Council calls critics of traffic scheme 'conspiracy theorists'
Council brands critics of ANPR camera net zero traffic scheme ‘conspiracy theorists’ in bizarre ‘dystopian’ clip likened to a ‘hostage video’
- Oxfordshire County Council will be trialling six traffic filters across Oxford
- Social media posts claimed the scheme would introduce a ‘climate lockdown’
A council has called critics of an ANPR net zero traffic scheme ‘conspiracy theorists’ in clip likened to a ‘hostage video’.
Oxfordshire County Council chiefs are defending a £6.5 million trial in Oxford that will create climate zones on six inner-city roads.
From 2024, car drivers in the city must apply for a permit to travel through the ‘traffic filters’ for a maximum of 100 days a year, or 25 days a year if they live elsewhere in the county.
Cllr Liz Leffman, the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, has now released a clip voicing her ‘extreme disappointment’ at the ‘misinformation’ surrounding the plan, saying that ‘conspiracy theories are causing real-world harm and need to stop’.
Conservative member of Oxfordshire County Council, Liam Walker, likened the clip to a ‘hostage video’, telling The Telegraph it did not answer the questions surrounding the scheme and was ‘completely dystopian’.
Oxfordshire County Council produced a video explaining how their traffic filters work following claims they are introducing a ‘climate lockdown’
Six roads in Oxford will take part in the trial featuring traffic filters, which will be enforced by ANPR cameras
The trial will run for at least six months and traffic filters will operate seven days a week from 7am to 7pm.
ANPR cameras will be used in the scheme that aims to tackle Oxford’s congestion problem, drivers will be fined £70 if they are caught using the artery roads without permits.
The Council have said they notified Thames Valley Police in December about the abuse its staff had faced.
The video is in response to social media posts such as one that claimed the council is going ahead with the trial despite 93 per cent of the survey’s 5,600 respondents rejecting the proposals.
The post seen by nearly 400,000 called it a ‘consultation about the proposed climate lockdown’.
The council said the claim is false and is based upon a misreading of an analysis of results from a survey carried out between September and October 2022.
An independent summary of the survey that showed 7 per cent of respondents generally agreed with the scheme, and some mistakenly interpreted this to mean the remaining 93 per cent rejected it.
Still, thousands of angry residents have signed petitions and police have been called in over abuse directed at councillors.
From 2024, car drivers in Oxford must apply for a permit to travel through the ‘traffic filters’ for a maximum of 100 days a year – or face a £70 fine
Cllr Liz Leffman, the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, insited they are ‘not planning a climate lockdown or a lockdown of any kind’
Cllr Duncan Enright, the council’s cabinet member for travel, explained the trial in the video
Cllr Duncan Enright, who also appears in the video, stressed that the filter trial will not ‘stop people from visiting loved ones’, as they can, for instance, use the ring road to access other suburbs.
Buses, taxis will be able to pass through the traffic filters freely at all times and there will be exemptions and permits for blue badge holders, emergency services, health workers and care workers.
The council said in a post: ‘The reason we have proposed these changes is because – as everyone who lives and visits Oxford knows – the city has had awful congestion for decades. This is damaging both our economy and our environment, and is making the bus network unviable.
‘Our aim is to reduce traffic levels and congestion, make the buses faster and more reliable, and make cycling and walking safer and more pleasant.’
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