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Car conundrum

5:27pm Tuesday 29th December 2009 in


Can someone explain how a congestion charge can be applied in Brighton in such a way as to make a significant cut in the amount of traffic in the city centre?

How much congestion consists of people driving within the city itself, and how would the congestion charge be levied to discourage car travel for journeys that were entirely inside the zone?

And bearing in mind the disappointing results in London, will the amount collected cover the cost of running the scheme?

I am not questioning the principle of a congestion charge, which seems a reasonable way of rationing the limited amount of road space, but I just want to know how it could be applied to make it effective.

Henry Law Queen’s Gardens Brighton

Comments(3)

Charlotte Vere says...
8:13pm Tue 29 Dec 09

You are right that congestion charging in London has not met its original targets and I believe that congestion charging in Brighton would be a disaster - in particular it would hit those that are least able to change modes of transport, such as mothers with young children and the elderly, and it would be an additional tax on all car drivers for very little, if any, benefit.

It has to be noted that congestion charging is still very much part of the Green Party's transport policy considerations and I hope very much that they aren't in a position to introduce it in the future.

I hope that we will be able to work with our council to find alternatives to managing our traffic flows, hopefully by using more 'carrots' and fewer 'sticks'.

Best wishes,

Charlotte Vere (Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion)

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Arriseme says...
11:26am Wed 30 Dec 09

There is a misunderstanding of the city council’s motives here. The congestion charge is not about reducing traffic flow in the city centre, it is about raising revenue. The city council will be able to shift more of its existing transport related expenditure on to any congestion charge surplus and thus free up budgets to support other services; this is what already happens with the parking surplus. Parking surpluses prop up the council tax, they do not provide new services, and the same will apply to any congestion charge.

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HoveAlone says...
6:50pm Wed 6 Jan 10

I assume you mean 'Brighton & Hove City Centre' due to the fact that Brighton is a town, thus with a town centre, wheras 'Brighton & Hove' is a city, and thus with a city centre?!

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