To think we could close some roads for one hour a week?

[StScholastica]

To let people who want to get fit by cycling or families with younger children, cycle in safety. I think it would also build community cohesion.
Obviously there would have to be concessions for emergency vehicles?

Am I mad?

AI just guesses the next word. It's an LLM. It often makes things up.

This isn't entirely wrong for the query you've put in; to be fair, but it has nothing to do with closing roads... it just means you can't be playing music loudly; or doing loud DIY, etc. Roads are open and usable as normal.

So what do people do who need to drive during that time? To get to work for example?

Unfortunately there are too many people who believe that the car should take precedence over anything else, and how dare you in any way restrict their ability to use one. See all the threads about cyclists, banning only older drivers as they are within speed limits, the one a couple of years ago about tractors.

Best example is the response to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. That was used by the current Mayor of Tower Hamlets (the one previously banned for corrupt electoral practices).

You would need to have very large barriers and very strict enforcement, I'd prefer a day not just one hour if it was to be done.

Ok idea, but I prefer the idea that we teach kids to cycle safely on roads, how else are they going to learn? Unfortunately I'm not confident enough in the driving near me that I've been willing to do that yet.

Sick of watching the Council spend money here on cycle paths, and little to nobody on any of them, ever, other than the coastal routes.

Three miles is within both walking and cycling distance. Today we cycled to a place just over five miles away with our nine and three year old, they played in the park etc then we cycled home.

The issue in this country is not that people want to use cars over everything else, though, it is that infrastructure for anything else is so abysmal that driving is often the only option. Driving is expensive. I'd prefer not to have a car; I didn't when I lived in a major city in the UK with halfway decent public transport (and by "decent" I mean normal service every 15min, but could be once every 2 hours if there was a snowflake or two on the ground).

Public transport in the large Commuter town I live in now is practically non-existent. Once an hour in some places, not at all late evenings during the week or not at all mornings and evenings on Sundays. And of course, none are coordinated. It takes me 10 minutes to drive to work. It would take me 2 hours to walk - the same time that it would take me to go by bus. My bicycle lasted 4 rides to work before it had a flat tyre from all the rubbish and glass on the ground and the poorly maintained roads, and each time I went out to use it for work, it was dangerous, to say the least, due to either absent cycle paths or the fact that roads are not built wide enough to allow for safe cycling alongside communter traffic. So now I drive where walking is not feasible. And I'm by far not the only one.

I only drive out of necessity. I don't enjoy it and would be much happier if I never had to get behind the wheel again.

But I need my car to get to work and earn money - as does DH.

I think it's a great idea. I'd be all for it.

I'm sure those living on the diversion routes would welcome your idea...all that extra traffic clogging up their streets.

I work in the road safety sector fir a London council. There has been an increase of School Streets where roads close to (most) vehicles outside schools at school pick up/drop off times. Seems to be working well and Tfl are continuing to fund and expand this.

We have also had Play Streets where a road has closed for a day to allow children to play in the street. I personally don't agree with this....it gives mixed messages. Children should never feel a road is a safe place to play.

Just to say School Streetd is not without its problems, for example all the parent parking issues just get moved elsewhere (I.e just outside the school street zone).

Because for young children, this involves the parent getting off their backside and taking children there actually parenting rather than just shoving them out front door!

I was a small child in the 70s, when all the cars went to work with all the dads and our cul-de-sac was a brilliant place to play out, with ride our bikes around the cul-de-sac, and do the rounds of all the houses for morning tea🤣. All the Mum's wise up and had a system for making sure we didn't end up with 12 biscuits and 12 cups of Ribena!!

Great times but life has moved on and closing roads so children can play seems utterly mad, people need to be able to get to their homes and out and about.

Plus, I think it's dangerous to teach children, especially young ones that sometimes it's okay to ride on the road and sometimes it's not. It's far safer these days to maintain that roads are for cars!! & for crossing safely, not playing on.

Cars do take precedence though. Loads more of them. Drivers pay more tax. The economy would suffer. We would be sitting in traffic jams away from the closed roads. Poor people suffer from this as they live on the roads left open. It’s not fair and wrong.

If you don’t drive, move where you need to be to access what you want. Or just drive! We have a £8 million cycleway near where DM lived. Has hardly anyone uses it. Lycra clad types find it too slow and too safe. Hardly ever see families on it. The minority seem to shout the loudest but then don’t use what’s provided. I see exactly the same where I live. Cycle paths not used. So no, you don’t get closed roads as well to suit your timings.

There are plenty of spaces for people who want to get fit by cycling. There are also plenty of spaces for families with younger children to cycle in safety. Unfortunately you don’t live near a park, or have a car? But we do not need to over cater for these groups by closing roads. That’s utter madness.

And who decides what road to close?

Who decides they just going to inconvenience some people for no reason whatseover? So I randomly couldn't use my car when I need it?

I am thinking hell no.

Unfortunately there are too many people who believe that the car should take precedence over anything else

more accurately

there are people who have organised their life and driving necessities, and bought a property and cars to fit their lifestyle.

So yes, I would strongly disagree to be penalised because someone randomly decides to close my street when I need my car.

Yeah, sorry re the Germany thing, I did indeed go off on my own tangent.

Tough luck if you want to go to church. Pesky Christians...

to Church
to work
to a sports competition or sports event
to medical appointments (surprising amount of medical procedures being done on a Sunday!)

the list of why you need a car is endless. Why do people think we have cars in the first place? For the fun of wasting money?

I've lived in Latin America for a while. All the major cities shut down their city centres every Sunday and set up safe routes in and out by closing roads for cyclists runners etc. If Mexico city, sao paulo etc can do it., the uk can

That would be fine if there were cycle paths where I wanted to go, and if the council cleared the overhanging trees and broken glass and other obstacles on the odd one that I can use.

But why do we need to?

I'd rather see some roads made into cycle paths and then allow drivers down these roads but with a sign that states - Drivers are here by invitation, you must give priority to pedestrians and cyclists - any road or route that has an alternative major road they can or could use instead

I don't know if this law has changed but when I arranged a street party some years ago I was told that if residents in the road needed to drive on the road we had to remove the barriers, tables etc as they had the right to do it. The only family who weren't interested in joining in were co-operative and moved their car out of the road before we set up the party.

What would worry me is having kids playing/riding bikes on this quiet road and suddenly a car quite legally drives along the road. Sort of everyone has a false sense of security, lets their guard down and an accident happens.