Oxford Residents Will Soon Be Prisoners of Their Own Neighborhoods
American Thinker | 12/28/22 | Andrea Widburg… In accordance with UN and WEF climate recommendations, the city of Oxford (home to the famed university) approved plans mandating that citizens may not drive more than 15 minutes’ distance from their homes without permission.
It’s called the “15 Minute City” and is intended to reduce auto emissions.
Mostly, though, it will reduce liberty, which is what climate change madness has always been about.
…
… the Oxford City Council went from theory to fact by a council vote on November 29 to implement trial traffic filters as of January 2024 that will require residents to get permission to leave their neighborhoods, all in the name of saving the planet:
“Oxfordshire County Council yesterday approved plans to lock residents into one of six zones to ‘save the planet’ from global warming. The latest stage in the ’15 minute city’ agenda is to place electronic gates on key roads in and out of the city, confining residents to their own neighbourhoods.
“Under the new scheme if residents want to leave their zone they will need permission from the Council, who gets to decide who is worthy of freedom and who isn’t. Under the new scheme residents will be allowed to leave their zone a maximum of 100 days per year, but in order to even gain this every resident will have to register their car details with the council, who will then track their movements via smart cameras round the city.”
The push to get us into electric vehicles with electronic controls makes more sense.
Straight Line of the Day: First France, now Oxford: Is your government next?
All work-from-home people may only go outside to empty their trash not more than 60 feet unless going jogging ($20 jogging fee).
We are all just prisoners here, of our own device.
And in the House’s chambers, where IQs are the least
They stab taxpayers with their steely knives
While their palms are being greased.
“Relax” said Pelosi, “we are programmed to deceive
You can start your EV any time you like,
Your driveway, it will never leave.”
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door (drunk)
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
“Relax, ” said the night man
“We are programmed to receive
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave”
Welcome to the Hotel D of Columbia
Such an ugly place (such an ugly place)
Run by a nutcase
Congratulations, GumbeauxFelder, GeneHenley, and Frey!
Your creativity has earned the coveted Promoted Comment status.
Your composition will be featured tomorrow one hour after the SLoTD, so the whole world can pick it up on their Google searches.
No payment is necessary.
Walrus, I realize this goes against policy, but ’tis the season.
We have policies?
First France, now Oxford: Is your government next?
Hey, my mom tried grounding me when I was 11.
Doesn’t work if it’s not your caregiver and provider, huh?
Hence, government’s attempts fulfill those roles.
First France, now Oxford: Is your government next?
In Wyoming, you couldn’t even feed your own cows.
Well, you shouldn’t be having cows anyway – remember that they release methane.
Time for Oxford to start sharpening their Kamas, if you know what I mean …
Restrictions will not apply to certified migrants, so, not to worry…
“Migrants” — by definition — can go where they wish. Compare to “residents,” “inhabitants,” etc.
Citizens
Restrictions only apply if the migrants are employed in Pelosi’s vineyards
In her vineyard, as elsewhere, she has such a compliant press.
Keep moving: nothing to see in her vineyard. You have to pass it to see what’s in it.
First France, now Oxford: Is your government next?
What if you live in an RV?
The stuff about Oxford is not true. The detail is here:
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport/connecting-oxfordshire/traffic-filters
Short version: the filters are to reduce the traffic going through the medieval city center. You know, where the medieval college buildings are. If you want to travel to the other side of the city, just go out to the ring-road, go around, and go back in again. No restrictions at all. Which you would have known if you had spent about two minutes researching this rather than taking something someone said on the internet as gospel.
Do these phrases of yours:
“the filters are to reduce the traffic”
“No restrictions at all.”
Make any sense together?
Very first sentence on your link:
“When they are operating, private cars will not be allowed through the traffic filters without a permit.”
No restrictions at a. . . what?
Reading on: “Residents in Oxford and some areas just outside the city will be able to apply for a permit allowing them to drive through the traffic filters for up to 100 days per year.”
What about that 101st day? No restricti. . . . ah.
And: “Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will monitor the traffic filters.”
Now what would be the need to do that, if there were no … re … ah, what a waste of time.
The restrictions are on driving through the city center. There are no restrictions on driving out to the ring road, going round to your destination and driving in again. You can leave your home when ever you like and go wherever you like, just not through the city center. If you had ever driven through the center of Oxford, and I have, you would know this is a good thing.
(The part about ‘No restrictions at all’ was badly phrased. It only referred to the sentence immediately preceding it. Maybe: ‘If you want to travel to the other side of the city, just go out to the ring-road, go around, and go back in again, no restrictions at all.’ would be better.)
People keep calling it a lockdown or a prison and that is complete bollocks.
OK, I do understand your point. Yes.
But.
If you are familiar with Washington D.C., it also has a ring road around it which is unrestricted. However, I would be in opposition to any restriction for the free travel of privately-owned vehicles into or out of this city based on any reasoning.
After 100 days, denying a resident the right to leave would make it a prison and a lockdown, unconstitutional (thank God in the U.S., anyway), unconscionable, dictatorial, fascist, and just plain stupid.
No one likes the idea much – the public consultation worked out at about 60% against. Which they just ignored, obviously, because socialists. The council is a coalition of Labour and the Green party, so totalitarians, one and all.
But someone somewhere has totally misinterpreted what is actually happening and it has spread across the entire internet as gospel.
And you have to understand, this is Oxford. The city center is where all the medieval colleges are, buildings that have been there for 700+ years. It was not planned for the automobile. It was not planned at all. And it’s a complete mess. Hopefully the council will be ejected at the next election and some one else will come up with a better solution.
I’m beginning to like you. I started off differently, but now I feel I’ve changed.
There are cobblestone streets in Merrie Olde England which are prohibited to traffic, and only open to pedestrians. We all appreciate the sentiment behind this, and the logic. Preservation, safety, and all that. No argument.
Now, from your point of view, you could argue that — at least I would, if I were you — giving local residents 100 days of ingress and egress via motor vehicles is a boon, somewhat better than excluding private cars altogether.
I’d have to reconcile this with allowing taxis and buses free reign, however. Either a road is fragile or it is not.
If this is being done for some Global Warming reason under cover of preservation, I object on the basis of science.
How far away are the council members’ homes? That should be a popular destination!
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After drinking my tea and having a scone with preserves, I would place my GMC Yukon XL carefully into drive and drive Whereever TF I want to go….pip pip and screw your WEF controls…
But then, you’re an Ameri-can.