The most recent battle in a long history of battles in Oxford has been triggered by the low traffic neighbourhood scheme, a network of barriers and cameras being built in my area as part of efforts to reduce the air pollution linked to the deaths of one in 17 people who live in the city.
These measures are not extreme. Each household will receive 100 days of exemptions to the traffic gates per person. The traffic planters leave the vast majority of roads unaffected. Yet these gentle restrictions have led to mass meetings full of howls of rage and harrumphing. The rate of vandalism of bollards and planter barriers is so high that cameras will have to be installed. Not a week goes by without someone expressing their frustration over traffic calming measures as un-calmly as possible.
