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Benefits of C-charge 'eroded' by roadworks
Simon Kirby02.10.08
A London transport boss today admitted that roadworks and cleaner car engines had "eroded" the benefits of a congestion charge zone.
Lucinda Turner, policy manager at Transport for London, made the frank admission to residents of Hammersmith and Fulham in a debate about the western extension to the zone.
The admission will raise questions over the need for the C-charge and comes just days before the end of a public consultation over the future of the charge. Mayor of London Boris Johnson will consider whether to keep the extension zone, scrap it or change the way it works, with alternative operating hours.
Ms Turner said extending the charging zone last year had improved congestion and emissions but the beneficial effects had since been lost because of roadworks and cleaner engines.
She said: "There are a number of factors that have contributed to the erosion of a number of congestion benefits." However, she added that traffic and air quality would be worse if the charge were dumped.
She also suggested that any downturn in local trade was as much to do with the credit crunch as the zone extension.
During the debate, Jenny Jones, the Green Party's London Assembly member, locked horns with local resident activist Gordon Taylor. Ms Jones said that while the system was flawed, "it does make things quieter, calmer, and cleaner".
But Mr Taylor said the charge was an "oxymoron" as the majority of the roads in the extension zone had not been congested in the first place.
Daniel Goldsmith, 45, of Chiswick, said he didn't mind the charge if it was used to improve public transport.
But Vanessa Crichton, 59, of Shepherd's Bush was opposed to the extension and said: "Bus journeys can be an absolute nightmare, they don't seem to move any faster. I think it doesn't work."
Reader views (4)
Mr S Port
Like a true poet you spea!
I couldn't agree with you more.
- John Patino, London
Nobby, aren't there any things in Perth for you to bleat on about? Leave London issues to Londoners - and mind your own business.
- Austen, London
So the evidence is there - get rid of it! Roadworks are, and always will be, a way of life in London; car engines will continue to get cleaner. Therefore there is no need for this nonsense tax. Rip it out, sell off all the IT on eBay (having first removed any sensitive data) and save a few million each year in administration costs. Everyone is a winner.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
where there were once clear roads we have gridlock, where there were once easy access we have a no entry, where there were once a straight road we now have a bend.
where there were once a flat road we now have humps
where there was once a friend of London we now have TFL.
- Mr S.Port, London
