Speed barriers in Vancouver not part of '15-minute city' plan | Fact check

Isabella Fertel, USA TODAY
·4 min read

The claim: Yellow speed reduction barriers in Vancouver are part of a '15-minute city' plan

An April 18 Facebook post (direct link, archived link) includes images of yellow traffic barriers in Vancouver, Canada, with stickers affixed that read "15 minute City Ready."

“The 15-minute city is quietly creeping into Vancouver,” reads the caption of the post. “I was told the location was between Oak and Granville on 13th Ave.”

The post garnered more than a thousand shares in three weeks. Other versions of this claim using the same photos are circulating on Twitter.

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Our rating: False

The pictured gateways are part of Vancouver’s Slow Streets initiative and are designed to reduce vehicle speeds. The barriers are not related to a 15-minute city plan, nor do they restrict residents' ability to access parts of Vancouver by car. The stickers were not authorized or placed by the city.

Traffic barriers not part of 15-minute city plan

The post is referencing the “15-minute city” concept created by Carlos Moreno, a professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. The premise is that all essential services are accessible to all city residents within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.

But the yellow barriers pictured in the post are part of Vancouver’s Slow Streets initiative launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, not a 15-minute city plan, according to Katherine Glowacz, manager of community transportation at the City of Vancouver.

The “15 minute City Ready” stickers affixed to the barriers were not authorized by the city and will be removed, Glowacz told USA TODAY.

“The yellow gateways are intended to reduce vehicle speeds,” Glowacz told USA TODAY in an email. “The gateways create a pinch point where Slow Streets meet major streets, allowing only one direction of vehicle traffic at a time.”

Local news coverage of the speed reduction gateways does not mention anything about 15-minute city plans or reforms.

While the Slow Streets program began in 2020, the current yellow barriers were put in place in early 2023, Glowacz said. Other plastic and concrete barriers have been installed throughout the city at the intersections of main streets and Slow Streets.

One of the Twitter posts inaccurately implies the barriers will restrict residents’ ability to move freely throughout the City of Vancouver. But the barriers do not restrict citizens’ ability to access different areas of the city by car, according to Glowacz.

While the City of Vancouver plans to implement a series of reforms to increase local services and reduce personal vehicle use, there are “no plans to limit anyone’s mobility in the city,” Glowacz said.

Moreno previously told USA TODAY that it is baseless to say that 15-minute cities are aiming to restrict residents’ mobility.

"The 15-minute city is the opposite of lockdown," Moreno said. "The 15-minute city is an open and connected city, which balances the differences in access to services."

USA TODAY previously debunked an array of claims that mischaracterize the nature of "15-minute city" plans around the world, including posts about Cleveland, Ottawa, Oxfordshire, Scotland and the U.N.’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Fact check: '15-minute cities' concept has nothing to do with locking down residents

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook and Twitter users who shared the posts but did not receive an immediate response. One of the Twitter users could not be reached for comment.

Reuters and Check Your Fact also debunked this claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vancouver traffic barriers unrelated to '15-minute city' plan | Fact check