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?

"PinkSparklyPussyCat · Today 12:56"
don't be ridiculous.

Of course you can work from home in more or less any kind of space. If you live in a one room accommodation, you lived in a one room accommodation before the pandemic too.
The argument that in order to roll out work from home properly you need to ensure everyone has room for an actual separate "office" is illogical. Presumably we are far enough beyond the pandemic now that normal childcare has resumed. Granted if you are sharing a one room accommodation with your significant other / partner/spouse and you both have to work from home at the same time that might present a problem, but other than that, not having an "office" in your house or flat is a bit of a crazy excuse isn't it?

It scares and depresses me when I see what some people are meekly ready to accept because “the government wants us to”.

www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article/2332/joint_statement_from_oxfordshire_county_council_and_oxford_city_council_on_oxford_s_traffic_filters#:~:text=The%2015%2Dminute%20neighbourhoods%20proposal%20aims%20to%20ensure%20that%20every,add%20services%2C%20not%20restrict%20them.

It's complicated and there's no single solution that will make life easier for everyone.

The traffic changes in Oxford so far have unambiguously improved my life as a working cyclist parent, and have done the same for my children, but I know that's not the case for everyone. In RL I'm not nearly as vocal in my support for these measures, because some have such strong feelings against the measures, and I'm a reasonably conflict-avoidant person. At the moment in Oxford I feel the anti-council voices are louder than the pro-council ones, and so they firmly believe they're the majority, but I'm not sure that's true. A majority of residents voted in Green and Labour councillors. The consultations that were done around the LTNs also showed a majority in favour of the LTNs.

However, this thread has been eye-opening for me in terms of the problems faced by people commuting from villages. I hadn't really thought about that.

And I 100% agree that Oxford need better public transport. I blame the Tory government for stripping councils of much-needed funding. It's all well and good to say the county council should fund public transport, but first they have to have the funds. And there's only so much that can be done on a local level when the national government is so averse to funding public goods.

That said, climate change is real, and vehicle traffic is steadily increasing year by by year. The status quo of assuming that cars are the default mode of transport and that roads and neighbourhoods should cater for cars first and foremost -- that status quo needs to change. There are all sorts of things that can be done to provide better infrastructure. Safe cycling paths, safe bike storage at work and so on. If your DC needs to go to a specialist school, that's absolutely a good reason to drive, but a lot of local school runs that are done by cars don't need to be done by cars. I was a school governor for many years and have spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing these issues.

I want nuanced change, I want thoughtful change, but I do want change. We have to try things out and see what will work. It won't happen overnight, and mistakes will be made, but that's not a reason to hold onto a status quo that is literally suffocating our children and our planet.

When are Oxford City Council going to ban log burners? They are a significant contributor to air pollution.

I do agree that things should be done to reduce car journeys in the city. However, as I stated above, I need to use my car to visit different schools in the city to provide a service to children with disabilities. Other public service employees like myself, who work in the city but don't (can't afford to) live there, are going to be affected.

Yet there will be no accommodations for us. I live in a village where I can walk to the GP, child's school, shop etc. but my job necessitates driving. One of my more regular routes from one school to another is currently 11 minutes via St. Clements. Due to the bus gate and local LTNs, it will become at least 22 minutes. That means I'll have to schedule my visit for after lunchtime, as I won't be able to fit the time in before lunch with that double commute time. That's just one example. I'll be limited as to how many schools I can visit in the week compared to now.

It frustrates me. I just want to be able to do my job.

Did you miss the other part of the quoted post? The bit where Holis also suggested that our socialising and leisure activities could be done from home.

No. Just no.

By the way, I don't even have a car, I'm very much an evangelist for a low-impact lifestyle. Holis is batshit crazy though.

Haven't completely read the whole thread but as an Oxford resident what's struck me is:

a) how much these policies are targeting poorer areas of the city while avoiding the wealthier areas of the cities (the north). The wealthy areas of the city are filled with influential retired people with lots of time to protest, East Oxford not so much.

b) There is an obsession with village living here in Oxfordshire and to my mind it's bonkers that the city doesn't impose a congestion charge on people living in villages who want to come into Oxford - at the moment they can drive in freely with no penalty. But the residents who have chosen to live in Oxford, close to amenities and so not to completely rely on cars, are being heavily inconvenienced and barked at about not using their cars, cycling, cycling etc. Again I think this is about class as it tends to be wealthier families who live in the Shires. If you want to live in a village with your bunting and heritage home and pretense that you're living in Victorian times, by all means come into Oxford, but in your horse and carriage not your BMW. Kidding just sort of!😛

No one said that
As I said, I've worked from home for ages

I don't x over my work life and social life, never socialise with colleagues etc

it's Holis saying lockdown and social isolation is a good thing that's being questioned. That she thinks I should watch a play from my computer screen rather than actually leave the flat.

