Oxford traffic filters ‘affected’ after delays on Botley Road

The main route into the city was closed at the railway bridge from April 2023 as part of the £161m redevelopment of Oxford Station.

The road was originally due to reopen temporarily from October 2023 to March 2024, but delays have forced Network Rail to reconsider and announce that the closure will continue until October 2024.

READ MORE: Botley Road will not reopen in October

Now the rail authority has announced there will be further delays – although it has yet to say when the road will reopen due to the complexity of diverting a large number of underground utility cables.

(Image: Network Rail) Highways bosses at the county council had planned to roll out six new traffic filters – otherwise known as bus gates – across the town once Botley Road reopens, but the decision is now being reviewed.

A spokesman for the county council said: “The council is extremely frustrated that Network Rail is delaying the replacement of the Botley railway bridge until later this month and as a result cannot reopen Botley Road in October.

“The council is in discussions with Network Rail to understand the implications of this.

“Residents and businesses have shown incredible patience with more than a year of disruption to their lives for this project, which has already been rescheduled and closed twice.

“We have expressed our deep dissatisfaction with this to Network Rail and the Department for Transport.

READ MORE: New Greek restaurant opens in Oxford

“The issue now is the trial run of the council’s traffic filters, which is planned to start in November, with various options being considered.

“The aim of the trial is to tackle Oxford’s chronic congestion problems and dramatically reduce bus journey times.

“We are appealing to Network Rail and are working to quickly find an acceptable solution to this situation.”

The statement added: “The council remains incredibly supportive of improving the railway station for Oxford with improved capacity for passengers and freight, which is vital for the development of projects such as East West Rail.

(Image: Network Rail) “In the meantime, we will continue to do everything we can to work with partners to minimize the impact on the rest of the road network.”

Traffic filters with ANPR cameras aim to reduce traffic levels in Oxford by controlling the use of certain roads by private vehicles, and a permit system will be introduced for residents offering them exemptions for a certain number of trips through the filters.

All other vehicles including emergency services, taxis, buses, coaches, all vans, mopeds, motorcycles and HGVs can pass through traffic filters at all times.

Electrical work has started near filter points in Hollow Way, Hythe Bridge Street, St Cross Road, St Clements, Marston Ferry Road and Thames Street.

The bus gate has operated on the High Street for many years.

(Image: Oxford Mail) Graham Jones, from trade group ROX – Backing Oxford Business, said: “While this ongoing closure of Botley Road is incredibly frustrating for businesses and people living in west Oxford, there is a silver lining if the traffic filters are delayed.

“We believe the traffic filter scheme should be scrapped but the council has already invested money in its infrastructure.

“This is poor management – the council should have waited until they had a clearer idea of ​​when Network Rail would be ready to reopen Botley Road.”

Help support trusted local news

Sign up for a digital subscription now: oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe

As a digital subscriber you get:

• Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website
• Access to advertising light
• Reader Rewards
• Full access to our app

About autor

Andy is a business and travel reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can subscribe to his newsletter for free here.

He joined the team over 20 years ago and covers community news across Oxfordshire.

Its newsletter Business and tourism is published every Saturday morning.

You can also read his weekly newsletter Transport and Transport.