Congestion charging

Dozens of key roads will be blocked

By David Williams Motoring Editor

Evening Standard

17 December 2002

Congestion charging will cause chaos on dozens of key London roads, a highly influential report warns today.

The scheme's vital boundary road could be swamped with extra traffic - while key roads adjacent to the boundary will be hit with up to 200 extra vehicles an hour after congestion charging starts on 17 February, it says.

It warns that up to 1.5 million people living on the edge of the zone could be hit by the twin problems of greater traffic and a squeeze on their public transport as some motorists cease using their cars.

The study, conducted by the London Assembly's own transport committee, makes alarming reading for London residents and workers as it is the first direct evidence backing what pressure groups and critics have claimed for months.

It says:

• Displaced motorists will force existing commuters off public transport

• Provision of extra public transport will do little to reduce overcrowding

• Many buses are still not running on time

• There should have been a full public examination of the congestion charging scheme.

It says London could face a wave of "civil disobedience", including a flood of cars using false registration plates, and questions Transport for London's assertion that extra buses will "soak up" those forced out of their cars.

Roads that could be swamped with extra traffic include Tower Bridge Road, Kennington Lane, Vauxhall Bridge Road and Southwark Bridge. There will be additional "rat-running" around the edges of the zone.

Crucially, the transport committee claims that only one in four of the 165 schemes planned to minimise traffic forced onto unsuitable roads will be in place when congestion charging starts, leaving residents to suffer "long after February 2003".

The report, by committee members who studied TfL's own data, says "much heavier" traffic at key points on and adjacent to the vital boundary road will create a "double whammy" for residents who will have their streets disrupted - and who will be forced off overcrowded Tubes.

"By the time these more crowded services reach inner London stations, locals will have to wait longer for space on carriages or be forced onto buses," says the report.

It acknowledges that more buses have been planned but questions whether TfL has sufficiently improved services ahead of the scheme's introduction. Other concerns are that the Mayor " underestimated the importance of consulting and taking the public with him".

Assembly members are concerned that the Mayor has refused to reveal how and when he will judge whether the scheme is a success. "There is the possibility that, without proper public oversight, it may be declared a success by tackling congestion in central London while ignoring its impact on other parts of the city," it adds.

A spokesman for Transport for London rejected many of the findings. He said there would only be a "small rise" in traffic on a small number of roads. "It will just be a few per cent more vehicles," he said. "We are confident that we will have traffic management measures in place to keep traffic moving."

The spokesman added: "We are making extra public transport provision so that it will cope. We believe that buses can handle the switchover from the roads." He said the Mayor would publish criteria by which he would judge the success of the scheme in the new year.

©2002 Associated New Media

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