In August 2012, I wrote that Cardiff City Council, Wales, was investigating whether congestion pricing might have merit for the city, both to reduce congestion, and help fund transport infrastructure including improved public transport. Given that discussion about urban congestion charging in the UK virtually died after the Manchester congestion charge referendum in 2008, it seemed promising that another city was starting to reopen discussion. Councillor Ralph Cook said that officials had been asked to examine the merits of the idea.
However, it wasn't to be. Wales Online now reports that Cardiff City Council "categorically rules out" introducing a congestion charge.
The report says:
having since received a paper form council officers on the controversial proposal, Coun Cook said he had “reached the conclusion that a congestion charge will not be introduced by this administration”
Such a report ought to be interesting.
Politicians are climbing over the issue, with the usually pro-environmentalism Liberal Democrats firmly against the idea. Labour (which leads the Council) simply said it was having an open mind about all of the possible options but had no plans.
I hope to be able to source any publicly available material on this and republish it here, to see what thinking was behind what appears to be a bureaucratic rather than purely political rejection of congestion charging for Cardiff.
No comments:
Post a Comment