Oxfordshire councillor Charlie Hicks denies Cowley traffic chaos caused by LTNS

Severe traffic was reported on Cowley Road today, with Oxford Bus Company tweeting at 5pm that buses using the route were experiencing delays of up to 1 hour.

Labour and Co-operative party councillor Charlie Hicks, who represents Cowley, took to Twitter to counter claims that the traffic build-up was due to bollards for the new East Oxford Low Traffic Neighbourhoods being installed.

LIVE UPDATES: Traffic 'gridlocked' and severe delays on Cowley Road

Twitter. May 20, 5pm

He said, in response to the Oxford Mail's live traffic blog: "Correlation ≠ causation. Roads all over Oxford are gridlocked every day. Come on OM.

Nine business owners interviewed on the Cowley Road felt that traffic had been exceptionally busy, with two suggesting it was just as bad as normal. 

Khalid Atlasi, 33, who lives on Cowley Road said: “Today is the worst day for traffic I’ve seen. Cowley Road is the main route to the centre, so it’s normally busy, but today traffic hasn’t been moving.

The LTNs, which are in the Divinity Road, St Clement’s, and St Mary’s areas, were consulted on between March and June 2021 and work installing them finished today.

The divisive trial Oxfordshire County Council scheme was approved in December. 

Here’s how to solve congestion. More people need to take a mode of transport that takes up less space than a car

Single occupancy car use is the cause of congestion 🚗🚙🚗🚙🚗

See how much space it takes to move the same number of people👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/XnJICBGs4M

— Cllr Charlie Hicks (@Charlie_Hicks_) May 20, 2022

A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said: "We understand that traffic may be moving more slowly in some parts of the city today and this is likely to be down to a number of factors, including ongoing road repairs, and the implementation of new LTN areas in east Oxford.

"We thank residents for their patience while these works are carried out, and while road users get used to the LTN measures. For help planning your journey ahead of time you can visit one.network or check on @OxonTravel on twitter."

Read more from this author

This story was written by Shosha Adie. 

She joined the team in 2022 as a digital reporter.   

To get in touch with her email: Shosha.Adie@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter: @ShoshaAdie

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