A county council ‘fact checker’ for traffic filters has been described as “patronising” by an Oxfordshire councillor.
A trial of traffic filters on six roads in Oxford is planned once the Botley Road works, which are due to finish in October, are completed.
These roads include St Cross Road, Thames Street, St Clements, Hythe Bridge Street, Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way.
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An Oxford Mail investigation in March found that detailed traffic modelling was not released when the county council asked the public for their views on the filters and was only released after the consultation had taken place.
Conservative and county councillor Liam Walker has since described the council’s explanation for not releasing this data as “patronising”.
On the council’s website, it states: “The decision was taken to only provide accessible summary information during the consultation because providing too much technical detail can be overwhelming and reduce the number of responses.
“And for an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO), the main opportunity for people to gauge any impacts and give their views is during the six-month consultation period once the trial has started.”
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The detailed modelling which was not released showed that traffic is set to increase on A4144 Woodstock Road by 62.4 per cent at peak times in the morning and the proposed gate on Marston Ferry Road will not improve bus journey times.
Mr Walker said: “The revelation that the council didn’t release crucial traffic data during the consultation highlights what a sham the consultation on bus gates in Oxford was.
“Now we have this patronising statement defending this decision as they believed the technical information might be ‘overwhelming’ to residents.”
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Mr Walker said the council should be releasing as much information as possible on such “major schemes” and he urged the council to “leave it up to residents to decide what may or may not be overwhelming”.
The council emphasises on its website that the information provided during the 2022 traffic filter consultation was “sufficient” and it is stated that it complied with the Gunning Principles.
A statement from the group Concerned Oxford Residents said: “We believe the council’s claim that publishing the modelling would have ‘overwhelmed’ residents is laughable and shows an egregious contempt at odds with democracy.”
However, the county council has maintained that the 2022 traffic filters public consultation and decision-making process to implement a trial was sound.
The traffic filter trial has also been controversial with traders, with many arguing that they will leave “businesses in the brink”.
A county council spokeswoman said: “We want to make sure that the information we provide alongside consultations is accessible for as many people as possible.
“An accessible summary of key information from transport modelling was published alongside a range of supporting information as part of the 2022 traffic filters consultation when it opened on September 5.”
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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times.
He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.
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