Latest news with #AndrewGant
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Oxfordshire County Council urged for 'Plan B' to tackle congestion
A council has been urged to find a "Plan B" for tackling a city's congestion problem after a traffic filters trial was pushed managing director of Oxford Bus Company, Luke Marion, said congestion in Oxford was at "emergency levels".Oxfordshire County Council's Lib Dem administration was set to introduce contentious traffic filters on several major roads in autumn 2024, but they were pushed back for another two years due to the ongoing closure of Botley council's newly elected cabinet said it is going to draft new plans to deal with the city's congestion problem. 'More regular' services The traffic filters would be introduced on Hythe Bridge Street, Thames Street, St Cross Road, St Clement's Street, Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way, with motorists without a permit facing a £70 fine for driving plans are part of the county council's drive to create a net-zero travel and transport system by week, Banbury's Labour MP Sean Woodcock wrote to the council asking whether they would take advantage of powers to bring more bus services under their control, if the government's better buses bill was Gant, cabinet member for transport management, said the calls for action were taken "seriously" and that they looked forward "to engaging on proposals soon"."We need faster, more regular, cheaper bus services, and we need them now," he said."The way to do that is to tackle congestion, which will of course also deliver safer, quieter, cleaner streets, and help key workers and businesses delivering vital services on our roads."Green county and city councillor Emily Kerr said she was "delighted" at the news and called the delays due to the Botley Road closure "exceptionally problematic"."Everyone agrees we need to speed up the buses," she added."But whilst Labour and the Tory Alliance say they want this, they've opposed the policy suggestions which will deliver it, such as traffic filters."Labour councillor Brad Baines argued that the county council plans "do not answer questions about affordability of bus services or routes going where people need to go"."These are key barriers which are yet to be addressed or even considered." Councillor David Henwood is part of the Oxfordshire Alliance, which consists of Conservative and Independent councillors. "The solution is clear: remove the LTNs to unlock Oxford's radial routes, relieve pressure on the main roads, and finally make space for efficient, reliable bus services across the city," he said. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Health responders exempt from Oxford's Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
Healthcare workers who assess and treat patients in crisis at home will be allowed to drive through restrictions in Oxford's two low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs).Introduced in 2023, the schemes stop motorists taking shortcuts through residential areas in East Oxford and Health NHS Trust supported the exemption for its urgent community response (UCR) workers, which could equate to about five or six vehicles a permission was granted by Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport management, Andrew Gant. But he said it did not mean other exemptions in the LTNs would be approved."The numbers involved here are tiny and it's not the case that making one change automatically implies that other changes will follow," he said."Each proposal or suggestion is dealt with on its own merits."He added that the council's plan for other measures, including traffic filters, would continue as part of a "multi-pronged approach" to cut congestion in Pugh, Oxford Health's head of transformation, said it was critical that urgent community responders got to people as soon as said delays can lead to "serious knock-on effects" for people and ramifications on the wider healthcare workers often help older people who are having a health crisis or difficulties at home and seek to prevent transferring them to hospital, if council has spent nearly £4m on the LTNs and its quickways cycling routes in Oxford since 2021. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Spectator
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Oxford's LTN farce
Last week's cheering news that the High Court has deemed Lambeth Council's imposition of a Low Traffic Neighbourhood on West Dulwich 'unlawful', because they failed to take consultations with locals into sufficient account, has given a glimmer of hope to the benighted residents of Cowley in Oxford. In that once liveable outskirt, gridlock on the main roads caused by the imposition of the Cowley LTN has closed down previously thriving small businesses, so that, far from being the utopian '15-minute city' dreamed up by councillors, residents can no longer walk to a printer, a post office or the Co-op. Driving to central Oxford takes ages, and it costs up to £17 to park on a meter for two hours. The buses are slow, expensive and unreliable. You wait twenty minutes, only to be stuck in a traffic jam. It's known as 'Gant's Gridlock', after Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire CountyCouncil's Lib Dem Cabinet Minister for Transport Management. Gant is fanatic-in-chief when it comes to sustained efforts to find new ways of clamping down on anyone in Oxford getting from A to B by car.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Work being done to fix city's 'appalling' path
Work to fix a busy city centre road which is in an "appalling state" is being done urgently, a senior councillor said. A section of Queen Street between the Westgate Centre and Bonn Square in Oxford currently has uneven paving and tarmac. Labour councillor Susanna Pressel complained last month that the stretch needed to be resurfaced without delay and raised the issue at a council meeting on Tuesday. Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport management, Andrew Gant, said the authority and the Westgate Centre's owners are working to fix the "complicated issue" as soon as possible. But Pressel said she found the officers' response to a question she asked about the "disgraceful" path to be "quite smug and complacent" and said she was "ashamed" of the council. Gant, a Liberal Democrat, said there is a "complicated backstory" as to why Yorkstone was used for the original path, why it has failed and what can be done in the future to prevent a repeat. He said the multiple reasons for the path's failure include some buses which drive over the path now being powered by electricity rather than diesel. "It is a complicated issue so officers are absolutely not smug and complacent about this," he told the council. "It's a serious issue and we are working hard to fix it." In March, a Westgate Centre spokesperson said the road was "originally planned as a pedestrianised walkway" with the surface fitted for this purpose, however the "current vehicular usage" had led to deterioration of the surface. They added that it was working with relevant parties to "enhance the overall experience for both our guests and the wider community". You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Calls to resurface 'appalling' city centre street Historic city centre streets to get repairs Minister declines bus ban request Oxfordshire County Council
BBC News
28-02-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Witney and Oxford among new locations for ANPR cameras
New number plate recognition cameras are set to be installed in 20 locations around Oxfordshire to enforce traffic High Street and Market Square are among several places approved for the devices by the county council. The authority said it hoped they would help improve road safety for pedestrians, cyclists and added no date had yet been confirmed for their installation. The plans were decided at a delegated decisions meeting for Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport management, Andrew Gant, on Town Council submitted a written comment supporting the plans, saying the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras would "significantly enhance the safety and security of pedestrians, cyclist and road users".Witney High Street and Market Square were first closed to vehicles in 2020, but a permanent ban was put in place in 2021 to promote active travel and increase which would be exempt from any punishments include taxis and private hire vehicles, blue badge holders and shop deliveries. Speaking before the decision, Conservative councillor Liam Walker, shadow cabinet member for transport management at the county council, said: "This is yet another anti-motorist policy from the Liberal Democrats that disregards the needs of our community."Not only does it ignore the overwhelming local opposition to these measures, but it also risks harming Witney's businesses that rely on deliveries and customer access."A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council previously said: "The locations... have existing traffic restrictions and were chosen based on information from emergency services, local feedback, and traffic and congestion monitoring."In Oxford, ANPR cameras are to be added in St Clement's, North Way, Rectory Road, and Barracks Lane. Other sites include Sheep Street in Bicester, Rother Road in Banbury and Bath Street and Stratton Way in Abingdon. Motorists who ignore any restrictions face a fine of £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days. Money earned from the cameras would go toward their running costs, paying contractors, installing ticket machines and maintaining park and ride sites, the council surplus cash would go towards transport-related improvements, it a full list of the camera locations here. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
