Congestion charging

[heather]

its so the other bus drivers can see them   ha ha   only joking  but its probably to make them more visable in general

[Dave]

One curious aspect of the congestion charging campaign is the promise that if it goes ahead, then one of the improvements to be introduced will be 'yellow school buses'. 

Now, there's nothing new about school buses.  We've had them for years, and my children used them to get to Marple Hall.  So what's the big deal about painting them yellow?   It's all very strange!     

[LittleBiker]

i have to agree with wolfman i work in the transport industry and have seen some appalling sights which have been obviously orchestrated by this ' traffic management team ' who obviously do not use the road like most commuter's or public transport passengers.i think they should look at instructing a body to oversee these 'traffic management teams ' to make sure they are doing their jobs in the manner to help the road using public and not hinder them to destruction...

[wolfman]

Why is tax payers money being used to promote the congestion charge when the anti lobby gets nothing to publicise their views? Also who is responsible for causing the congestion? The highway planners job nowadays seems to be slow the progress of traffic and if possible bring it to a standstill. Take for instance they put an off centre refuge on Reddish Rd opposite the  carousel pub right opposite a bus stop. When the bus stops all the traffic behind has to wait until the bus moves off because you can't get passed the bus. Recently at the junction of George Lane and Hyde Rd Bredbury there were  2 lanes. One for turning right one for left. It is now one lane so all the traffic has to wait. There used to be  a dual carriageway through Hattersley in Hyde, it has now been reduced to a single lane.  I thought the idea of traffic management was to speed up the flow of traffic not to cripple it.

[wolfman]

The "Congestion charge" will not fix the usual traffic congestion from Marple to Stockport, nor will it cure the A6 through Stockport or from Bredbury to Stockport. These are all outside the M60 outer ring and nothing is being done to fix this congestion.  Just how much congestion is there within the outer ring from Stockport to Manchester? Well actually £3 a days worth.

[wolfman]

It would not matter one jot  what I would suggest, nobody listens, and in any case I have never complained of "Congestion" sometimes you just have to accept things.

[Dave]

When you look at the infrastructure proposals to be paid for by the charge, what is in it for us Stopfordians? Very little. So lets not get involved until there is a proper re-distribution of the pot and we get some proper infrastructure investment.

I have come round to this view as well, belly. When I started this thread a year ago, I was puzzled by the Council's  position, but after writing to my three councillors (Marple North), I got a very helpful explanation from one of them, Craig Wright.  He explained that the Council's opposition to the congestion charge is largely because there is not enough benefit for Stockport (as opposed to other boroughs in Greater Manchester) in the £3 billion package of public transport and infrastructure improvements.  And looking at the proposals, I fear that's right.  There are no plans to tackle the Offerton and Bredbury 'crawls', which we all have to endure.  No improvements in public transport between Marple and Stockport.  And although we are promised 'more carriages' on trains to Piccadilly, there is no undertaking to replace the pathetic old Class 142 trains which we have endured for over 20 years.  So we can assume that 'more carriages' simply means two Class 142 units coupled together!  It's not good enough.   

I still believe we need the congestion charge, but there needs to be more in it for Stockport.

As for wolfman, I'd just like to know what solution he would suggest to solve the appalling traffic congestion around Stockport? 

[wolfman]

The congestion charge is nothing more than a tax. The pro lobby will state that extra public transport will be avialable from income raised by the charge. The only transport that will be upgraded allegedly are trains. There will be no extra buses. If you have travelled on a train at rush hour from Manchester to Marple you will probably have to stand until Romily. Why is the charge on when people need to cross the M60 barrier to go to work? If you want to arrive at work ontime you have no choice but to use your car. The charge only works in London because there is an infrastructure already in place ie the tube etc. What about the O.A.P  who wants to go shopping at Tesco. She decides to get a private hire car. On top of the price will be the congestion charge as private hire cars are not excempt only hackney carriages(taxis) The extra transport argument has been going on for years and still we have not got any nearer to solving the problem. This also applies if you are sent to any of the Manchester hospitals, cross the M60 barrier and it will cost you.

[Belly]

Do people realise that if this charge is brought into effect that if you drive to Tesco or B&Q in Stockport between 7am & 9.30am or 4.0pm to 6.30pm from Marple it will cost you £3. What about all the people who work at these places? You will cross the "outer ring" ie these premises are on the wrong side of the M60. Is this a fair price to pay as Stockport seems to get nothing from these proposals.