I agree with this. No one ever does anything that really affects the well off.

A crazy excuse for what? You do need x amount of space to work at home. I consider my flat to be small at 600sq feet but you are going to say that's loads for one person aren't you?

I would only accept this if they had a FREE Disney like people mover running on a grid across the city.

That's not going to happen so the plan is ok if you are a fit person with all the time in the world to get where you are going. Or of course if you are rich.

@OxfordMother Thanks, will do. There shouldn't be anychange to your trips to GP, hosptial etc as I don't think you pass a filter from Kennington. The filters reduce traffic on cross routes but don't impact most journeys.

"I consider my flat to be small at 600sq feet"
Do you need more than that to be able to work from home? What equipment apart from a laptop /wifi do you need to be able to work?

Well surely that depends on what work you do?

Not everyone who works at home only does office work and even if they do, they're not all only working on a laptop, and indeed, shouldn't be, laptops are not designed to be used for desk work full time (DSE regs).

People usually need a proper desk, separate mouse and keyboard, at least one separate correctly positioned screen, often two, and possibly space to set out paperwork/files.

I have a table that is 2 feet x 4 and it is only just big enough for my needs and I could really do with some separate shelves. I do go into the office around once a week and often the main reason for that is to work at a full sized desk

And what about those of us who need to cross the city for work during the day?

It's totalitarianism, it's dystopian, it needs to be stopped.

As someone who has worked from home for over a decade, it’s not a “crazy excuse” to want and require a separate working space.

Even if not dedicated 24/7 it needs to be dedicated during work hours and the suggestion that a human lives, eats, sleeps and works for an external organisation all from one room is a essentially a semi-open prison cell that is being described.

While it is possible (& I myself have done it early in my career), it is not healthy and not a long term option that will engender good mental health.

A specific working zone that you can walk away from is essential for productivity; what you’re describing is only appropriate under some kind of emergency/crisis situation - not a desired or acceptable ongoing state.

You’re obviously not familiar with DSE regs if you think it’s acceptable to use a laptop permanently.

Also why should I have to turn our only living room into a work space? How is that fair on DH? It’s our home before it’s an office.

Thank you

there's that but as you say, depends on jobs

in my case, l need a lot of space for paperwork, charts and models to do site/floor plans, and following the spinal injury, have a special chair. I would like a 2 desk set up but no space.

I opted to work at home in 2016 and one wall is whiteboard paint to accommodate planning.

even removing my health issues, you can't do a lot of jobs with just a laptop on the bed. I used to avoid the two screen set up but it's getting quite difficult now, especially when you're expected to have material in front of you on a video call.

does the poster asking have experience of living in a similar space? It's not a studio but it is asking too much for someone to conduct their whole social/family life there.

@DuncanEnright
Mr Enright,

As the Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders used for this scheme are derived from the 1984 Road Traffic Regulation Act when (and which) Secretary of State authorised it?

Can you also comment on what is likely to happen after the 18 months the ETRO is allowed to run for? Is it likely to be extended again for another six months by by a Secretary of State as per the legislation?

Thanks in advance.

There are exemptions proposed for work - see on the website and more to come on details.

There is a difference between "conspiracy theories" (like did Paul McCartney die in the 70s) and being informed. All the stuff that comes about is all there several years before in official government papers. It is just that the main media doesn't cover it.

Stuff about 15/20 minutes cities has been around for a while now.

If reading official documents - or listening to media outlets that read them and pick out the interesting bits - are "conspiracy theories", well, it's the gov doing the conspiring!

This is a bizarre perspective. Yes, there are some rich people living it up in places like Kingham who might fit your description, but the vast majority of those who left the city for the villages did so because Oxford is unaffordable on most salaries. That’s certainly what happened to us. We’d never owned a car when we lived in the city and didn’t particularly want to buy one when we left. But the unreliability of the bus service in our village — though better than most — means we’ve had no real choice. I honestly don’t know how I’ll work in Oxford whilst also doing school drop off and pick up in the village if I can’t drive to work. I wouldn’t mind a congestion charge, actually. I think it’s fair enough. But making it all but impossible to drive whilst failing to upgrade public transport options for those affected is madness and will force people out of work.

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Many people who live out of town do so because they simply cannot afford to live in town. It isn’t all AGAS and bunting you absolute idiot.