The question of improvements to the environment of Oxford city centre appears to have descended into a tit-for-tat between the county council and the bus companies over whose ideas can deliver the quickest results.
At the same time, there is no question that the bus companies are not the only ones worried about the feasibility of the county council’s plan to take the bus stops out of Queen Street this year.
There are legitimate fears about the congestion that will be caused.
Most of us want to see a comprehensive scheme to improve the environment in the centre of Oxford.
We remember only too well the implementation of the original Oxford Transport Strategy which went nowhere near as far as the scheme intended, which was beset by long delays to many of the environmental improvements and which ultimately led to an increase in buses and a worsening of the environment in some key areas.
With the bus companies and the county council now both supporting the idea of a quality partnership, there should be a constructive way forward that will achieve the improvements we all seek.
We only hope that the lessons of the OTS have been learnt and that we do not get left with half-measures and delays that simply move the congestion and pollution from one place to another.
One suspects it will take a leap from both the bus companies and the county council if this is to be achieved.
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