Road Charging Mooted to End Gridlock Misery in Preston, Lancashire
Preston councillors, police and business leaders were invited to the session, hosted by Lancashire County Council.
They were divided into groups to discuss ideas for improving transport in the city.
And congestion charging was one idea given serious consideration.
One council boss today said he remained against it - but others at the seminar said it could have its advantages.
Source: Lancashire Evening Post
Charging motorists to drive into the centre of Preston is in the spotlight as part of a travel plan to tackle growing congestion across Lancashire.
The idea was debated at a seminar to help inform a new Lancashire-wide transport plan for the next 10 years.
Eric Fazackerley, deputy leader of Preston Council, said: “The ideas included more cycle lanes, better bus services and charging people to come into the city by car.
“It is one of the ideas on the agenda to talk about. My own view is it would drive people away. Other people in my group were making different noises.”
The seminars will be repeated across Lancashire’s 12 districts before the travel plan, which will cover the period from 2011-2021, is finalised.
Among the goals set out for the plan are to improve the county’s economy and tackle climate change.
Reducing congestion is seen as important for helping the economy, while reducing “dependence on road transport” is seen as vital to tackle carbon emissions.
Consultation on the plan will continue in autumn. It will be implemented in March 2011.
Hugh Evans, policy director at the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce said: “Transport planners need to think through the potential impact of road pricing before any attempts are made to introduce a scheme in Preston. Industry already pays an enormous sum in road associated taxation and is fully entitled to a very high quality of service which it is not properly getting.
“If we want more people to use public transport then we need to increase the current capacity of the public transport infrastructure before any measure to introduce road pricing is introduced.”
Government plans to plough cash into public transport as long as a congestion charge was introduced were dealt a major blow in December 2008 when 79 per cent of voters in Manchester rejected the plans after a city-wide referendum.
In March, ministers of the last Government abandoned their bid to tempt Lancashire County Council into adopting road pricing after axing the Transport Innovation Fund.
But earlier this month, the RAC Foundation said the introduction of ‘pay as you drive’ systems were becoming inevitable because of rising congestion.
August 3, 2010
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