I support the principle of the congestion charge. Something has to be done to try to disuade people from travelling ever longer distances at peak times in their cars. Travel by car is not a god given right and if people choose to travel long distances by car in the peak hour - then they can pay their share towards giving others the opportunity to choose an alternative option. We have got to accept that either we face gridlock in future (for free) or we try to manage the problem. There is no point wingeing about congestion when we are the ones creating it - if you are in the queue, you are part of the problem!

I do however to some extent agree with Wolfman and I support Stockport Council's position. When you look at the infrastructure proposals to be paid for by the charge, what is in it for us Stopfordians? Very little. So lets not get involved until there is a proper re-distribution of the pot and we get some proper infrastructure investment.

[wolfman]

Do people realise that if this charge is brought into effect that if you drive to Tesco or B&Q in Stockport between 7am & 9.30am or 4.0pm to 6.30pm from Marple it will cost you £3. What about all the people who work at these places? You will cross the "outer ring" ie these premises are on the wrong side of the M60. Is this a fair price to pay as Stockport seems to get nothing from these proposals.

[Dave]

Quote (the rover @ Aug. 10 2007,20:17)

companies should be forced by law to allow employees to have alternative starting and finishing times for work. Simple but effective!

No, simple but ineffective, sadly.   Companies have for ten years been obliged to give serious consideration to employees' requests for flexible working hours - this came in as a result of the Employment Rights Act in 1996.  It doesn't seem to have done much for traffic congestion, tho'.    '>

[Mike in Marple]

Quote (the rover @ Aug. 10 2007,20:17)

As I see it there is no way of cutting congestion realistically ...

How do you explain the fact that congestion in central London has eased since the introduction of the congestion charge?

[the rover]

Please tell me if I am wrong, but before they put the traffic lights at the Goldern Hind pub was the journey into Stockport and back from Marple a lot quicker during peak times? I personally do not mind sitting in a queue each day travelling to and from Stockport in my car listening to my own music.  I have spent over 7 years using public transport, I know which I prefer and nobody is going to convince me to use public transport again. If the council want to charge me more to drive to work let them try to get it from me. How anybody can be forced into having a device installed in their vehicle I don't know. I am a single parent and if I refuse to pay can they put me in prison? I don't think so!

Congestion will never disappear no matter what ideas people may come up with it will always be with us and get worse.

Every person upon reaching the age of 17 years old wants to learn to drive and have their own vehicle, even if they cannot afford it they would still like to do it.

The only way to cut congestion is to have a law with imediate effect that nobody under the age of 21 years old is allowed to drive a vehicle, this would take millions of vehicles off the road. The government would have to compensate the existing drivers for the loss of their cars but this would be the only solution and it would save lives as it is a proven fact that younger drivers have more accidents. This would not have to apply at the other end of the spectrum, as drivers over the age of 65 years old normally do not work.

As I see it there is no way of cutting congestion realistically (see below). I work in the same office in Stockport as another man from Marple but it would be impossible for us to car share as we both do totally different jobs which mean we can finish work at different times etc.

For the past 2 weeks I have been able to drive to work in 15 minutes instead of the usual 1 hour, due to  the fact that the kids are off school, has the council looked at this as a solution? Change the school times . Who agrees with this? If all the school starting times are changed by a law then companies should be forced by law to allow employees to have alternative starting and finishing times for work. Simple but effective!

[Dave]

I'm confused.  When Marple voted in its six Lib Dem councillors at the local elections, we were, presumably,  voting for the party because we supported its policies.  These include tackling our appallingly overcrowded roads with appropriate measures, including congestion charging.

It now seems that Stockport MBC, in which the Lib Dems are the largest single party, was one of only two councils in Greater Manchester to vote against the congestion charging proposals for the city.  

And if you visit the Council website to find out why our councillors are not voting for the policies on which they stood for election, you find this:

"We commissioned a survey for Stockport because the leadership of the Council wanted to be clear about local views on this issue. If the majority of Stockport people had been in favour, then the Council would have voted in favour of it. But it is obvious from the results that only a minority would support congestion charging.”

So now we know.  Our elected representatives don't believe in congestion charging after all - it seems they now believe in government by referendum!  Something to bear in mind when candidates next come knocking on the door asking for our votes - is there any point in asking them what they stand for?  
Seriously, if we don't do something to deal with the traffic we shall all come to a complete standstill very soon.  These people who don't want congestion charging - do they have a a better idea?  '>  '>  '>