A property manager raised concerns her tenants could be left in "grave danger" after she watched a fire engine "blocked" by a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) bollard in Oxford.

Esmee Quinton saw two fire engines and at least eight firefighters 'stranded' on Marston Street in East Oxford yesterday afternoon (November 21).

She said they could not reverse because cars can park on both sides of the road often leaving barely enough room to get a small car through.

And they could not move forwards because the LTN bollards had cars parked in front of them.

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She said: "When one of the fire crew went to use the key he had been supplied with to take the bollard down it did not work and there was no combination lock on the bollard."

Fire crews wait for the LTN bollard to be unlocked on Marston Street (Image: Contributed)

Ms Quinton, who manages commercial properties on Marston Street, said she is regularly given keys that break.

She has also taken photographs of at least 10 occasions when she has seen cars parked in front of the bollards and said she has complained to the council "several times".

"I've warned them about this exact situation," she said.

"There are cars parked in front of the bollards around 75 per cent of the day so the bollards aren't accessible.

"There are commercial buildings on Marston Street with hundreds of people in them who are in grave danger if the fire trucks cannot get to them.

"Why does the council not care about putting people in danger? We cannot access emergency facilities if we need to."

In 2022 fire crews chopped down a bollard to reach an incident in Clive Road after they were unable to take it out using a key because the mechanism had been damaged by vandals.

In 2023 the Oxford Mail put in a freedom of information request to Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service asking if LTNs were affecting emergency response times.

Oxfordshire County Council, which runs the fire service, responded that it was not possible to calculate.

It said crews were familiar with all their locations and "plan the quickest route taking into account the position of LTNs".

But they added: “Our crews are often not located at our fire stations due to emergency calls, off-station training or community safety engagement.

“This means that their location when they receive an emergency call is not predictable. In addition to this, the traffic conditions, parking and the reaction of the public to our fire appliances while they are using blue lights and sirens all have the ability to impact our attendance times.

"As a result of our effective route planning and the variables which we have listed, it is not possible to calculate the impact of LTNs against the time of the journey that we would have taken had they not been there.”

Part of a collection of pictures of cars parked in front of LTN bollards (Image: Esmee Quinton) In the case of Marston Street, the council said it will crack down on illegal parking near bollards.

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A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said: “The purpose of LTNs is to create quieter, safer streets that improve the environment for walking, wheeling and cycling.

“Parking in front of LTN bollards is prohibited.

"The council has worked closely with and listened to emergency services representatives while developing LTNs in Oxford.

"This involvement has led to measures that prioritise emergency operations, including ANPR camera operation instead of bollards for some LTNs and the ability to remove bollards where needed.

“We will implement additional enforcement of illegal parking.”