LTN bollards have been removed from ELEVEN Oxford streets.
Bollards have been removed at Bullingdon Road, Magdalen Road, Leopold Street, Divinity Road and Southfield Road in East Oxford.
They have also been removed at Junction Road, Crescent Road, Temple Road, Clive Road, Crowell Road and Beauchamp Lane in Temple Cowley.
READ MORE: Angry mums despair as driver steals LTN bollard in Oxford
Oxfordshire County Council is replacing them with metal plates embedded in concrete.
A council spokesperson said this was a safety measure while bollards are being repaired or replaced.
The metal plate makes the site safe while there is no bollard there – by covering any damaged fixings.
A resident said: "LTNs have disappeared from both East Oxford and Temple Cowley where the LTNs are permanent and some have metal plates."
However, he said he saw "pro-LTNs" subsituting cones for the missing bollards.
"Magdalen Road, Divinity Road and Southfield Road has tons of cones, some with bike locks," he said.
"It must be done by pro LTNs but the problem is it will delay emergency services to get out of their vehicles and mess around wasting more time trying to remove all these cones which can cost someone their lives, as every second counts."
A council spokesperson said: "We are responding to reports of tampering with traffic filters for the trial east Oxford LTNs.
"We are focusing on replacing bollards where they have been damaged or removed.
"The damage is obviously something we take very seriously, as it presents a significant safety risk to road users, pedestrians and cyclists alike, and can impede emergency services access.
"We remain committed to making safe and reinstating damaged filters, each time at significant cost to the tax payer."
In November 2022 the council said it had spent £72,000 repairing vandalised plastic bollards in Divinity Road, St Clement's and St Mary's in East Oxford.
The LTNs were installed in May 2022.
The cost of repairs, therefore, equated to about £14,525 per month.
There were 59 vandalism incidents in which damaged bollards were replaced after being reported to the council, with 44 of these reported to police.
The authority said it had decided to spend £100,000 to replace the plastic bollards with steel ones to prevent further damage.
But installation would take up to 12 weeks during which they could be more attacks.
Yesterday the council confirmed it has allocated £100,000 to replace missing and vandalised bollards and said it aimed to install 'more robust' bollards in the next four to six weeks in East Oxford.
A council spokesperson said: "Our contractors have installed base plates where bollards are currently missing for safety reasons.
"These bollards are missing due to vandalism. We are currently working with our suppliers to source more robust bollards.
"The new bollards and locks will be harder to vandalise which is crucial for easy and safe access by emergency services.
"We aim to install new bollards within the next four to six weeks in the East Oxford Low Traffic Neighbourhood areas.
"The emergency services are regularly kept updated."
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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris
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