Petition delivered by Oxford man over controversial LTN scheme
It's gathered thousands of signatures
An Oxford community champion has delivered a petition with more than 4,000 signatures to the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for a halt to LTNs and other controversial traffic schemes.
East Oxford householder Amir Steve Ali undertook his fifth visit to Downing Street on Thursday this week to present his plea, a “very strongly worded letter” regarding Oxford traffic filters and LTNs, as well as a vote of no confidence in Oxfordshire County Council.
Mr Ali’s petition has garnered more than 4,180 signatures. He had delivered it to Downing Street in June last year at which point the petition stood at more than 3,600 signatures.
LTNs were introduced in Oxford in May 2022 with the aim of making streets safer but have since proved controversial and have been blamed for increasing congestion.
The county council is also hoping to introduce a traffic filters trial as part of its package of new transport measures, which will result in six roads in Oxford being cut off to private cars.
Mr Ali’s previous work in Oxford includes hanging up Father’s Day banners across the city and paying to install a flag in East Oxford which celebrates racial unity.
Speaking of the petition, Mr Ali said: “These unfair traffic measures are bad for the economy and environment.
“I’ve shown many negative impacts of LTNs and how badly many residents and businesses are suffering, but unfortunately no effective actions were taken by the previous government.”
The county council said Mr Ali’s petition was for the central government to review.