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?

Studies of LTNs in other cities show a bigger reduction in air pollution on streets neighbouring the LTN than even in the LTN.

Which other cities? In London the main routes which take the displaced traffic are utterly clogged. That’s where poorer people live. The only way anyone benefits is with far less traffic. City centres are dying anyway. If visitors and residents feel
they have poor access to facilities they limit travel. It’s just too difficult.

For the sake of clarity, Witney (a town) is on the A40 which goes west from Oxford towards Cheltenham. I drive from Thame to Cheltenham regularly, via Oxford. The busiest section is always leaving Oxford on the A40 towards Cheltenham. Not sure about bus links but it must be very slow. I rarely go into Oxford, although I did a couple of days ago. It was very quiet.

Oxford will soon be getting a new rail connection to Bletchley via Winslow and Bicester. This line was meant to go to Cambridge (Varsity line) but the Cambridge connection has been cancelled. It might extend from Bletchley to Bedford! So maybe that will alleviate traffic?! I doubt it though.

The lead on Transport, Mr Enright, represents Witney and I presume lives there. So not directly affected on a day to day basis by the lack of public transport in Oxford , and the difficulties of access.

The Leader of the Council, Ms Leffman, lives in Charlbury , a small town in West Oxfordshire about seventeen miles from Oxford. It has one of the very few frequent and fast rail services from Charlbury town centre to Oxford city . So not directly affected on a day to day basis by the lack of public transport in Oxford, and the difficulties of public transport.

So the two people most directly influential on this policy have no skin in the game at all. Never mind, they can get lots of greenie points without too much personal inconvenience.

Great post, thank you. I wonder if any of the decision makers concerned with this scheme live in areas that will be adversely affected? Or are they all waiting comfortably for their own house prices to rise as those in poor areas or affected villages and towns have to move house or job or both?

It is worth saying that Oxford has a well developed park and ride travel system. Parking in the city centre has always been very expensive. There’s not much of it. For various reasons we used the Westgate multi storey the other day at a cost of £20. Buses seem well used within the city but rural areas are not great. But are they anywhere? There will be good services from Winslow and Bicester into Oxford. Chiltern Line trains from Marylebone via High Wycombe and Bicester are pretty good and usually reliable.

Google maps gives a choice of routes out of the city to Witney, the A40 route does head out north first.

@TizerorFizz I agree that there is the park and ride system but it only goes to certain parts of the city. The buses to the JR aren't often enough either. It is good if you want to go to another large town or indeed London. It is however rubbish if you don't want to go to the centre of Oxford and doesn't work for those of us who live in villages without decent transport links. I can come by either Thornhill or Water Eaton and you have to queue for ages just to get from the P&R. Also, the forward thinking councillors have just approved a major development near Thornhill with only 90 car park spaces which won't even satisfy the hotel they are building let alone all the residents that will be living there. So they are likely to need to park in the P&R car park, so there won't be the space for the commuters,

@OhFFS!
I do understand that travel within Oxford is tricky and the new rules are disastrous for residents. I live in a village with no bus at all. I mostly use the P&R in Oxford but not at rush hour. Most people in villages moan about bus services but, around me, they don’t use them. Empty buses whenever I see them.

London Boroughs in London give PP to new developments with NO parking at all. Have done for years. It’s designed to force residents onto public transport. Great if it’s available but it’s a bonus if it goes where you want to go, even in London.

@jgw1 Based on Rummykitten's post, there are no ltns near them and no option for any as it is one single straight road into the city which will be the only route into the westgate centre if these plans come in. There are a number of out of town retail parks on that road already which mean it can take 30 minutes to drive 1 mile. Of course it would be better if people didn't drive, but generally if you're going to Wickes, Halfords or Jewsons you're likely to need to transport large bulky objects for which a car is helpful.

It is inevitable that the air quality there will worsen as a result of these plans.

The Minister for Transport doesn't live in the town I live in, in fact he may never have visited it, how can he possibly decide whether to fund a bypass or LTN in the town?

I think further car restrictions are great for kids and parents. I live in Oxford and explain why here

Got a glossy four-colour printed leaflet through the door all about how terrible it us to have councillors attempt to do something about local congestion and pollution, and claiming we in Oxford are 'guinea pigs'. No names or funding info but a website URL. At the URL were such familiar nutters faces as two-hit wonders Right Said Fred, coastal conspiracist Neil Oliver and professional annoyance Toby Young.

