AS RESIDENTS involved in the campaign to reduce through traffic in Highfield, Headington, we must take issue with Cllr Ruth Wilkinson’s recent criticism of MP Andrew Smith (Letters, September 17).

This criticism is completely unjustified.

For the past two-and-a-half years Andrew has worked hard on residents' behalf to persuade the County Council to deliver on their commitment to introduce a traffic management scheme for Highfield.

He has met Highfield residents regularly and has made representations on our behalf through meetings, letters and phone calls to the County Council.

We attended the meeting with the County Council when they offered a commitment to trial road closures in order to gather the evidence needed to design a scheme for Highfield.

We are clear that this commitment was accurately reflected in our MP’s comments to the Press following the meeting.

We have always acknowledged the support which all of our local County and City councillors have given to our campaign.

They have attended meetings, lobbied the Council on our behalf and joined photocalls.

Councillor Wilkinson supported our petition to the County Council in May 2008 in which we urged the Council to “explore different ways of introducing residents-only access” in the Highfield area.

Trial road closures are a good start to that process and we hope our campaign will continue to have the wholehearted support of all our councillors.

PATRICK COULTER, SIMON HUNT, HEATHER FREEMAN-MAY, FRANK McKENNA, SPIKE WILSON, The Highfield Residents’ Association Traffic Group