Oxford 'climate lockdowns' and '15-minute city' - can anyone local explain their views on this?

[unsureatthispoint]

This news has been published in several media outlets and being talked about ATM.

Road blocks stopping most motorists from driving through Oxford city centre will divide the city into six "15 minute" neighbourhoods, a county council travel chief has said.

And he insisted the controversial plan would go ahead whether people liked it or not.

Duncan Enright, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for travel and development strategy, explained the authority's traffic filter proposals in an interview in The Sunday Times.

He said the filters would turn Oxford into "a 15-minute city" with local services within a small walking radius.

Mr Enright said: "It is about making sure you have the community centre which has all of those essential needs, the bottle of milk, pharmacy, GP, schools which you need to have a 15-minute neighbourhood."

The aim is to reduce traffic in the city centre and make city living more pleasant, but critics say the plans will negatively affect businesses and the city centre's economy.

Here's the link

www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23073992.traffic-filters-will-divide-city-six-15-minute-neighbourhoods-agrees-highways-councillor/

Are local people aware of this and what's their take on it?

I don't know Oxford that well but I'm probably right in assuming that a lot of people who work at the hospital live some distance away because they can't afford to live close to the hospital.

I'm sure there will be people who do live nearby who will be happy to sell or rent their houses at prices affordable to nurses, cleaners etc, so they don't have to drive to work when they're on shifts that don't coincide with public transport?

Or they could just WFH as no-one has any excuse to leave their homes more than a couple of times a week it would seem.

You would be expected to walk or use public transport (which would be running more efficiently and cheaper thanks to less traffic on the roads as cars wouldnt be able to leave their set districts.

@AbreathofFrenchair Realistically I would have to go to the cemetery just once a week. It would take too long to walk or get a bus if one even went that way which it doesn't.

Oh, the ambulances are stuck for ages in London, also there's been quite a few incidents when they've not known about hastily installed LTNs and had to turn back because of bollards, then sit in dense traffic all over again so that they can get their patient to A&E for the 15 hour wait.

Why do you think the powers that be care about any of this? I mean that kindly. Seeing those in charge as benign or misguided is not going to help us.

Emma, but these measures do indeed help lots of people

'Wouldn't it be lovely to live in neighbourhood where it was safe for children to walk to the local shops on their own without the fear of cars being driven recklessly down residential streets?'

It would, but that world wouldn't be allowing lorries and vans to be driven at will ( and at increased speed because of the reduced traffic) through the supposedly residential areas. This plan allows that.

I note the two recent cyclist deaths in Oxford were both collisions with lorries.

@DuncanEnright

Are you able answer the reasoning behind why Kennington residents will not be eligible for the 100 free permits? We are as close ( if not closer) to the city as many of the included areas and will be effected by the proposals just as much. I strongly disagree with the proposals but having access to the permits would make things slightly more bearable.

I live near Oxford and I’m always surprised at the price of public transport compared to where I live so this is going to hit some people hard. I was considering moving to Oxford in the fullness of time but crap like this has made me change my mind.

It was a decision made by the Council based on the location of the proposed filters and access to the ring road. Permits are proposed for Kennington and the rest of Oxfordshire, 25 days a year. There are also proposed exemptions which are detailed on the website, for instance for carers, and we are also working with schools on alternative ways to get to school than car. Remember though this is an experimental scheme so do share your experience when it goes live - which will be delayed probably because of the railway station building work on Botley Road.

Thanks. And yes you are right about the bollards - not my area but I know more sturdy ones are on order.

i went to Oxford and bus queue for the Park and Ride was massive. The bus driver told me they’d cut buses so now massive queues! What the heck????

@DuncanEnright
Thanks for your response. Unfortunately 25 days is not going to help me get to my family to the doctor or our dentist which are in town or indeed the hospital. For Kennington to be considered on the same level as parts of Oxfordshire which are miles away from the centre of Oxford is very unjust. We are very much part of the city. There is much bad feeling in the village on this which has been expressed by many on the consultation. No one seems to be listening. If you are in a position to pass this feedback on please do so.

