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[Article] Congestion charge zone set to double

12-08-2004 12:18am

#1

Victor

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http://home.eircom.net/content/reuters/uNews/3786418?view=Standard

Congestion charge zone set to double
From:Reuters
Wednesday, 11 August, 2004
By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - London's controversial road congestion charge scheme, already covering about half the city centre, is set to double in size within the next two years under plans put forward by Mayor Ken Livingstone.

The scheme -- the biggest in the world -- was launched in February 2003 to applause from environmentalists and brickbats from local businesses.

Drivers entering a zone stretching from Hyde Park to Tower Bridge pay five pounds a day from 0700 to 1830 on weekdays.

Mayor Ken Livingstone's plan will extend the boundary westwards as far as Earls Court by late 2006.

The new zone will take in the prosperous residential areas of Notting Hill, Kensington and Chelsea -- including most foreign embassies and major retailers like Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

Kensington and Chelsea council immediately protested, saying the plan ignored wide public consultations earlier this year in which two-thirds of respondents rejected an extension.

"This really is staggering. When the Tube (London Underground) is falling apart he wants to chuck 120 million pounds at a money-losing congestion charging scheme," the council said in a statement.

The existing scheme raised some 70 million pounds in its first year, about half what was expected. The money will be invested in improving roads and public transport.

Major retail chain the John Lewis Partnership also expressed "severe disappointment" at news of the extension, saying trade in the existing zone had been hit hard since it came into force 18 months ago and was only now starting to recover.

CLEARER ROADS

In the first year of the scheme, traffic in the eight square mile (21 sq km) zone dropped some 16 percent against expectations of a drop of 10 percent.

But in doing so it fell well short of its own projected budget and provoked open revolt from businesses who said their takings had been torpedoed as shoppers shifted allegiance to areas outside the zone.

On the other hand, environmental groups and the city's cyclists and bus users all breathed huge sighs of relief that the roads -- and the air -- were much clearer.

Even motorists paying the charge grudgingly agreed their journey times had been reduced -- although road hauliers disagreed, saying they had noticed little change.

Transport for London, which operates the scheme on behalf of the Greater London Assembly, will now fine-tune the new boundaries and consider an appeal by theatres and the restaurant trade to end it at 1800 each night instead of 1830.

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