About our low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs)
Information about our low traffic neighbourhoods scheme in Cowley and east Oxford.
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About the LTNs
As part of our county-wide Active Travel Strategy (pdf format, 420Kb), we have implemented low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in two locations in Oxford: Cowley and east Oxford.
An LTN is an area where motorised traffic is prevented from taking shortcuts through a residential area, using physical closures formed of planters and bollards. This creates quieter and safer streets where residents may feel more comfortable when making local journeys by cycling, wheeling or on foot.
All roads remain accessible, but drivers may have to find alternative routes instead of cutting through some streets.
The LTN schemes in Cowley and east Oxford were implemented through experimental traffic regulation orders (ETRO), following public consultation. ETROs are used when it is difficult to assess the impacts of a scheme beforehand, but the cost of implementation is relatively low.
The experimental phase allowed residents, businesses and other interested parties to see for themselves the impact of the scheme in their neighbourhood, and the council to monitor traffic flows, air quality, changes in people’s perception, and shifts in their mode of travel.
Where are we now?
Following an 18-month trial, the county council’s cabinet made a decision in the meeting on 19 July 2022 that the Cowley low traffic neighbourhoods would remain in place.
The council committed to undertake additional community and stakeholder engagement to further refine the scheme, and this included a consultation on the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in spring 2023.
The experimental trial of the east Oxford low-traffic neighbourhoods ran from May 2022 to November 2023. An informal public consultation on the scheme (for the ETRO) was open from 20 May until 30 November 2022, followed by a formal consultation between 5 June and 20 July 2023 (for the TRO). The county council’s cabinet decided at a meeting on 17 October 2023 that the east Oxford LTNs would remain.
Cabinet also approved the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in three locations, the addition of a closure to through traffic at Jeune Street, the investigation of measures to improve bus journey times and other local improvements.
The use of ANPR cameras in place of selected physical closures was consulted on for the Cowley and east Oxford LTNs. Both areas will have ANPR cameras installed in a small number of locations next year.
Locations
East Oxford LTNs are in Divinity Road, St Clement's, and St Mary's areas.
Cowley LTNs are in Temple Cowley, Church Cowley, and Florence Park areas.
Costs
The costs associated with the installation and maintenance of the LTNs is included within the Active Travel tranche 2 city schemes budget. This included the LTNs and the design and construction of the quickways cycle routes. It is not possible to split out the costs accurately between the LTNs and the quickways. The Active Travel tranche 2 spending in fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (which includes the LTNs and the quickways cycle routes) is as below:
| Year | Cost |
|---|---|
| 2020 | £64,005 |
| 2021 | £588,442 |
| 2022 | £2,572,156 |
| 2023 | £479752 |
| 2024 | current year to date £194,724 |
| Total | £3,899,079 |
ANPR costs (2024, funded through parking and enforcement spending) £220, 734
Note that 2022 was the main year for implementation, so includes a greater spend for construction costs. The large proportion of current costs associated with LTNs relates to staff time (responding to freedom of information requests and correspondence etc), scheme monitoring/reporting and repairing damaged and vandalised infrastructure.