Letter to the Evening Post - Tory Plans for Congestion Charge (Paul Harrod)

Letter to the Evening Post - Tory Plans for Congestion Charge

July 7, 2007 12:00 AM

Dear Sir,

Charlotte Leslie supports congestion charging in principle but wants "Bristol drivers" to have a say in whether it is introduced or not. Charlotte lives in London and her view of congestion charging is perhaps coloured by her own experiences of commuting to work. I drive to the University of Bristol each day and it is clear that in addition to "Bristol drivers" there are thousands of motorists from outside the city who drive into work or bring their children to school. Congestion charging is not really on the agenda; your own report says nothing will happen until 2012 and even then Bristol is highly unlikely to be a city that will begin a trial. Charlotte is right to draw attention to the need to involve residents more in transport planning, but I would suggest more pressing priorities are to look at more reliable and more frequent bus services, as well as investment in Safer Routes to Schools, something the Labour administration, supported by the Conservatives, appear happy to postpone.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Harrod

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, Bristol North West