Will “War on Motorists” Make Cities Unlivable?

The city of Birmingham, UK, is at the forefront of efforts to change over to the 15-minute-city concept. Its climate-minded leaders plan a “war on motorists” to reduce CO2 emissions.

Birmingham plans to plant trees on roads to block vehicular traffic and encourage people to walk and use bicycles. This is how the plan looks, according to Birmingham’s planners:

The city shows an artist’s rendition of its plans:

Labour’s city council leader Ian Ward revealed ‘a route map to a greener city’ will be launched tomorrow – which aims to double the amount of green space to see the city become ‘carbon zero’.

‘The plan has been very well received when we’ve consulted on it and we expect it to be very well received when we launch it tomorrow.’

Please stop for a second and look at the above pictures closely. They show a city that is essentially barricaded by trees. Note how trees block almost all roads to city quarters, where numerous high-occupancy multistory buildings are located.

Now ask yourself a few questions:

• In case of a multiple-alarm fire at one or several large buildings, many large fire and ambulance vehicles will be needed on site. How will they get to the buildings? What if a mass casualty event happens in tree-blocked Birmingham?
• How can construction projects be accomplished if cranes, excavators, etc., cannot get to buildings?
• Not everyone can walk or ride bicycles, as I was painfully made aware of when I broke my foot last year. (I can walk now, but not very far)
  How can disabled or old people get around?
• How can industry, which requires trucks to haul materials and finished goods, exist in a city where truck traffic is blocked?
• How can goods be delivered to stores?

I am not sure how much the council of Birmingham thought this through. They possibly did not consider any of the above and are making these policy decisions to signal their virtue, disregarding consequences.

Are German Greens Crazier than UK Greens?

In doing such reckless things to their city, Birmingham (UK) Greens resemble German Greens. German energy planners, who came from the depths of Net Zero-aligned think tanks, are hell-bent on destroying their country’s energy infrastructure and industry. Germany is closing down nuclear power stations and fossil fuel generation while relying on unreliable solar and wind power.

Solar installations are not well-suitable for Germany, a country known for having many cloudy days. Consider this chart of hours of sunshine per month:

You can see that in winter, Germany has 30-40 HOURS of sunshine per MONTH. How will solar panels help heat German homes in December or January?

Eugyppius described the energy madness that overtook his country. Please appreciate how similar is the energy situation in Germany to Birmingham, UK, wanting to barricade its streets to make vehicular traffic impossible.

I Love Trees! But not in My Driveway

I love trees. I live in a leafy suburb. I planted wild and fruit trees and have several oak trees growing in my front yard. All that vegetation makes me happy — but it does not block emergency access or prevent everyday life from happening, such as our family friends coming for a party.

Birmingham, UK, has the opposite goal: to plant so many trees as to make regular city living impossible – and even dangerous due to blocked access.

By barricading their streets with trees to stop people from driving, they will make the life of old and disabled people much more complicated and will destroy the remnants of their industry.

Not having any manufacturing, not driving or traveling, and being softly confined to the immediate vicinity of their apartments, is what the planners of Birmingham want for their residents.

Is that what you want?

https://igorchudov.substack.com/p/will-war-on-motorists-make-cities?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email