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?

This is going to be a disaster for a lot of women living in villages outside Oxford and working in the city. My oldest attends the local village school and the plan was for me to start working part time in Oxford once my youngest is at school too. But the bus service is not very regular or reliable and by the time I’ve dropped the kids off, found my way by bus into town, and then left work in time to get me a bus back for school pick up there will be very few hours available to work, even if the kids are in pre and after school clubs. Add to that the soaring price of bus tickets and I honestly feel
despair about it.

I live in a 15 minute neighbourhood and it's brilliant.
Everywhere in my town is within a 15 minute cycle as well, and cycling is safe and often quicker than driving.

Sounds like they are using too much stick in Oxford and not enough carrot.

I was wondering about this- I haven’t lived in Oxford for a while but when I did the difference between the affluent areas and the deprived areas was so stark. It’s all very well saying everything you need should be in a 15 minute walk but the facilities available are going to be very different and of course all of the wonderful free museums, activities etc are concentrated next to the richest areas.

Looking at the plans I’m not sure the posh areas will be protected, at least from massively increased traffic and pollution. A lot of traffic will be forced to go round the ring road and enter the city from the North, bringing it through chi chi Summertown and the Woodstock/Banbury Road area. It’ll protect the shops (and support villages like Woodstock — wonder if the Blenheim lot were consulted…?) but leave North Oxford a smoggy mess.

I lived in Nottingham until the summer. The trams only cover parts of the City although they are very successful. We simply stopped going into the City Centre. The few times we went in we had to drive to a park and ride (farther drive than from our old house to city centre) and get the tram in as due to DH and DC disability buses are inaccessible - too far to walk to the bus stop on both ends.

This kind of thing is very scary to me. I already have a difficult time getting allergen safe products. There is zero chance the a few local shops carrying popular items are going to meet my needs.

not in Oxford, but I very much hope this approach does not spread.

if you want people to walk and shop in their neighborhoods, then make it so enticing that they choose to do so. When I was a young adult (and before adult onset allergies changed my needs) I lived in a neighborhood where I used my car so infrequently I had to take it on a quick drive once a week to make sure the battery didn’t die.

BTW Oxford Mail isn't a subsidiary of the Daily Mail.

I guess a key question would be if the 15 minute neighbourhood included a primary school which seems unlikely. And how two working parents or single parent manage to get their younger children to school. Most of all how they plan the transport links within the city so they don't just go into the city centre and out but have cut across the peripheral areas.

They have park and ride x 3 - and coach access. So I wouldn't think tourists would stop coming?

They are trying something similar in Cambridge and for the villages, it's a disaster. I think 15min cities are great, but in smaller towns with lots of cross-pollination of people from small villages, I don't see how the frequent public transport options necessary to move away from car journeys work.

The new bus plans here have 10 buses an hour from city transport hubs, but only one bus an hour from the villages. How are you supposed to do a school drop off, a nursery drop off and get into a workplace with one bus an hour?

What happens when you need a plumber, electrician etc? Or an ambulance if there is one working

@RoseAndGeranium

As I understand it the only way to get in will be via the botley road which is shutting for almost a year so god knows how that will work. North Oxford is protected.

It sounds completely crazy. I still don't understand what you're supposed to do if you work and live in a different sector and you can only get a permit for 100 days? And the solution to traffic pollution is to make cars do even longer journeys? How can anyone think this is a good idea?

Are the buses there free?

www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/radical-plan-to-ban-drivers-crossing-neighbourhoods-275055/

What? Can't we all write to our MPs (even if not directly impacted) to raise our concerns? Nobody voted or probably even agree with this madness

Exactly, it’s impossible. Fine, I guess, if you have no caring responsibilities and work full time but dreadful if you’re in charge of kids. It’s just going to drive up house prices in the cities even further and completely wreck the villages that are basically satellites of these cities. I don’t understand why the universities aren’t kicking up more of a fuss. So many of the support staff — and plenty of academics — drive in from the villages because the cities have long priced them out.

For those who are not familiar with the area the council are essentially protecting the most affluent areas of the city who will still be able to drive into town. They are also arbitrarily giving certain areas 100 free passes to drive into town. The area where I live will not get these passes despite the fact that we are closer to town then many other areas

How can they even get away with or justify something so arbitrary?

this sort of city design is common in the netherlands.

through roads are gridlike but neighbourhoods are all low speed and a tangle of one way streets so you can't drive through.

public transport and cycling infrastructure has priority over cars. mobility scooter use step free and comfortably wide cycle paths.

it can work well. and yes, sometime people need to be pushed a little to start a change. remember energy inefficient light bulbs?

you might be right. But I don’t see any bus gates at the top of Banbury and Woodstock Roads, and the rules for the Marston Ferry Road bus gate looks likely to be relaxed (unlike the St Clements and St Cross one’s).

@TodayInahurry I rather suspect ambulances will be able to get where they can. We have problems down narrow streets with cars on either side as it is. It will be more difficult for carers rocketing between districts to look after people so if OCC hasn't allowed for permits for this and tradesmen they should be hauled up on it.

What about disabled people?

Exactly. This was discussed at one point in relation to London ULEZ and it seems only the young, rich, healthy and able bodied might be able to move around freely. Also, what about if you are momentarily unwell or recovering from an illness?

Cycling - open to fit able-bodied people, the group of people already with zero issues getting about.

Many local residents will be able to bypass it with permits for 100 days a year.

However it will make it difficult for people living outside the city to get to work, including the teachers at my kids school.

Oxford imports a lot of workers from the surrounding area due to lack of housing and high prices. No realistic public transport option for many of these people. We need them. It's a stupid idea.

Carers and tradesmen will get permits. People employed in the city who have been pushed into villages with run down or completely non-existent bus services by Oxford house prices will get nothing.

@greenacrylicpaint My DH and DD are disabled. They are not at the level of needing mobility scooters and I think DD would just refuse. It is better for many people with progressive illnesses to be as physically active as they can rather than being forced to use scooters because otherwise outdoors is inaccessible.

I really really hope this does not become widespread. Going out is already difficult for us. I think this would finish me off.

On Jeremy Vine the other day, one caller has to visit/care for her mum every day. It will cost her nearly £100 to do that when the ULEZ extends. Let alone those that must drive for work. And the patronising deputy mayor who was explaining the Scrappage scheme didn't get it. If you can't afford a new vehicle you can't afford a new vehicle.

If you have a disabled badge I believe you will be able to drive freely into town

But you may not be officially disabled and still have (permanent or temporary) poor health, be heavier than you need to be in order to be able to cycle everywhere, etc. Not everything is resolved through a free pass for blue badge holders