Drivers who flout the traffic ban in Oxford city centre are to be targeted in a new crackdown.

The number of motorists ignoring the High Street ban - once estimated at more than 900 a day - dropped by a third when a camera was installed last year.

But there are fears that the figure is rising again.

Now the county council is planning to put another camera in High Street, instal rising barriers in Cornmarket Street, Broad Street and George Street and redesign road and junction layouts.

The Oxford Transport Strategy introduced in 1999 banned cars from High Street and other parts of the city centre between 7.30am and 6.30pm. The route is still open to buses and taxis.

When cameras were used to enforce the ban in High Street last year, police issued on-the-spot fines and warnings.

But council officers say drivers are still breaking the law by:

**Driving through the High Street bus gate in both directions

**Turning left from High Street into Longwall Street

**Driving through George Street

**Driving through the closed end of Broad Street

**Driving through Cornmarket Street, which is now pedestrianised.

Officers plan to put a new camera in the High Street bus gate.

Green county councillor Sushila Dhall, who called for more effective policing of the streets at a meeting of the highways and road safety sub-committee, said: "The problem is getting worse.

"Drivers who feel hard done by are being pigheaded and ignoring the Oxford Transport Strategy. They feel misunderstood and think it is their right to drive where they like. What they are forgetting is that the OTS has made conditions much better for cyclists and pedestrians.

"People are getting away with driving along High Street without fear of reprisal. Word gets around and the problem is spreading. We need to liaise again with the police over this."

Eddie Luck, the county council's assistant director of transport, said latest figures on the number of daily offences in High Street were not available but the problem was being addressed.

He added: "The new Transport Act includes provision for local authorities to enforce bus lane restrictions, so we now want to put cameras in the bus gate, hopefully later this year.

"This will enable us to enforce the restriction ourselves, without the help of the police, and we can then issue a fixed penalty ticket with on-street car parking.

"We are also planning to put rising bollards in Cornmarket Street, Broad Street and George Street to prevent abuse."