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?

OP "It's quite dark if you think about it really"

oh totally. The future that's coming is the total opposite of what I wanted. However, my god daughter is fully on board with it. I just have to hope
i don't live to see the worst of it.

I thought they'd have achieved a lot of this by the end of last year, so I'm relieved that didn't happen.

I'm also getting out of London, I realise this is coming everywhere but big cities will be hit hardest and earliest. Where I'm going, I should be able to walk or cab most places rather sit on a bus. If I was medically okay to drive, ironically this would make consider getting a car again. So much nicer than the bus.

However, my god daughter is fully on board with it.

I think young people don't fully understand what's at stake TBH

London is mad ATM, I agree

She's headed for a career in STEM

her parents work in it

they don't understand why I'm uncomfortable with Alexa running their house!

I suppose she will wield the power in future so that'll be why she's not fussed.

Its terrible how humans who live on streets in towns and cities have been ignored for years so that those streets can be clogged with cars queueing for hours on end, polluting the air that humans have to breathe.

Goodness me, with that level of reach you must be a contortionist.

a potentially cashless society is something I do hear homeless people talk about. Those who didn't want to use the places offered in lockdown were one of my main sources of conversation - I know them from the local shelter- and there was a lot of talk about that.

OP I'm curious to know what your experience/perception is with London.

I take it you don't think humans should have the right to live on a street not polluted by cars day and night?

Takes all sorts to make the world I suppose.

Its terrible how humans who live on streets in towns and cities have been ignored for years so that those streets can be clogged with cars queueing for hours on end, polluting the air that humans have to breathe

In what way? Have you asked them? The only thing that seems to be ignored ATM is the various consultation results and polls. 'Humans' disagree with these schemes and they are being implemented regardless.

In the way that humans have to breathe in the pollutants emitted by those cars and those streets are much less safe for humans to use due to the presence of those cars. Think of how much fewer the number of car accidents would be without cars.

Think of their rights!

OP I'm curious to know what your experience/perception is with London

I think I haven't yet been able to elaborate my ideas clearly about everything that's going on and the possible causes.

The pandemic has been responsible for many of the issues, no doubt (e.g. languishing high streets, vacant retail spaces, etc - even Regent Street!). Once vibrant spaces (e.g. Debenhams, House of Fraser) vanishing. A general feeling of exodus, I guess.

And these manic, clueless measures by Councils certainly don't seem to help, it's as if they want to burn to the ground whatever is left. It's odd and very worrying

OP “it's as if they want to burn to the ground whatever is left.”

yes, but this has been the case for a long time.

yes, but this has been the case for a long time

Indeed.

Yesterday I saw two retail spaces in what used to be an extremely premium part of London. As they have been empty for a while, one is now occupied by what looked like a 'pop up' bazaarish store (those selling low cost suitcases, pans, shopping trolleys, bed spreads, etc). The other is a 'pop up' dubious 'art' exhibition. Both are beside one of those Tesco 'app only' stores where you are not allowed to shop unless you access with your Tesco app and obviously doesn't take cash (the store is usually empty as most people can't be bothered and shop elsewhere)

Depressing and not helped by the fact that that most buses serving that main London artery were culled around five years ago in the name of 'rationalising' the network and 'climate change'. Rank.

OP oh that’s interesting

I was in a chain restaurant near one of those Tesco branches. Their internet i.e the restaurant internet, went down and it was chaotic. it made me wonder what sort of contingency plan Tesco has, but I’m interested to hear that it’s quiet in there.

the thing that did make me wonder if some of this was unplanned, is the new plan for Liverpool Street station and the surrounding area. There’s 1000s sq ft office space included. That surprised me.

Apologies, I’ll stop blithering about London!

the thing that did make me wonder if some of this was unplanned, is the new plan for Liverpool Street station and the surrounding area. There’s 1000s sq ft office space included. That surprised me

Yes, lots of buildings going up. Odd.

I forgot to say that there was a consultation before all the buses were culled. I wonder if residents' opinions were ignored as it appears to have happened in Oxford

OP
I have filled in lots of bus consultations, TFl publish results.

the main thing I've found is that route improvements are good, but the traffic caused by LTNs negates benefits.

lots of people have said the Mayor has ignored responses on ULEZ so the figures must be around. Whether it's as blatant as the Oxford ones, I don't know.

speaking of consultations, the type of data that Oxford will be able to gather relates to this. Still a month to respond. This is definitely one of the more complex consultations I've responded to.

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-legislation-to-help-more-people-prove-their-identity-online/consultation-on-draft-legislation-to-support-identity-verification#about-this-consultation

You would find somewhere else to buy it as others will probably do too!

You omitted the compulsory halos and gold plated lycra for cyclists.

I know plenty of people who are happy with the changes in cities, things are going in the right direction

Ozgirl, big things can be delivered

JudgeJ, if the petrol heads had their way, we wouldn't t be able to see the halos because of the smog and pollution

Ozgirl, big things can be delivered

Please RTFT. Soon only some delivery companies or retailers could be allowed in certain areas, all kinds of dystopian stuff could be concocted to make our lives hell. This madness needs to stop

Sorry for the long quote, I don't seem to be able to edit to highlight just the bit I want.

It would be great if the cycle path along the B4044 through Eynsham/Farmoor/Botley could be prioritised, @DuncanEnright. The campaign has been going for 10 years now so I hope you now have the information you need. I suspect it would cost a lot less than some of the other projects OCC pursues!

A truck broke down by the toll bridge today and has been causing total chaos. A weight limit on the bridge would be an excellent complement to the cycle path. (Not sure how much a bus weighs but it should allow buses but disallow lorries). If lorries were banned and cycling was a safe option for people who would otherwise drive, surely that would go a good way towards reducing traffic as OCC apparently want? And it would be popular unlike the traffic filters!

Dystopian? Surely roads packed with big metal polluting vehicles, bumper to bumper, is dystopian

Yes, this proposed £5 daily congestion charge for entering, leaving or driving within the entire city of Cambridge inside the ring road (or sustainable travel zone as the council likes to call it) is already massively unpopular. It would be from 7am to 7 pm, all day .
There was nary a hint of this proposal in the last election manifestos from Labour/ Greens whose scheme it is. So residents have had no chance to vote on it ... yet.
Cambridge depends on people who live in surrounding villages to come into the city for work. (The city centre, like Oxford, is extremely expensive for housing.) Addenbrookes/Papworth Hospitals, world class medical establishments on a huge 'bio-medical' campus are within the congestion charge (CC) zone and employ thousands of people who travel to it from outside the city.

It will cost around £1,200 a year to drive to work. Cambridge residents will not get a local discount unlike London CC residents. And it will cost much more for tradespeople, plumbers, electricians, hairdressers etc who drive small vans. It applies to electric cars, motorbikes and motor scooters.
There is also much concern it will eventually kill off the city centre with many shops and businesses considering moving away as custom and footfall is predicted to fall sharply. Every resident who moves their car away from their property, even if they live only a few yards into the congestion zone and are driving directly out of the city will be charged.
The local authorities say this will be wonderful as it will operate in tandem with an all-singing, all-dancing expanded bus service which will operate from before dawn to very late at night. Ignoring the fact that the bus operator is canceling services and routes due to a chronic lack of drivers and the system is a shambles.
The final straw for most is that traffic congestion in the city is not considered a major problem at all outside peak hours, 7-9 am and 5-7 pm. (Or unless the council has closed off roads which it seems to be doing with increasing frequency.)

Quite agree, just look at how much humans are collateral damage when it comes to the pollution from cars, manufactured by big business, that could make them much less polluting.