The saga of the most hated bollard in Britain has taken a new twist that has delighted supporters of the traffic restricting scheme but angered those opposed to the anti-car measure.
After vandals destroyed or stole a plastic bollard more than 20 times in a low traffic neighbourhood the controversial road restriction in east Oxford has now been replaced with a sturdy wooden post.
The three-foot-high bollard was erected after council chiefs spent thousands replacing a previous bollard that had been vandalised by drivers opposed to the scheme that stops the roads being using as shortcuts.
A tracking device was even placed on the plastic bollard and was later found in a nearby empty house undergoing renovations.
After vandals destroyed or stole a plastic bollard more than 20 times in a low traffic neighbourhood the controversial road restriction on Howard Street in east Oxford has now been replaced with a sturdy wooden post
Old bollard and new bollard: The old plastic bollard on Howard Street was destroyed or stolen a plastic more than 20 times has now been replaced with a sturdy wooden one
Supporters of the road restriction scheme are pleased the council have finally installed what they hope is a vandal proof bollard.
But opponents of the scheme – part of a low traffic neighbourhood introduced in East Oxford – have refused to give up waging their vandalism campaign.
Soon after the bollard was installed in Howard Street a Facebook page for opponents of the scheme featured a photo of chainsaw with a threat to chop down the post.
Residents also found a crowbar that had become lodged into the bollard as a vandal attempted to remove a padlock that secures the post to a metal plate.
Emergency services have a key that allows them to remove the bollard and travel along Howard Street which links the busy Ifley and Cowley Road.
Zuhura Plummer, a campaigner with the Oxford Liveable Streets, hopes the installation of a more secure bollard will put an end to the vandalism that led to it being dubbed ‘the most hated in Britain’ and featured on BBC’s Panorama.
She said:’ We are obviously hoping that the whole fuss over the bollard will calm down. Some of those opposed to it did post a photo of a chainsaw with a threat to cut it down, but nothing has happened.
‘Hopefully it will now be accepted and I am sure we will see an end to the vandalism.’
A plastic bollard was first installed last year after resident complained to Oxford city council that their road was being used as a ‘rat run’ with drivers using it as a short cut between two main roads.
More than 1,000 cars a day used the road lined with terraced homes in the east of the University city.
Soon after a plastic bollard was placed alongside two wooden planters the vandals began their attacks.
Zuhura Plummer (pictured), a campaigner with the Oxford Liveable Streets, hopes the installation of a more secure bollard will put an end to the vandalism that led to it being dubbed ‘the most hated in Britain’ and featured on BBC’s Panorama
A destroyed sign for the consultation on the East Oxford low traffic neighbourhoods
CCTV caught an arsonist setting fire to the road restriction measure while drivers destroyed 20 bollards in less than three weeks by driving over them.
Frustrated residents placed a tracking device on it and later discovered it had been tossed through a window in an empty house being renovated.
Other plastic bollards installed by the council in surrounding streets were also destroyed costing Oxfordshire County Council £100,000 to replace them. They hit out at the ‘unprecedented vandalism’
Its role in the much-hated low-traffic neighborhood schemes across the UK has made it a focal point for irate drivers simply trying to get to work.
But supporters of the road restrictions have now hit back and are fitting them with trackers to find where they have been taken.
One was dumped in an abandoned house just yards from where it was taken. The unusual theft was featured on an episode of the BBC’s Panorama programme.
A vandal set a bollard alight after 11pm on a Sunday night in July on Howard Street in east Oxford.
Video footage from local residents shows shows drivers destroying barriers put up for the low-traffic neighbourhood, including a DPD delivery driver, a taxi and several vans and cars.
A spokesperson for DPD told MailOnline at the time: ‘It is unacceptable behaviour and the local depot is investigating that particular incident. We have reminded all drivers in the area to respect the low-traffic neighbourhood initiative and route accordingly.’
A vandal setting a low-traffic neighbourhood bollard alight after 11pm on a Sunday night in July on Howard Street in east Oxford
The plastic bollard on Howard Street was routinely pulled over so cars could driver over it
Motorists destroyed 20 bollards over less than three weeks – with vans and cars driving over the barriers
Plans to install steel bollards were scrapped in favour of the wooden type which are secured to a metal plate by a padlock.
Ms Plummer, who says she is not anti-car, said the benefits of closing the street to through traffic was obvious.
‘The problem began with people using Google maps. It looks for the shortest route and that means going down Howard Street if you are driving to the Cowley Road. There were 4,000 cars a day coming down a quiet residential street.
‘With the bollard it has massively reduced that number and is back to just being used by local residents. I have a car and am not anti-car, but there are many short journeys that people can take by bike or by walking.
Maniqua Mia, who has lived in the street for 40 years, said the restriction just makes it harder to drive to his home
‘At the local Larkrise Primary school 35 per cent of children were being dropped off by car. That is now down to 14 per cent as parents cannot use the road and have to walk or cycle. That is 300 fewer car journeys.’
Opponents of the low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) say the restriction just pushes traffic on to other roads.
Yesterday a delivery driver who had been directed down Howard Street sat baffled in his van as he tried to work out how he could drop off goods at a nearby pub.
He said: ‘I’ve been driving round in circles. My Tom Tom Sat Nav keeps directing me down roads that are blocked off. It is a pain in backside and just makes driving so much more frustrating.
‘I just want to get on with my job, but it is so frustrating.’
Many of the residents in the street support the LTN with posters backing the scheme in their front windows.
One resident said: ‘It makes such a change not to have cars racing down the road. I cycle mostly so it is much safer. It is also much cleaner as there are no exhaust fumes.’
However, not all the residents in the street are in support of the LTN.
Maniqua Mia,who has lived in the street for 40 years, said the restriction just makes it harder to drive to his home.
‘I am not a fan of the bollard. It never worried me with traffic and I would prefer it wasn’t there,’ he said.