Apparently a person called David Fleming has started this organisation. Unsure who this is, there's a businessman of that name, no idea otherwise.

I don't like dodgy opaque organisations pushing stuff through my door. Talking of pollution.

Hi, yep I got the leaflet, it is me doing the rant about these climate change deniers in the youtube clip above your post. Was really cross about the scare-mongering and miss-information in the leaflet, all whilst trying to be smug and a bit 'alternative' when really being sad and manipulative.

Funded by Tufton Street?

That’s all very well but what about those of us who live on the few remaining roads that cars can use? Neighbours on Botley Road are extremely concerned about even more traffic being pushed onto our road, which already breaches safe emissions limits. There’s social and sheltered housing on Botley Road and residents cannot simply move to a less polluted part of town. When Abingdon Road can no longer be used by cars heading to the Westgate, these cars will end up coming to Botley Road. This plan doesn’t actually reduce car use, it simply displaces it. Great for those in the areas of central Oxford that will benefit but dreadful for others living in less favoured areas of the city. Please show some sympathy for the “losers” in this grand plan.

I may have mentioned this earlier in the thread.
Evidence from LTNs in other cities suggests that traffic and pollution is reduced on neighbouring roads.

Not sure this will make Botley Road worse RummyKitten? With limited access to the city centre for cars, hopefully the (still underused) Seacourt park and ride will become more appealing? lots of cars on Botley Road are non-essential traffic and it is these that should be targeted so (it is hoped) all residents of Oxford benefit from better air quality. I do have a car BTW! just trying to use it less and reckon this will nudge me - to use the bus and my bike more.😀

I'm in that area Rummykitten.

It’s all fine and well all these people saying we need to be forced to make change but it’s not that simple. This idea sounds good in principle but without the proper planning and infrastructure it won’t work like those living in villages are saying. I live in rural Scotland I work in community nursing covering a wide rural area, mu DC go to school in the next village with no other way but to drive them, doctors dentist etc isn’t within walking distance. The people making all these decisions have no clue what so ever about rural life yet we’ll be made to do as they say. The whole living and working within a small distance wouldn’t work here either and not everyone wants to live in built up cities

Are there proposals for LTNs in rural Scotland?
Whenever I have been to tural Scotland it has struck me that is already lower traffic...

@jgw1 no but some PP are proposing this is how it should be and I’m just pointing out it won’t work but if they’re making changes like this in other areas whether people like it or not how long will it be before it’s everywhere?

@AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii
They are not just making changes whether people like it or not!
Oxford city residents have voted the councillors in and they are proposing potential changes to car use/road usage in the city centre to benefit city residents. That's working democracy.
Even if, as a resident of an outside very rural village with no public transport options it will could be very tricky for myself and my family to continue to travel into town. As I said earlier, without joined up thinking across city, county and country levels, it's very difficult to make workable solutions for all affected parties.

I think the issue may be so used to the current government standing on a manifesto which is utterly meaningless and they have no intention of implementing that they have forgotten that many people do stand for election on a manifesto they intend to implement.

They ask for feedback and then ignore it though. The LTNs had a high negative response......from recall it was high 60s but still went ahead regardless.

These new plans will cause chaos on the ring road, on all the approaches to the ring road causing all sorts of issues and delays. The A34 is bad enough already, just wait until you get the standing traffic at Peartree or Islip. It can be like that now.

I had to queue for 15 minutes to get to the ring road near Headington so queuing just part Wheatley all the way down past the park and ride the other day . If I go the other way and come in from Islip, through Kidlington and past the Water Eaton park and ride, there have been numerous occasions where I've had to queue from the Islip turn.

So long queues just to get to the Park and Rides, let alone anywhere else.

So whilst the centre of Oxford may benefit from some of these restrictions, what about your deliveries, commuters, day to day trade, hospital staff etc it will still have an impact. The Marston exit is always solid from early in the morning.

And as for all the resulting queues caused by the LTNs now, unless you can travel by bike, which is then dangerous, most people will e impacted.