Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will be used in the trial (Niall Carson/PA)

Traffic filters trial will divert drivers at certain times

By PA Reporters
11:41 - December 16, 2022

Viral posts, including those here and here, claim Oxfordshire County Council is imposing a “climate lockdown” trial in 2024 “to lock residents into one of six zones to ‘save the planet’ from global warming”.

They claimed electronic gates will be placed on key roads in and out of the city, and if residents want to leave a zone they will need permission from the council, will have to provide their car details and will only be allowed to leave their zone a maximum of 100 days per year.

Evaluation: False

Oxfordshire County Council has approved a trial for traffic filters, monitored by automatic number plate recognition cameras, on six main roads to reduce traffic. It is likely to start in early 2024 and will divert drivers to different routes at certain times, with the aim of reducing traffic for buses, cyclists and pedestrians.

Residents will be able to apply for permits to bypass the filters, and there will be some exemptions.

Everyone, including those without passes, will be able to drive to every part of the city at any time – but some drivers will need to take a different route, likely the ring road, at certain times.

The facts

The claims appear to be linked to Oxfordshire County Council’s plans to introduce a traffic light filter trial, as well as an unrelated “15-minute neighbourhoods” proposal in Oxford City Council’s Local Plan 2040.

Both Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council denied any plans to lock residents into zones. In a joint statement, the two councils said: “The traffic filters are not physical barriers of any kind and will not be physical road closures. They are simply traffic cameras that can read number plates.”

It said: “Everyone can go through all the filters at any time by bus, bike, taxi, scooter or walking. Furthermore, residents will still be able to drive to every part of the city at any time – but in the future, during certain times of the day, you may need to take a different route (eg. using the ring road) if you want to travel by car.”

Anyone living in Oxford, and the residents of some surrounding villages, will be able to apply for a permit to drive through the filters on up to 100 days a year, while people living in Oxfordshire but outside the permit zone will be able to apply for a permit to drive through the filter on up to 25 days a year.

“If residents in the permit areas are not using a permit or run out of permits, they will still be able to drive to any destination in Oxford or elsewhere, whenever they like, as often as they like,” the statement said. “Depending on their location and destination, they might have to use a different route to avoid the filters, which would usually be the ring road.”

The joint statement went on: “The misinformation online has linked the traffic filters to the 15-minute neighbourhoods proposal in the city council’s Local Plan 2040, suggesting that the traffic filters will be used to confine people to their local area. This is not true.

“The 15-minute neighbourhoods proposal aims to ensure that every resident has all the essentials (shops, healthcare, parks) within a 15-minute walk of their home. They aim to support and add services, not restrict them.”

The plans were not secret as the concept of traffic filters was first introduced in 2015 in the Oxford Transport Strategy, which states the aim of “filtered permeability” is “to make car travel more circuitous, less convenient and more time consuming than bike travel”. They were part of a “Connecting Oxford” consultation in 2019, before being updated in August 2022 and a further consultation ran from September 5 to October 13 2022 in which 5,700 people responded and another 485 emails were received by members of the public and businesses, schools and other organisations.

“This was used to inform Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet meeting on 29 November 2022, where an extraordinary meeting was held and cabinet members made a decision on whether to proceed with the trial,” the councils added.

Under the traffic filter trial, which is expected to run for a minimum of six months in 2024 following completion of works at Oxford railway station, six traffic filters will be used with the aim of reducing traffic, making bus journeys faster and making walking and cycling safer.

Any driver of a vehicle who goes through the traffic filter and is not exempt or using a permit will be charged a penalty, currently £70. This will be halved if paid within the shorter period marked on the penalty notice. HGVs, taxis, vans, motorbikes and emergency service vehicles will be allowed through the filters with no penalties.

Links

Claim on Facebook (archived)

Claim on YouTube (archived)

Joint response from Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council (archived)

Consultation on trial traffic filters 2022 (archived)

Oxford Transport Strategy Consultation 2015 (“filtered permeability”, p20) (archived)

“15-minute neighbourhoods” proposal (archived)

2019 Connecting Oxford consultation report (archived)

Traffic filter brochure (archived)

Penalty notice rules in Oxfordshire (archived)

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