Resolving the congestion problem

January 2009

It may be 50 years since Britain's first motorway was made available for public use, but restricting motor travel seems to be the order of the day. So to deal with the current tone of the discussion, the technical resolution of transport issues, the focus on carbon footprint of independent travel and democratic consequences of congestion charges, Keith McCabe will lead a discussion on these issues. He writes..

The 11^th December was decision day for the Manchester Transport Innovation Fund bid. More than 1.9 million people from the Greater Manchester Area were given the opportunity to vote on transport proposals for Manchester.

The opposition to the proposals focused on a potential £1,200 a year charge for driving into Manchester. The supporters of the proposal claimed 90% of the people being asked to vote won’t have to pay the charge.

Both sides seem to be in danger of missing the point. The cost of transport has become the focus of political debate as the issues of freedom of movement and providing infrastructure to meet people’s needs are no longer debated. Concerns for the environment and fears about climate change dominate discussions around transportation.

The question of what transportation should look like in the 21^st Century has not been answered by a yes or a no vote in the referendum, but requires a considered and thought through debate about all the issues involved. The Manchester Salon will try and illumniate and make sense of these issues as they will not be going away.

Some background readings:

Why did the referendum happen?
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1059855_dday_for_ccharge_referendum

Details of the result
http://www.tifreferendumreturningofficer.com/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=15&pageNumber=1

What is the TIF Fund?
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/tif/thetransportinnovationfund?page=2#a1002

More details of TIF Fund and Manchester bid
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/tif/

RAC Foundation research on public opinions of Road User Charging
http://www.racfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=351&Itemid=31

One of the advisors to the bid was David Begg below are some of his views on congestion charging
http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/politics/2008/12/ccharge_professor_david_begg.htmlhttp://www.cfit.gov.uk/published/050301p.htm
http://www.cfit.gov.uk/published/040217p.htm
http://www.cfit.gov.uk/published/030709p.htm
http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/Emotion/RailTalk/RailTalk_Issue5.htm

Rob Lyons from spiked on the politics around the vote
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6029/