Oxford council staff face threats after traffic scheme misinformation

Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council have issued a joint statement clarifying plans to introduce six traffic filters in the city after staff and councillors suffered “extreme and threatening abuse”.

The councils said the abuse was the result of “inaccurate information being circulated online” which suggested that the filters would result in physical barriers being erected and residents being confined to their local areas.

Viral claims linked the traffic filters to the 15-minute neighbourhoods proposal in the City Council’s Local Plan 2040, wrongly suggesting that the measures would see parts of the city cut off from each other under a ‘climate lockdown’ and that residents would have to ask the council for permission to travel from one area of the city to another.

The misinformation has resulted in council staff receiving threatening and abusive calls and social media messages from residents – some of which were referred to the police.

In a statement, the councils clarified that the traffic filters “will not be physical barriers of any kind and will not be physical road closures. They are simply traffic cameras that can read number plates.”

The trial scheme, set to be introduced in 2024, will see motorists fined £75 (US$91.85) if they pass through a filter at certain times of the day.

Residents of the affected areas can apply for permits allowing them to pass through the filters up to 100 days a year, and there will be exemptions for buses, taxis, Blue Badge holders, emergency services, health workers and people receiving frequent hospital treatments.

The council says the purpose of the scheme is to cut unnecessary journeys and make walking, cycling, and public and shared transport the natural first choice.

The 15-minute neighbourhoods proposal aims to ensure that every resident has all the essentials such as shops, healthcare and parks within a 15-minute walk of their home.

“They aim to support and add services, not restrict them,” the statement said.

Misinformation

“Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation about the traffic filters scheme being spread by different sources,” a spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council told Cities Today.

“The scheme has been designed following extensive engagement and feedback from businesses, residents and other organisations in Oxfordshire.

“Since February 2022, the County Council, in partnership with Oxford City Council, has engaged with more than a hundred local businesses, business associations and community groups including bus companies, hospitals, schools and universities and refined the proposals based on this engagement process.”

The concept of traffic filters was first introduced in 2015 in the Oxford Transport Strategy, and then consulted on in 2019 before being updated in February 2022.

The County Council then carried out a public consultation between 5 September and 13 October 2022 to better understand the impacts of the proposals, receiving 5,700 responses and a further 485 emails from members of the public and organisations.

It said the responses were analysed by an independent research company, and key changes to the scheme were made following this feedback – including the introduction of 100 day passes for each resident and reductions in the hours of operation of some of the filters.

Concerns

However, some businesses have complained that they were not properly consulted about the scheme, and argued that the restrictions would lead to a reduction in customers.

A GoFundMe appeal has been launched with the aim of raising between £50,000 and £80,000 to mount a legal challenge against the scheme.

It has so far raised £47,438 and is being led by hospitality group The Oxford Collection, along with the Oxford Business Action Group, Oxford High Street Association, ROX (Backing Oxford Business), Reconnecting Oxford, Jericho Traders, and Summertown Traders.

Speaking last month, the Oxford Collection’s founder and managing director Jeremy Mogford said: ”We have no qualms with the county council proposing new and dynamic ways to transform the city of Oxford, but this cannot be undertaken without necessary collaboration with all types of parties affected by such a scheme.

“All we ask for is something that is practical, sensible and balanced.”

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