Congestion?

[Newlunar]

Having tried to appreciate both sides of the congestion charge debate I have come to the following conclusions.

Firstly, I have cause to travel in and around the whole of Greater Manchester through seven days of the week at all times of the day, and I can catorgorically state that I rarely have problems getting from one side of the area to the other. Granted, there are traffic hotspots and there's no denying the problem will never improve, BUT at this moment there is no need to impose a huge stealth tax on the workers of Manchester.

The Yes campaigners state that Manchester has the most congested roads outside London.
Having been stuck in a London non rush hour traffic jam in the last two years I can state that London has a far worse congestion problem than Manchester and so does Birmingham, in 2004 it took me over two hour to get from one side of Brum to the other on a bloody Vespa. And yet I can get from Bury to Stockport in less than 30 minutes at any time.

The Yes lot state that if we vote Yes we'll get massive investment in Public transport but I've heard these reassurances before, like the Millenium dome, the London Olympics (Tessa Jowel faux pas'd the truth this week), and nearer to home Radcliffe was promised a super school by 2009 on the grounds of East Lancs papermill site, not only is that site still bare but the project is suspended and so is the whole planned regeneration of the town as a result. So forgive me if I take those sort promises with a barra-ful of salt.

But hang on a minute, all us vehicle users pay the spiralling vehicle excise licences! A tax 'temporarily' invoked during world war two and ostentaciously kept for road maintenance. Why can't central government pay for much needed improvements? BTW, if we vote NO we'll get nothing. The politics of the torture chamber!

Okay, let's meet half way, why not introduce an interim measure like Leeds +2 lanes you can use the largely redundant bus lanes if you have two or more passengers in your car during specified hours. Free and workable.

The fact is, I can quite easily still travel for free even with a congestion charge, I work shifts, I cycle on days, I car share on afternoons and drive on nights and the only thing I need to carry is my lunch. But I'm against the congestion because for once I'm in the minority, supporting the majority against an unfair and unecessary tax.

 

[kronkonite]

why not introduce free public transport

FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT
GIVE UP YOUR CAR FOR THAT?

 

[NPBlue]

I drive for a living, and we can't go on like we are.

I get stuck in jams everywhere.

What gets me going is the simple fact that this country has been crying out for an integrated transport policy for decades, since Beeching cut the railways, really.

We are now going to have to pay for the failings of successive governments and local authorities to get their brains in gear and think a bit about their decisions.

I'm in favour of the congestion charge from a purely selfish point of view, but I also hate the idea from my personal point of view, if that makes sense?

Local authorities make decisions about new supermarkets and out of town shopping centres without any real consideration about how it will impact on traffic flows.

All of us get stuck in the traffic, and it is now our fault, so we have to pay.

But what the thick twats that run this country can't understand is that it's not our fault we are in this mess. It is their fault all along.

 

[scall11]

I heard on a radio show that just by getting the congestion charge, we don't neccessarily get the transport improvements. Basically, there's this big pot of money central government has which has been earmarked for our transport developments. Now the only way we can APPLY for this money is to bring in the congestion charge.

So we bring in the congestion charge, it's bringing in millions of pounds a year, THEN we apply to the central government for the money to expand the Metrolink, bus lanes etc. However, central government is well within its rights, the laws etc to just turn us down. So we introduce a congestion charge with no money for transport improvements after all.

I think we'd get some money, but there's no way central government would give us several billions of pounds 'for nowt' to improve our transport. It won't happen.

Has anyone noticed in the last few years traffic lights going up in odd places? That seem to cause problems than solve them? Say for example the new traffic lights near the McVittee factory. Or bus lanes that make no sense? Like on Didsbury Road in Burnage there's a bus lane on the left for 500 yards, but all the buses need to use the RIGHT hand lane when they come to the end of the bus lane, and most the cars are turning LEFT to Cheadle. It's chaos. And every week, they have a camera car to catch people out, because common sense kicks in and people use the bus lane. ZAP there's a fine. But I've never seen any other bus lane being policed by cameras.
All these odd additions to our road network are intentional to create congestion, so that the congestion charge would be introduced. I was told this about 4 years ago by someone at the University who deals with traffic planning and stuff like that, and didn't believe it. Now I realise that it's true.

 

[mrmiddle]

being a southern blue. i am alway stuck in the car park they call the m25. even at 6 lanes its still messed up, all it needs is 1 small crash or break down and theys a minimum 10 mile tailback.

and please don`t get me started on the congestion zone in london!!

 

[C_T_I_D]

I don't drive but can someone tell me why, in my books, they are charging us twice?

Drivers pay road tax so why should they pay the congestion charge? It's not the fault of drivers that the road situation is like this is it?

 

[brass neck]

We all ready have done/are doing......paying for the pleasure of using our roads....thrice fold!!!! Get out of stupid, pointless, unpopular, advised against, gone into against the will of the public, resented, VERY EXPENSIVE, divisive and ultimately futile WARS and start spending the money on sorting our country out FINANCIALLY...tax cuts...public works, tax breaks for small business and SOCIALY projects devised to improve sociaty funded by central government,manned by our army of layabouts, the new unemployed and prisoners.

 

[milo]

No! for M60.

Yes! for city centre.

 

[stonie]

bollox to it all

 

[andy h]

The whole transport agenda is a paradox. The government wants everyone to stop using their cars and use public transport instead. The need for carbon reduction through vehicle emissions is one policy that needs to be pushed forward. However, the government don't really have the balls to stop people from using thier own cars as (1) it is too unpopular as folk like the personal freedom car ownership gives them and banning car use is clearly a vote loser plus (2) the treasury will lose a shedload of income if fuel revenue/car tax etc stopped coming into the coffers.

Realistically, there needs to be a huge investment in public transport from to improve the current networks and the thus making the public transport alternative more attractive by improving coverage, frequency and vehicle quality. I work in a rural county and manage public transport for the council and it really is hard work. We are continuity being told that we need to improve accessibility and provide better transport link to overcome social isolation etc. Trouble is, commercial bus operators don't want to get involved in running marginal routes (can't blame them) and the council does not have the cash to provide more subsidies for socailly neccessary routes.

Sorry if this has gone off on a tangent from the original point but it does show what an impossible situation transport policy is.