A trial to stop most drivers in Oxford from using busy city routes at peak times has been approved by the county council.
In a statement, Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for highways management, said: “Currently, our roads are gridlocked with traffic, and this traffic is damaging our economy and our environment. Oxford needs a more sustainable, reliable, and inclusive transport system for everyone. Traffic filters are an important tool to deliver a transport plan that works for all.
“Traffic filters are designed to deliver a safer, cleaner, and more prosperous place to live, work, and visit,” he said.
“This is not a scheme to stop private vehicles in the city. Exemptions and permits available for residents and businesses will make car journeys faster while also improving alternative transport options such as public transport,” added Gant.
Penalty of £70
The plan will be introduced under an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) from summer 2023 for a minimum of six months and under the scheme private cars will not be allowed without a permit.But all other vehicles including buses, coaches, taxis, vans, mopeds, motorbikes, and HGVs will be allowed at all times.
Traffic filters will be used to stop drivers without permits from using busy routes at peak times, operating seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the scheme enforced during operating hours using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
Day passes will be available for residents of Oxford and some areas to the immediate west of the city, so that vehicle owners can travel through all of the traffic filters for up to 100 days per year, equating to an average of two days per week.
‘Suicidal Experiment’
Environmentalism skeptic Ben Pile, co-founder of the Climate Resistance blog, told The Epoch Times in a statement by email, “What the significantly green, leftoid [sic], woke, Remain, and wealthy Oxford is discovering is that there are no drop-in replacements for the things its industries, small businesses, and lifestyles have depended on.”He said that “Oxford has chosen itself to be the subject of a suicidal experiment,” adding that “everyone I speak to hates it.”
“Each of them tells me about businesses that have closed, or how divisive its green schemes are,” he said.
‘Restriction and Control’
Lois Perry, director of Car26, an organisation that is campaigning for a referendum on net zero and a pause in carbon-related regulations, told The Epoch Times that she believes the Oxford scheme is “a climate lockdown by default.”“We think that this is one small step toward just complete dystopia, using climate and net zero as an excuse as per usual. When rules and regulations are brought in to restrict people, they never actually use the real reason to start off. It’s always public health, or in this case, saving the planet,” she said.
“This is all about restriction and control,” said Perry.
“If you have got a young mum who wants to get her kid to school and it happens to be in a different zone to the one she is in, she would have to go outside the city, go round the circular site outside to drive into the kid’s nursery adding, what, an hour to her journey.”
Perry believes people are just “going to stay at home.”
“The official analysis of the scheme found that it will mean 35 percent less traffic, road casualties down 9 percent, rush hour buses running 15 percent quicker and air pollution down at 91 percent of locations. This will save lives and make our city more pleasant now and for future generations,” said Plummer.
An Oxfordshire County Council spokesman told The Epoch Times by email: “Traffic filters are designed to reduce traffic levels across the city, making bus journeys quicker and more reliable and walking and cycling safer and more attractive.”
“Traffic filters have been part of Oxford’s Transport Strategy since 2015, and are a key tool to reduce traffic congestion in Oxford,” he added.
