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 might be a little confused, do the poor often own cars?

My gran cycled until a few months before she died, I guess she was young?

@jg Oh you are one of the - my grandparents cycled until, they were 98 crowd?

Plenty of poor people own cars. And those who don't often get lifts from family and friends.

Of course poor people have cars. They use them to get to work when they live in areas with poor public transport, working shifts and they have nowhere to store a bike where it won't get stolen.

My grandad also cycled until just before he died, in 1960, aged 39. In his entire life he never left the city in which he was born, except for an annual day trip to the coast.

Sounds like some people think we should go back to that sort of lifestyle.

She's not yet 98.

I know the ownership of cars falls as people get poorer. But it is not true to say no poor people own cars.
Life is tough without a car. Many of those who say we should move away from cars have probably not had to manage without a car, work and get kids to childcare. I have. It was fucking horrific. I spent hours and hours every day on the bus and at bus stops. I never ever want to go back to that.

@jgw1 You said she had died?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all those things were available within a 15 minute walk in your community?

But we don't live in a world with stuff locally

Yes indeed.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if local government had the ambition to make such a dream a reality?

No it would not! I live in a poor area. I want better for myself and my family to only be able to access things in my poor area while rich people access nice shops, good schools, art galleries and independent restaurants.

Imagine if these 15 mins local area zones were already in place during the pandemic....🤐they could quarantine your zone and that's how big your world would be...

Good to hear they have been scrapped somewhere!

Sounds great on paper until you add real people. Ones who are not able to walk and carry what they need, but not disabled to need to blue badge, can't shop by bus (services being cut someone said) as their mobility not great enough, can't stand out in the cold waiting, can't stand that long, get tired easily, life limiting illnesses that mean they look ok but aren't really.
Sounds like it all made by fit people who think we should all be on a bike (anyone unable to ride one is out of that idea)
It'll isolate people.

If fewer people were driving surely those you describe who are not able to get to places without driving will find life easier?

Isn't this the type of congestion reduction that's been implemented in parts of Europe to good effect? And it's not saying you can't drive to other parts of the city, just that you can't always drive through one area to get to another.

www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201214-how-15-minute-cities-will-change-the-way-we-socialise

I can see both sides.

1. Reducing traffic Within zones would help buses be more reliable.
2. People who need to travel to other side of city aren’t prevented they just need to go a longer way round.
3. A big ring road is better designed to take traffic than lots of small streets.
4. less traffic will encourage cyclists
5. disabled, tradesmen and carers won’t be affected which also means there’s less traffic for them which would be a massive benefit for them.
6. people who might have driven a short journey might choose to walk rather than have the hassle
7. pollution in residential areas is a big driver of childhood asthma. Even if it’s the same amount of cars (which it probably wouldn’t be) better to have that on ring road than outside schools.

but:

1. a pass for 100 days is what, once every 4 days? I don’t really know who it’s aimed at because it’s not enough if your child’s school or your work is out of zone. I guess it means you can visit relatives weekly?
2. it seems particularly unfair for those on the edge of a zone.
3. it doesn’t seem fair for people who’ve picked jobs and schools not knowing about this. I guess it’s the equivalent of cancelling lots of bus routes simultaneously in terms of hassle.

I think it’s a nice concept but without a fantastic park and ride at ring road and great transport round the city centre it can’t see it sticking.

Aware and bothered personally.

Ha! I meant not bothered.

Oxford City Council hate, and I mean HATE, the motorist. They are slowly turning Oxford in to a no go zone. It’s absolute madness and it’s scary that OCC don’t seem to listen to any of the views of the public and just ride roughshod over everything to implement what they want. It needs to be stopped because if it isn’t it will be rolled out across the country.

Imagine if these 15 mins local area zones were already in place during the pandemic....🤐they could quarantine your zone and that's how big your world would be...

Pretty sure that's the whole point. And they will have access to your bank accounts to freeze your funds if you break the quarantine. Look what happened to the protesters in Canada.

The people who come up with stuff like this are idiots.

Surely this all benefits people who don't have cars?
If people can't use their cars then they'll have to use public transport which will be far better as there will be fewer cars clogging up the roads. It will become cheaper as more people use it.
Town centres will become more attractive places to live, as transport networks improve to get from hub to hub.

DH doesn't drive, so for 30years we've chosen where to live and where to work based on access to public transport.

If everyone was in the same boat, people's access would be levelled out. Schools would improve because the affluent aren't taking them out of catchment.
Transport will improve because of higher numbers using it
Services will be more accessible because the affluent will demand better local services.

How if no one is allowed to drive into the city centre Except tradesmen and disabled?

@Greblegable anyone familiar with Oxford’s ring road (part of which is the notorious A34) will be looking at your point about having big ring road with rolling eyes. It’s horrendous. Those not familiar with the area may not realise that basically the majority of Oxford’s workforce live well outside the city area, it’s too expensive and full of student accommodation. They can’t all use the park and ride options and don’t get me started on the public transport availability. I live in a village, it’s 5 miles to the outskirts of Oxford, we have two trains a day to and from Oxford at weird times. No bus service and the nearest is a mile away walking on an A road with national speed limit and no footpaths. A cyclist was killed and there’s been other collisions along there too. I’m very glad I no longer have to get into east Oxford for work. I would probably have to leave that job if I was still there because of this scheme.