Alberta Conservatives reject '15 Minute Cities'

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United Conservative delegates want to avoid the "15 Minute Cities" like the plague — having had their fill of lockdown measures during the COVID lockdown.

The Innisfail-Sylvan Lake UCP constituency proposed a prohibition on "any land use or development planning initiatives that would restrict movement of residents as per Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." 

With a near-unanimous 'yes' vote, the Conservative grassroots rejoiced as the nonbinding policy passed Saturday afternoon.

"There is much debate over the implementation of design strategies in urban areas which are known as '15 Minute Cities,' begins policy resolution #12. "Broadly, the idea is to cut down on long commutes and car emissions and improve people's quality of life by ensuring they have access to quality services where they live, which are all benign and noble goals."

"[City] planners defend their usage, stating their aim is to make cities more livable by ensuring all essential services — think schools, medical care, and shops — are within the distance of a short walk or bicycle ride," reads the resolution.

However, party members do not buy the malarky.

Oxfordshire County council, from the United Kingdom, recently passed a bylaw that will prevent excess movement between zones. "People can drive freely around their own neighborhood and can apply for a permit to drive through the filters, and into other neighborhoods, for up to 100 days per year," said the Oxford Mail.

To enforce the travel restrictions, traffic camera filters are installed on major roads between zones that operate from 7am-7pm, 7 days a week.

This is a developing story.