AN ONLINE petition asking to remove a Low Traffic Neighbourhood has received over 2000 signatures in under a week.

On February 24, Oxfordshire County Council will decide on whether to make the Cowley area LTN a permanent feature.

LTNs seek to reduce congestion and lower air pollution, by stopping ‘rat runs’ on certain roads.

The Cowley LTN, covering areas of Florence Park, Church Cowley, and Temple Cowley, was installed in March 2020 under an Experimental Traffic Order.

The scheme has proved controversial.

While the scheme has ardent supporters, campaigning for quieter, safer streets, and less air pollution, it also has a lot of opposition, with traders stating the scheme has a negative impact on business and causes more traffic on arterial roads.

A recent online petition addressed to Tim Bearder, created by David Henwood, has now asked to remove the Cowley LTN and the ANPR cameras installed to monitor the scheme.

It said: “The current LTN scheme is designed to divide and segregate communities.

“The scheme doesn't factor in residents with disabilities, local businesses, emergency services living and working within and the surrounding communities.”

The change.org petition was published on February 6, six days ago, and has already received 2,562 signatures.

The petition follows the publication of the results from the council’s public consultation, carried out last year.

The consultation revealed that 82 per cent of business owners and 63 per cent of residents objected to the scheme.

A further 29.7 per cent said they had concerns, with only 7.8 per cent supporting the plans.

Those supportive of the Cowley LTN scheme, have also created a petition addressed to Mr Bearder, asking for the trial to continue for ‘at least’ another six months.

The petition, on acitonnetwork.org, asked: “We the undersigned support the trials of three low-traffic neighbourhoods in Cowley.

“We want these trials to continue for at least their six-month minimum and longer if officers deem necessary.”

It is unclear how many people have currently signed this petition, as the names will not be listed online, but on a hardcopy that will then be handed to Mr Bearder.

Over 2,000 people responded to the council’s public consultation on the Cowley LTNs from November to December 2020, followed by an eight-month statuary consultation period.

A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said: “The outcome of the consultation response is being analysed by an external agency, and will be published ahead of a Cabinet member decision on whether the LTNs will be made permanent on 24 February.

“Members need to consider a range of factors when making decisions, and the outcome of the consultation is one of these factors, albeit an important one.

“Other factors include data collected from traffic surveys and air quality monitoring, financial information and equality and climate impact assessments.”