OneHeadington
1.5K posts
@OneHeadington
Residents Together. A community standing up for the best interests of Headington - for all residents, visitors, and businesses. Email: [email protected]
Roads chief sorry for congestion charge data errors bbc.in/4uh5IPo
Had to go to Oxford recently to see a client. Managed to get not one but two congestion charge fines. At every turn petty little tyrants in government / local government just try to make your life harder.
The usually very reliable Emma Duncan is wrong to claim in today's times that LTNs have no impact on traffic levels on surrounding roads. The evidence is clear and consistent and shows otherwise. The Government Survey (1): “The available evidence indicates that LTNs are effective in reducing traffic volumes within internal roads. However, results for boundary roads are mixed, with some seeing increases in traffic volumes”. The Centre for London Study (2): “Overall the evidence shows big reductions in car traffic inside LTNs, but a more mixed picture for boundary roads – some seeing increases in traffic and others seeing decreases. How much traffic is displaced onto nearby roads can vary hugely – not only from scheme to scheme but from street to street. In some cases boundary roads have seen big increases in traffic.” The report Possible commissioned Rachel Aldred to do (3): “Of the 412 internal road count sites, 303 (73.5%) saw any decline in motor traffic, compared to 109 (26.5%) which saw any increase. For the 175 boundary road count sites, 83 (47.4%) saw any decline in motor traffic, against 92 (52.6%) which saw an increase”. A trawl through the studies commissioned by local councils which put in LTNs consistently reveals a similar picture: a decrease in traffic within LTNs but an increase on many boundary roads. (1) assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65f400ad… (2) centreforlondon.org/wpcontent/uplo… (3) wearepossible.org/our-reports/ch… thetimes.com/comment/column…
Five months since the Congestion Charge began the council has failed to fulfill its promise to monitor footfall + spend of Oxford's high street businesses. Many small businesses reporting a sudden drop in turnover since it was installed. 18.1% drop in footfall in St Clement's.
