Cambridge could be the next UK city to introduce congestion charging after city councillors voted in favour of pressing ahead with a Transport Innovation Fund (TiF) bid.
In an open vote on Tuesday, Cambridge Councillors backed a £500 million bid to support record transport investment in the city.
The terms of the proposal for Cambridgeshire to be put forward to the Government are based on the recommendations of a July report from the independent Cambridgeshire Transport Commission. The Commission recommended that the bid should include a ‘trigger point’ for a congestion charge when congestion reached a critical level and nothing else would help. As such the earliest a congestion charge could be introduced is 2017, following consultation with the public, businesses, partner authorities and Government. The congestion charge would represent a last resort if the TiF investment into transport did not resolve the problem of congestion.
Cities across the UK have been nervous of planning to introduce congestion charging after an attempt in Manchester, the West Midlands and Edinburgh failed last year. So far, London is the only city to have successfully introduced a system of congestion charging.
Roy Pegram, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Growth, Infrastructure and Strategic Planning, said “Although I do not welcome the prospect of a congestion charge, people in Cambridgeshire recognise that this is what might be needed in the future to keep Cambridge moving. It is vital that the public in Cambridgeshire, councils and organisations set the point with Government when enough is enough and congestion charging must be brought in. We cannot simply sit on our hands, do nothing, and expect congestion to go away, but neither should we bring in a congestion charge without first revolutionising transport choice. The bid we are putting forward to Government addresses the serious congestion problem we have here, and aims to bring about real benefits to the public.
“If people are not persuaded out of their cars in significant numbers by the transport improvements and we allow the city to come to a grinding halt nobody would thank us as this will damage the prosperity of the county, and in fact the entire country.”
