have already started to notice the difference.

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Tim Gustafson, who lives on Kelburne Road near the new Mayfair Road filter, said he had already noticed it was quieter.

Mr Gustafson said: "I am a cyclist, a pedestrian, and also a car driver, so I will be affected by it, but the trade-off of not being able to drive wherever I wish down certain roads is far outweighed by the benefits the scheme has already provided in just the first 24 hours."

The hospital manager said his road was already quieter, and he hoped air pollution levels would fall and safety would be better in the area too.

While the new filters prevent drivers in private cars from cutting through areas, motorists who live on the streets will still be able to enter and exit their streets by following the routes out.

Cyclists and pedestrians will also be able to pass by the bollards, and the council claims emergency service vehicles will also be able to pass.

Planters and bollards are being rolled out across Cowley to create low traffic neighbourhoods. Pictured is Paula Dunne, Charlie Hicks and Tim Gustafson on his bike. Picture: Ed Nix

The proposals were championed by Cowley's county councillor, John Sanders, who suggested Oxford's first LTNs for the area last year when Government cash for active travel projects became available.

A survey by the county council found the majority of Cowley residents were in favour of the new measures, but Mr Sanders added he had responded personally to more than 150 emails from people concerned about the changes.

He said: "We tend to think about how this affects individuals who live in these areas, but in fact there is a wider issue and that is that Oxford gets more and more traffic each year, and unfortunately we do not get more roads. That means every year the traffic gets more and more clogged up.

"If we think the answer is we need public transport like buses, or that people should leave their cars and cycle we have got to work towards that with various schemes like this and the controlled parking zones."

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He and Charlie Hicks, the Labour county council candidate for Cowley who hopes to step into his shoes, have also been running online awareness raising events about the LTNs.

Mr Hicks added: "It’s important that these LTNs are trialled as experiment, that the County Council delivers a thorough evaluation and consultation, and that residents have their full say on the future of the schemes.

"I am very hopeful that, once the LTNs have been given a chance to bed-in, local people will come to enjoy these changes."

In other parts of the country, there have been worries about LTNs affecting emergency response times, and that they benefit the rich over the poor.

However, recent research has sought to disprove these arguments.

Filter locations

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The LTNs in Cowley have been divided up into three separate areas: Florence Park, Church Cowley and Temple Cowley.

At two of the traffic filters on Cornwallis Road and Bartholomew Road, buses and taxis will also be able to pass through.

Bollards and planters have already been placed in Church Cowley, and when finished they will be on Littlemore Road, Beauchamp Lane, Churchill Road, Mayfair Road, Liddell Road and Bartholomew Road.

The Florence Park LTN will begin operating on March 8, with filters planned for Cornwallis Road, Rymers Lane, Littlehay Road and Clive Road.

And the Temple Cowley LTN will begin operating on March 15, with filters planned for Crescent Road, Junction Road, Salegate Lane and Temple Road.

Web comments

On the Oxford Mail website, comments about the plans has been diverse.

Many have welcomed them, such as Jnoir, who said: "Yes, it'll take me an extra couple of minutes to get out to the ring road but it's 100 per cent a price worth paying. I walk my daughter to school most mornings down Crescent Rd and the number of speeding drivers I see beggars belief, I see many near-misses, often involving pedestrians. This idea that anyone who wants a safer neighbourhood is somehow part of the 'Anti-Car Brigade' is made up nonsense."

A few, like G-mawere not so welcoming.

They claimed: "I live in one of these roads and wasn't asked if i wanted this. I'll now have to drive onto Ozford Road for every journey i make. What happens if there's an issue on that road? Something needed to be done, no question, but one way systems and traffic calming would have been better."

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