Residents are becoming increasingly frustrated by the disruption caused by the installation of new LTN bollards.

Oxfordshire County Council are currently replacing LTN bollards across all sites in the Cowley and east Oxford area.

Plastic bollards are set to be upgraded to lockable timber ones.

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Yesterday, LTN barriers in the Church Hill Road area were removed less than 24 hours after they were first installed.  

A council spokeswoman explained that it was council contractors who had removed the bollards and that they had only been put there temporarily.

She said in a statement: “The fixings for the bollard have been installed today and once the cement sets fully for those, the tarmac layer can come off and the bollard can be put in properly.

Oxford Mail:

“The site engineers would have put the bollard in position temporarily to make sure that it was in the right place and fitted in the fixings correctly before setting the fixings in place with the cement.

“The bollard can’t go in until the cement has fully set to avoid the fixings being dislodged when the bollard goes in.”

One Church Hill Road resident was concerned that the new bollards had been stolen.

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This comes following several reports of vandalism of the LTN barriers since their initial installation last year.

He said: “I am getting increasingly frustrated with this ongoing saga.

“Less than 24 hours after the new timber LTN bollard was installed it appears someone has come along, unlocked and removed and stolen the bollard and crudely put tarmac in the hole.

The resident was also raised concerns about the lack of continuity with the implementation of the LTN restrictions.

Oxford Mail:

He added: “I’m fairly neutral on whether the LTNs are a good or bad thing but if you have something in place, it should be in place.

“It is extremely stressful when the restrictions are there one month and not there the next.

“People have already tried to drive through the area where the bollards were.

“It is a ridiculous situation.”

Oxfordshire County Council provided a general statement on the replacement of plastic bollards for timber ones.

A council spokesperson said: “Please be aware that from 13 March we are replacing LTN bollards at all sites in east Oxford and Cowley.

“This involves removing the existing plastic bollards, preparing the site with new sockets and allowing for these to set in place before installing timber bollards.

“This will mean a slight delay between the installation of the new sockets and installation of the bollards.

“The LTN traffic restrictions remain in place during the short period while there is not a bollard in place on the site.”