Hospital appointments are another issue - regular treatments like chemo, or for example I spent a lot of my father's last few months at his hospital, then hospice bedside.

even if you can get a special permit for those times, it's a horribly stressful time and this will add to it. I wonder if the ANPR will be amended to factor that in, but then you'll probably get fined if you stop at a shop en route there or home.

But the theory is, with these new town services ups, public transport would increase and improve as they would make more areas accessible and routes more frequent.

Or you apply and pay for a yearly permit to allow you to leave the area in your own car.

You can't get a yearly permit unless you live in the right area. This massively affects the villages outside Oxford. A number of these villages have buses once a week or less, and can only access park and rides by driving several miles in the wrong direction but are too far away or too rural to cycle.

@hovis your ideas sound really crazy.

The thing about building good infrastructure is that it increases the places people can go to so people are not stuck in their neighbourhood. I live in a town roughly half the size of Oxford and I can cycle anywhere in town within 15 minutes. In fact it is often quicker to take my bike than to take a car because short cuts, tunnels and parking.

Really stupid idea that is going to cause people to have to drive out of the city and back in - so more mileage, more time and more petrol. I think this sort of interference by councils in people's ability to use public highways should be beyond their powers. I hope some residents challenge it and have it cancelled.

I live bang in the middle of East Oxford and I loathe the LTN's and am absolutely dreading the bus gates. My child's school is not on a bus route and the LTN's are adding at last an hour and a half a day to the school run (sitting in crawling traffic emitting fumes) which is having a massive impact on our family life. By the time we get home there is no time for clubs, homework etc and i am seeing the negative change in my child as they are rushed, not able to take part in their hobbies and can't meet friends after school anymore. I also have elderly parents on the other side of the city who are reliant on my care. These traffic plans are causing me massive anxiety and I am now going to have to cut my work hours as I cannot manage to get to work on time and do the school run, something I am totally unable to afford.

But the theory is, with these new town services ups, public transport would increase and improve as they would make more areas accessible and routes more frequent.

So the idea is that public transport will improve AFTER the restrictions are out in place? Why not put them in place first? What happens if the improvements don’t happen - those responsible shrug their shoulders, say it’s a shame but leave those struggling to carry on struggling?

What right to Oxford city council have to do this against the wishes of the people of Oxford?

It all seems very authoritarian to me. I think the Covid lockdowns have given people ideas about restricting freedom of movement.

It's like 1984 come to life. These people have no rights beyond those which the public gives them.

EmmaAgain22 London has a lot more hospitals than Sheffield, our only adult A & E is right at the other side of the city, my mum was rushed in a couple of weeks ago, it took 2 hours to get an ambulance & then 45 minutes to get from her house to the hospital, it is a journey I used to be able to do in 25 minutes max. If you are thinking of someone who has had a massive stroke or heart attack there isn't much of the golden hour left if any. We have a lot of Green Party Councillors on our council & they think that everyone should walk, cycle or use public transport, all the road closures are their idea, residents are going mad, they put planters across the road at the start of the 6 month trial which got moved by motorists so they could get through & then concrete blocks, every time there is a protest or the blocks are damaged the clock goes back to the start, they think everyone will forget after 6 months.

@Dancefloortragedy , I wonder whether your DC goes to an out of catchment school? Because for my DC and the other East Oxford kids I know, the LTNs have made their school commute faster and easier. I'm sorry that's not the case for your DC.

I do know that parents driving their kids to private schools is part of Oxford's traffic congestion problem. Councillors are trying to encourage private schools to help parents find greener means of transport rather than the 'single family driving in a single car' model.

Nat I hear you. Sadly I don't think anyone is listening to us.

sounds like our mums were in hospital at a similar time...the paramedics with us were ranting about the cycle lanes as well....is that a problem in Sheffield too?

We knew this crap would be rolled out across the country, the only thing we don't know is which areas will suffer the most. It's so sad.