All Things Are Possible ....

[Cugel]

....Even a car free city or town.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018 ... pontevedra

SO ... all it takes is the political will.

Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores has been mayor of the Galician city since 1999. His philosophy is simple: owning a car doesn’t give you the right to occupy the public space.

“How can it be that the elderly or children aren’t able to use the street because of cars?” asks César Mosquera, the city’s head of infrastructures. “How can it be that private property – the car – occupies the public space?”


Cugel

[brooksby]

Yeah, I read that article earlier. Problem we have here in Blighty is that there's nobody *with* the political will...

[peetee]

....

Miguel Anxo Fernández lorez “How can it be that private property – the car – occupies the public space?”


Cugel

Because for our government the public spaces arn't paved with gold, cars are.

[Cugel]

Yet air pollution, largely from concentrated oil-engine in the cities, brings on the ill-health and premature death of huge numbers. Most worryingly, it has a seriously deleterious effect on growing children in such environments.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -in-europe

Still, we cannot curb the freedom of Mr Toad, nor that of the striving shareholders reliant on the various commercial vehicles ferrying in the consumer not-so-durables.

Cugel

[rmurphy195]

I can remember towns and villages that were traffic-free.

In Northern Ireland in the late 60's and 70's

When travelling to see relatives in Donegal it was often simply not possible to explore the local towns and villages on the way from the ferry from the mainland, stop off for breaks etc. nor pop into telephone boxes and call in case we were going to be late (pre-mobile phone days).

The concrete-filled oil drums, barriers, and armed police were a bit of a deterrent.

Out of town phone boxes were mostly out of action of course - usually as a result of fire or explosion.

The days, the days ....

[Cyril Haearn]

Could well have been that Ulster was safer back then
I did read that Ulster people had fewer mental health problems during The Troubles

[pwa]

I'm not clear that the change that has been implemented in that Spanish city is much more than the town centre pedestrianisation that took place in UK towns and cities decades earlier. The removal of most motorised traffic from the central zone, leaving the outer zones as full of cars as ever. Easier perhaps in a UK context where the central zone has tended to be purely for commerce and not actually lived in.

[meic]

Here is Carmarthen's pedestrianised zone.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.8560677 ... 312!8i6656

One thing that is almost guaranteed is that, just like in this picture, there will be a motorvehicle driving on it and lots parked on it. They are not tolerant of any pedestrians getting in their way and not making way for them.

I bet it isnt the same in that Spaniard's pedestrianised zone.

[pwa]

Bolton town centre:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5779429 ... 6?hl=en-GB

And that part has been pedestrianised since the 1960s. I don't remember private cars ever being allowed onto that.

[reohn2]

Bolton town centre:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5779429 ... 6?hl=en-GB

And that part has been pedestrianised since the 1960s. I don't remember private cars ever being allowed onto that.

Though to be fair it's only a very small portion of Bolton town centre,and the same goes for Wigan,Manchester or Liverpool FTM.

[mjr]

I'm not clear that the change that has been implemented in that Spanish city is much more than the town centre pedestrianisation that took place in UK towns and cities decades earlier. The removal of most motorised traffic from the central zone, leaving the outer zones as full of cars as ever. Easier perhaps in a UK context where the central zone has tended to be purely for commerce and not actually lived in.

The difference is that in Spain (and most of Europe), cycling is widely allowed in such zones, whereas in the UK, we have guidance saying cycling should be allowed that is very rarely implemented, plus I agree with meic that you can almost guarantee that there will be motorists driving in the zone (for spurious reasons, often) and being very intolerant of people walking and cycling there.

Bolton town centre:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5779429 ... 6?hl=en-GB

And that part has been pedestrianised since the 1960s. I don't remember private cars ever being allowed onto that.

But private Land Rovers (spin the camera left slightly and look at the side of the town hall) are allowed?

I suspect there may be more if someone who knows the town clicks about the map a bit. I do sometimes wonder if there's a single UK town centre pedestrian zone of any size on Streetview without a motor vehicle in it. The ones in King's Lynn and Norwich both have multiple vehicles in. Weston-super-Mare has a pedestrianised street, not a decent zone.

[pwa]

I'm not clear that the change that has been implemented in that Spanish city is much more than the town centre pedestrianisation that took place in UK towns and cities decades earlier. The removal of most motorised traffic from the central zone, leaving the outer zones as full of cars as ever. Easier perhaps in a UK context where the central zone has tended to be purely for commerce and not actually lived in.

The difference is that in Spain (and most of Europe), cycling is widely allowed in such zones, whereas in the UK, we have guidance saying cycling should be allowed that is very rarely implemented, plus I agree with meic that you can almost guarantee that there will be motorists driving in the zone (for spurious reasons, often) and being very intolerant of people walking and cycling there.

Bolton town centre:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5779429 ... 6?hl=en-GB

And that part has been pedestrianised since the 1960s. I don't remember private cars ever being allowed onto that.

But private Land Rovers (spin the camera left slightly and look at the side of the town hall) are allowed?

I suspect there may be more if someone who knows the town clicks about the map a bit. I do sometimes wonder if there's a single UK town centre pedestrian zone of any size on Streetview without a motor vehicle in it. The ones in King's Lynn and Norwich both have multiple vehicles in. Weston-super-Mare has a pedestrianised street, not a decent zone.

No. In the case of Bolton the ban on private cars was total, as far back as I can remember. The ones you can see in the distance on the image are on the non-pedestrianised access that curves around the back of the town hall.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5778584 ... 6?hl=en-GB
The cars closest to the pedestrianised area are in disabled parking bays.

I've no idea what the what the policy is regarding cycling there, having not been back for at least fifteen years. But the pedestrian zone has expanded.