A plan to limit the number of automobiles in Oxford and Oxfordshire has provoked a very contemporary form of resistance—online misinformation and threats.
Elected officials and staff in Oxford and Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom are suffering the consequences of proposing a “traffic filtering” plan, intended to create safer places to walk and prioritize non-automotive forms of transportation.
The traffic filtering plan is intended to help the city and county, respectively, as part of the Local Plan 2040, which sets goals to become a 15-minute city.
Viral online misinformation has claimed that the traffic filtering plan “would see parts of the city cut off from each other under a ‘climate lockdown’ and that residents would have to ask the council for permission to travel from one area of the city to another,” according to an article by Christopher Carey.
“The trial scheme, set to be introduced in 2024, will see motorists fined £75 (US$91.85) if they pass through a filter at certain times of the day,” explains Carey. “Residents of the affected areas can apply for permits allowing them to pass through the filters up to 100 days a year, and there will be exemptions for buses, taxis, Blue Badge holders, emergency services, health workers and people receiving frequent hospital treatments.”
More details on the plan and the resulting misinformation can be found at the link below.
FULL STORY: Oxford council staff face threats after traffic scheme misinformation
Congestion Pricing Study Taking Shape in Los Angeles
New York City is the furthest along with a congestion pricing scheme, but San Francisco and Los Angeles are catching up in California.
Congestion Pricing Under Discussion in San Francisco
An expanding number of major U.S. cities are exploring the idea of charging drivers to drive into certain heavily trafficked parts of town. San Francisco is the most recent to explore the idea of congestion pricing (also known as cordon pricing).
Watch Out for Green Class Backlash
Low emission zones, like that implemented in London, face backlash from critics on all sides of the political spectrum for impacting the poorest drivers and putting a burden on small businesses.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
