A community group has argued that the Botley Road closure is a useful opportunity for the council to reassess its traffic reduction policies.

Oxford Civic Society describes itself as ‘an independent voice for Oxford’ and aims to improve the city for its residents.

Botley Road closed at the rail bridge today (April 11) and is due to remain shut to all vehicles until October this year.

READ MORE: Botley Road closed in Oxford: What traders and residents think

The closure is part of a multi-million-pound project to redevelop Oxford railway station.

The group claim that the closure is an opportunity for Oxfordshire County Council to achieve a more consensual approach to traffic reduction.

The council has introduced a number of measures to reduce traffic in Oxford in recent months including the controversial Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme or LTNs.

LTN bollards have been put in place in East Oxford and Cowley that are intended to prevent motor vehicles from taking shortcuts down residential streets.

OCS Chair Ian Green said “The closure of Botley Road to all but pedestrians and cyclists is likely to cause immense disruption not just locally but also by displacing traffic to other routes into the city.

“It has also raised legitimate concerns about access for emergency vehicles. 

“We hope that all this will be carefully monitored to see whether the second closure planned for 2024 might be managed differently.

Oxford Mail:

“But we also believe that the closure presents the County Council with an unexpected opportunity to revisit and improve its own traffic plans as well as to explain them better to the public.

“Oxford Civic Society supports the intention to reduce traffic in the city centre, but is concerned that the County Council’s proposals have not yet been presented in a way that makes them acceptable to residents.

“In particular, we feel that there needs to be more public discussion about how the experimental traffic filters will be monitored and evaluated.

“It is essential that the impact of the proposed measures is comprehensively assessed relative to their projected benefits.

“Modelling can only go so far - solid evidence during a trial period provides a better foundation.

“As yet the County Council has said little about how this evidence will be gathered and processed, which some have taken to mean that it will be an experiment in name only.  

“With that in mind, OCS has written to County Councillors Leffman, Enright and Gant offering the help of our Transport Group in designing the monitoring and evaluation arrangements.

“We have also offered to provide a forum for non-partisan public discussion – something which, as an independent, non-political organisation, we feel well-placed to do.”

Oxford County Council was contacted for comment in relation to these claims. 

A council spokesperson said: "The traffic filters will be implemented as a trial, as part of an experimental traffic regulation order, after works to improve Oxford Station are completed by Network Rail in late 2024.

"To support the trial, there will be a six-month consultation where anyone will be able to give their views on how the filters are working.

"A monitoring framework provides the basis for monitoring and evaluating the effects of the trial, including changes in traffic levels, bus journey times and reliability, road collisions and air quality.

"The council will publish its full monitoring and evaluation plan at an appropriate time.

"During the trial, the monitoring data will be published as soon as possible so respondents will be able to draw on both measured data and their own experiences when giving views on the scheme.

"This will help us to understand the impact of the filters in real time so we can adapt our plans during the trial, where needed, and, together with consultation outcomes, this will help inform the decision on whether to continue with them."