Voters in UK city push back against harsh climate mandate

Residents of the British city of Exeter recently overwhelmingly rejected a climate mandate which is now being seen as a failed experiment.

‘Obvious suffering’

For nine months, Exeter residents have grappled with low-traffic neighborhoods (LTNs), areas where cars are blocked from entering. Officials said the mandate was meant to fight climate change by forcing residents to walk and cycle to destinations instead of driving.

But the mandate soon resulted in increased traffic congestion, massive hold-ups, and reduced business activity.

“Some older people became isolated, shops didn't get the same level of passing trade, doctors couldn't do home visits, carers had to cut the time spent with patients, and the list goes on,” local Shannon Mac told The Times. “I still cannot comprehend how those who wanted the LTN can shut their eyes to obvious suffering.”

Specialist diabetes nurse Tracy Courtney said she was forced to drive extra miles after pulling 12- to 14-hour shifts because of the LTNs.

Officials defiant against voters

But the LTN mandate has now been axed after the city council sent out a survey to over 9,000 residents. Eighty-two percent voted against it.

Nevertheless, some officials have remained defiant and signaled that they will continue to introduce climate mandates. Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee Labour Chair Carol Whitton, for example, has vowed to transform the city for the climate.

“I passionately believe that we have to change, we have to move towards more sustainable forms of travel, whether that is about climate change or about Exeter as a city,” she said.

LTNs harm schools, businesses

But while Exeter taxpayers may have dodged LTNs, other cities continue to struggle under the mandate.

In Oxford, LTNs are causing so much traffic congestion that a nine-minute bus journey now takes nearly an hour and car rides are 30 minutes longer than before, officials at Magdalen College School have said. This has led to teachers resigning from the private Oxfordshire school over the arduous commute, and potential replacements have turned down job offers from the school for the same reason.

Schools are not the only victims of LTNs, however. Businesses have closed due to reduced traffic from the climate mandate. In August, it was revealed that LTNs have caused Cafe Tarifa, a bar and restaurant in Oxford, to close its doors. Cafe Tarifa is owned by Clinton Pugh, whose daughter, award-winning actress Florence Pugh, used to work with him in the cafe. 

‘It’s the small people who suffer’

“People don’t want to come here any more, staff do not want to come around here. Who wants to be stuck in traffic for hours? Who wants to spend hours looking for a space to park?” said the 65-year-old restaurateur. He erected a billboard protesting against the mandate, but was fined for doing so.

“It’s the small people who suffer, those who need their car to go to work, the mothers who need to drive their kids around.”

Silvester’s Stores, a hardware store which has been in Oxford for 112 years, is also closing down this year. The store’s owner, Stuart Silvester, says the store has survived some of history’s worst events but was destroyed by climate mandates.

“It’s an absolute disaster to be honest,” he said, according to Oxford Mail. “Thankfully the business has come through two world wars and the pandemic, but LTNs have hit traders the most. They didn't listen to the traders. God knows how people are going to afford to keep running.”

Study: Climate mandate causes more pollution

In addition to the damage to schools and businesses, LTNs are also harming the environment, researchers suggest. 

A report was published last year on the environmental impact of low-emission zones in Glasgow, Scotland. Similar to LTNs, low-emission zones are areas where only vehicles which meet certain environmental standards are allowed. Drivers of unapproved vehicles who enter these low emission zones (LEZs) are fined £60 ($75.77) per day.

Scotland Transportation Minister Jenny Gilruth hailed the mandate as a solution to pollution.

But tests showed that air pollution in Glasgow rose following the mandate, likely due to increased congestion. Nitrogen dioxide levels in June, July and August 2022 were measured at 31 micrograms per cubic meter against 34 micrograms last year.