Traffic measures causing ‘exasperatingly’ slow journeys and gridlock in Oxford, report claimsOnly “the most physically infirm” would consider taking “exasperatingly” slow bus journeys in Oxford because low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) have caused “chronic” gridlock on some roads, a report has claimed. Three coach companies say LTNs in east Oxford have severely “jeopardised” public transport, forcing some passengers to abandon buses because services have been so badly affected by congestion from road closures.A joint report by Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel and Stagecoach West revealed that journeys can now be “so long as to be entirely exasperating”, with some routes “slower than a comfortable walking speed”.The file, submitted to Oxfordshire county council before a key vote on Tuesday about LTNs, gives the fullest insight yet into the effects LTNs can have on bus services.The county council set up six LTNs with £3 million from the Government.But, the 18-page report brands three east Oxford LTNs as a “failure in almost all respects” and says that plans for the “UK’s most ambitious zero emission” bus fleet have been plunged into doubt.It even suggests any increase seen in walking may be down to maximum bus travel times almost doubling.“It is actually quicker on many occasions to walk into the city centre, so slowly does the bus progress,” the report adds, explaining how LTNs are “clearly detrimental” to the “many bus passengers who are unable to walk long distances".The dossier insists that “the effects of the LTN have been entirely detrimental to bus operations”.It continues: “In certain cases, especially after 2pm, a local bus journey in parts of east Oxford today takes so long to achieve that it is not a credibly relevant choice to any but the most infirm.”They say the council has left “the county in the very uncomfortable position that they have directly caused bus services across the bulk of Oxford to become substantially slower”.While they accept cycling has increased, they fear that “the vast majority of drivers consider that there is no realistic alternative than to maintain their current behaviour” and drive.“If the intention of the measures was to reduce the impact of car traffic on mobility and the public realm, it must surely be judged to have failed, and seriously so,” it concludes.The report criticises the council for ploughing ahead at “great speed” for the “near-complete removal of motorised traffic from inner areas of the city” but “with no material consideration of likely wider effects”.The bus operators also reveal how their warnings of “deep concerns” were dismissed as “teething problems”.Cllr Liam Walker, the Conservative shadow cabinet member for transport, said the council had made a “complete mess” of the policy and caused “misery”. A council spokesman said new traffic filters would be introduced to “alleviate congestion, make bus journeys faster and more reliable, and to enable new and improved routes”.
Michael Good ● 1069d