By Oly Shipp<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year I lived in the university town of Greifswald in north-east Germany. Reflecting on my experiences there, I wonder: could Oxford solve its transport challenges by learning from the Germans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city centres of both Greifswald and Oxford have similar problems: lovely but narrow, historic streets; full of shoppers, students, and tourists; and totally unsuited to car travel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there is a striking difference: Greifswald\u2019s centre is completely car-free \u2013 and has been for decades!\u00a0 Driving a car there is unthinkable, apart from exemptions for police, disabled, or deliveries.\u00a0As a result, their city has a beautiful, bustling centre where you can walk, cycle, drink with friends, buy fruit from the thriving market, watch your kids play safely, and enjoy touring entertainments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast, I returned to Oxford where the noxious queue for the Westgate is as bad as ever, and our Broad Street remains sadly dominated by cars.\u00a0Can I hope that this parking will be removed soon, the tiny zero emission zone<\/a> will expand, and we will finally create similarly attractive central spaces here in Oxford?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The residential areas of both cities also have similar challenges: housing density and rental prices are high, and it is really hard for local people to afford homes they are happy with, near to their work, schools, or families.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Impressively, every single residential street in Greifswald has been thought about and designed for the people who live there.\u00a0Larger streets always have segregated pavements and safe, continuous cycle tracks.\u00a0Then, depending on the remaining space, motor traffic is either one or two way, with car parking on separate cobbled lay-bys if there is room.\u00a0You can walk or cycle in both directions on smaller residential streets, but they are often one way for motor vehicles, and strategically filtered to avoid \u2018rat running\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here in Oxford, we have suffered decades of poor or absent transport planning.\u00a0On the main routes near my home like Iffley Road or Cowley Road, motor transport clearly has first priority, and car parking is the next. People walking or cycling are afterthoughts, squeezed in where there\u2019s room, crowded out whenever space is tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shamefully, on Oxford\u2019s quieter residential roads, \u2018might is right\u2019 has long prevailed over proper planning.\u00a0The authorities\u2019 response to car drivers selfishly parking on pavements wasn\u2019t to reclaim them for pedestrians, but shockingly to legitimise pavement parking. I hope they will give us back our pavements soon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n