Most of the questions about Oxford's proposed traffic filters and congestion charge are covered in the consultation FAQ, but here are a few that aren't:
- Isn't it pointless putting traffic filters on St Cross St, Hythe Bridge St, or Thames St, because there are hardly any buses there?
- All the traffic going through the St Cross filter is also going over Magdalen Bridge, which is the busiest bus route in the entire United Kingdom. All the traffic on Hythe Bridge St is traversing Frideswide Square, which is a major bus route, and most of it is also going through St Giles. And all the traffic on Thames St is also using Abingdon Rd, which is a major bus route. All of these routes also suffer significant congestion.
- There's never any congestion on Marston Ferry Rd, why is there a traffic filter there?
- My daughter goes to Cherwell School, so I know this area well. There is significant congestion (delaying buses) on Marston Ferry Rd as late as 10am and as early as 3pm. The bus operators requested a traffic filter here to support the new bus services using this route.
There is also a problem with there being no signal pedestrian crossing of Marston Ferry Rd at its junction with Banbury Rd, but putting that in will require an extra signal phase and so reduce the motor traffic throughput of the junction - which is only going to work with traffic reduction.
- Why is North Oxford being privileged over East Oxford?
- It isn't. In the same way that Banbury and Woodstock Rds have no filter on them, but filters restricting traffic to each side (Hythe Bridge St, St Cross St, and Marston Ferry Rd), so Iffley and Cowley Rds have no filter on them, just filters restricting traffic to each side (St Cross St, St Clements, and Hollow Way). With no filter on Donnington Bridge, East Oxford actually has more access options than North Oxford.