Oxford traffic bollards may be removed after delays to ambulances

A council that blocked off residential streets with bollards to create low traffic neighbourhoods is considering removing them after they were found to slow ambulance response times by up to 45 seconds.

Oxfordshire county council has faced mounting criticism from residents after three low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) were created in the east of the city to combat rising traffic and pollution and encourage more people to walk and cycle on the streets.

Bollards and planters were placed at the end of some residential streets to stop motorists using them to avoid the increasingly congested main roads.

• Quieter streets cause noisy row

It has stoked huge divisions between neighbours, with critics arguing they increase travel times and congestion.

For months, and sometimes on a