To think we could close some roads for one hour a week?

That's equally unacceptable - but I presume the council hasn't carefully sanctioned it that way?

They quite often are round here - live within 300yards of a 600 pupil primary school - was a 90 pupil infant school when I bought the house.

Pavements are for parking on, for riding bikes on, for abandoning council-trial-scheme scooters, for standing in groups on, blocking people who are trying to get past.

Pavements used to be "my" space. Not been for a while now.

Try suggesting that the pavements be closed off to pedestrians for 'just' one hour a day and see how that goes down!

Whilst there are plenty of sensible, considerate cyclists out there, there's quite a sizeable element who just assume that they aand their choices are 'obviously' better than other people's - so they naturally should be placed centre and foremost without a second thought.

It's similar with some vegans: whilst most make their own choices for their own lives and happily leave other people to make their own choices, you always get the ones who expect vegan to be the default in work events with catering, buffets, large gatherings etc. They too have all the 'reasons' why they assume their choice is obviously better and the right one for everybody, and should take automatic precedence over anybody else who might express a different choice or opinion.

Then the road isn't closed - so what's the point?

And I strongly disagree that nobody would complain, especially if people's disabilities or needs weren't instantly obvious from looking at them (and bearing im mind that even wheelchair users regularly get abused and harassed by the nasty non-thinking people you get everywhere, who see somebody sitting in a car seat whilst travelling and fail to engage their two brain cells).

Loads of hospital workers and other emergency key workers were screamed at by busybody neighbours during lockdown for going to work to save people's lives - I even heard of some who were physically prevented from getting into their car by idiotic thugs (who ironically probably saw themselves as upstanding pillars of the community).

Abuse is 100% acceptable; but surely you can see hia frustrated and desperate they may be if they need to use a road that they rely on and somebody has had that vital connection arbitrarily taken away from them?

Incidentally, is your charity anything to do with helping disabled, elderly or otherwise health-impaired people? If so, surely you must see the irony?

It's really easy to see it from your own pov as 'just one day in the year', but you never know how significant that one day may be to some people.

Even aside from life-saving and urgent healthcare needs, imagine if it were your wedding day and you were blocked from getting through in the car - but don't worry, as you'll be fully able to travel in all your finery to your very special (hopefully) once in a lifetime occasion on any day for the whole rest of the year!

Yabu roads are for cars

I’m in the US. They used to do this once a week on my street for a market that attracted the whole city. Then one day a driver got confused despite the wooden blockades and people. It was mayhem. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but I think it was around 100 injured and a dozen killed.

it was determined that the only way to make it safe going forward was to install heavy bollards that could be placed at the ends of the streets during the temporary closures. It just wouldn’t be practical to do that in multiple places.

I'd be happy with the once a month thing to let kids play. They play on the road an random days, putting ramps in the road. Its a really tight turn that you can't see down before it's too late.

How would you propose people like myself get around to provide care to the elderly and disabled? Slightly more important than bloody cycling!
Cyclists are a bloody menace and the bane of the lives of those of us who spend a lot of time driving in the community to provide essential services.

Ridiculous.

This is amazing. I'm so sick of the constant power tools all day everyday. I'm moving to Germany!

We have a charity run once a year and people lose their minds over the road closures. Volunteers and runners get consent abuse, drivers rave around trying to beat the closures, everyone gets rage. I can't imagine them daring to do a weekly thing!

Except those pesky shift workers.

I lived in Mexico for a while and they used to do this in Guadalajara sometimes on a Sunday.

As someone who lives rurally (I'm assuming from your comments about country roads), you should surely be able to see how impractical that idea is. If you close the road through my village then people are stuck. There is no alternative route. And just going out an hour later would rarely be a solution. Life works to a timetable. I happen to live a 2 minute walk from work but everything else I do is a 15, 30 or 50 minute drive away. And it starts when it starts, not when I show up. I can't just be an hour late!

@StScholastica i was going to ask if you drove yourself but see you have answered that question already…

do you think those who drive just go out for a spin for the sake of it?

as other PP said we can work around going out at certain days/times it really doesn’t work like that

i have to take someone to hospital, how am I classed as an emergency vehicle without getting mobbed

is there really nowhere within 3 miles your kids can’t play?

Roads are roads for a reason. Paths and parks exist

I remember a thread from a while back, where the OP had 'acquired' some official council 'road closed' signs and she just put them out on her street whenever she decided that her kids should have priority to play in the road, instead of in gardens, parks or even on pavements

I don't recall most people on the thread being very sympathetic to her, even though she clearly 'knew best'.

AIBU to think that disabled people and those with mobility issues should be effectively put under house arrest for 'just' one hour every week?

And that those entitled people who need carers at that time should just do without and stop moaning about it?

So many 'great' ideas are put forward without the slightest thought for people who simply don't have the choice.

And if you allow disabled people and others in genuine need of their cars through, what's the actual point in supposedly closing off the road - as children can hardly safely play in 'probably not all that busy roads'.

What's worse, you'd have angry busybodies causing grief to them - like with the nasty self-appointed blue badge police - demanding to know what your disability is and why you should have what they can't.

And do you know about them introducing tourist taxes in the UK...so you are actually going to be charged when you visit somewhere in your own country? Drip drip

Until you can't leave them without a permit? Until you're charged to leave them? Until you're fined when you don't pay the charge? Until they bring in facial recognition so you can't leave without them knowing? But yep...great!