Update August 2022: Disgraceful & undemocratic Cowley & East Oxford LTN decisions: In late July 2022, the Oxfordshire County Council’s “cabinet” decided to make the Cowley LTNs “permanent”, despite widespread opposition from residents in the Consultation & Council data showing the LTNs had evidently failed & increased congestion & pollution. This decision paves the way for bollards and boxes to be replaced by more solid roadblocks and / or with ANPR camera enforcement. After the East Oxford LTNs were also forced through undemocratically in late May 2022, this has further compounded the mass gridlock & pollution everyone is experiencing in & around East Oxford.
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Update October 2022: Help Fight Back & Support Our Legal Challenge: After waiting weeks (without any response) for an internal review of the Cowley LTN approval decision, we joined forces with other anti-road-closure campaign groups & launched a legal crowdsourcing fundraising campaign in late August. The main aim of this fundraising is to challenge the Cowley LTN approval decision through the courts:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-road-closures-in-oxford So please consider donating to our crowdsourcing campaign via the link below – even £10 can make a difference. |
UPDATE 2nd Feb 2022: If you have not heard the news, the Oxfordshire County Council released the results Cowley & Littlemore LTN Consultation that was running for nearly a year, and we have again comprehensively & democratically won. As the Oxford Mail www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19894407.majority-residents-businesses-object-cowley-ltns-consultation-reveals/ & BBC Local News recently reported, the official Cowley LTN consultation results were a landslide vote against the LTNs by residents & businesses. The results are displayed in the graphic to the right & below. Any self-respecting democratic Council would have now listened to the vast majority view of local residents and businesses and remove these harmful & polluting LTNs, plus cease any proposals for further LTNs. We wanted to say a big Thank You to everybody that supported and joined the campaign. |
Oxfordshire County Council are now undertaking consultation on its LTN (Low Traffic Neighbourhood) Road Closures around Cowley & Littlemore. 3 LTNs have been implemented: one in Florence Park, one in Temple Cowley and another in Church Cowley. The road closures will operate 24/7/365 with most private vehicles blocked off. A separate scheme, to close Cowley Road to all private vehicles, is also planned – further isolating Cowley from the rest of the city.
We have been inundated with messages from residents opposed to the LTNs. The LTNs are already causing total traffic chaos around Cowley, and will cause increased congestion & pollution combined with increased journey times for all of us. When the economy fully reopens - the traffic will be even worse - and one accident, roadworks, lane closed, etc... with the LTNs will result in total gridlock for the whole Cowley area.
If you, or anyone you know, will be badly hit by the proposals, it is vital that you have your say. The Council needs to understand the impact the LTNs would have on residents, workers, businesses and visitors – everyone who is vital the success of our connected city.
We have been inundated with messages from residents opposed to the LTNs. The LTNs are already causing total traffic chaos around Cowley, and will cause increased congestion & pollution combined with increased journey times for all of us. When the economy fully reopens - the traffic will be even worse - and one accident, roadworks, lane closed, etc... with the LTNs will result in total gridlock for the whole Cowley area.
If you, or anyone you know, will be badly hit by the proposals, it is vital that you have your say. The Council needs to understand the impact the LTNs would have on residents, workers, businesses and visitors – everyone who is vital the success of our connected city.
FILL IN THE CONSULTATION
Every consultation response matters. You can quickly take part in the one-page consultation online. The consultation can be found on Oxfordshire County Council’s website by searching for “Oxfordshire County Council Cowley LTN consultation”.
Click Here: https://consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/Cowley_ExperimentalLowTraffic/consultationHome
this Consultation site has now been replaced with https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cowleyltn2021
FILL IN THE PETITIONS
There are 2 official petitions to remove the Cowley & Littlemore LTNs which thousands of residents have signed:
https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/end-traffic-barriers-in-littlemore-and-cowley
https://www.change.org/p/oxfordshire-county-council-remove-the-low-traffic-neighborhood-road-closures-in-oxford-cb5d7e8d-478c-4b4d-ad66-25a626e3e25d
A COMMUNITY DIVIDED, WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
- Bad for communities: the LTN road closures will artificially divide the Cowley community, cutting residents off from their friends, families, carers and places of work, education and religion. It will also blight the lives of many of the most vulnerable members of our community who depend on their cars to maintain their independence – including those with disabilities and the elderly.
- Bad for the environment: all traffic will be displaced onto the busier main roads and junctions, increasing congestion throughout Cowley. More congestion and road blocks mean longer journey times - including for buses and emergency vehicles - cars idling longer, and increased pollution. The LTNs also risk health inequality for those living on boundary roads. LTN should stand for ‘Local Traffic Nightmare’.
- Bad for business: as we come out of one of the deepest recessions in this country’s history, Oxfordshire County & Oxford City Council should be making it easier for local businesses to operate, and for customers to visit them – not putting up barriers to stop them (literally).
The impact of the Cowley LTN road closures will be made even worse if Cowley Road, and also Warneford Lane, are closed to all private vehicles – which the council also plans to do, as part of a separate road closure scheme.
We are opposed to the LTNs because we believe they will increase pollution and congestion – not cut it. LTNs around the country have already proved to be disastrous failures, facing huge backlashes from local residents. Many LTNs, including those in Wandsworth and Redbridge and Ealing, have already been ripped out.
There is a better way to improve the traffic challenges in East Oxford, which should come from local residents themselves – not be imposed on them.