| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Clean Air Charge for Driving in London | |
| Posted by: | Paul Campbell | |
| Date/Time: | 21/01/22 17:29:00 |
| Reducing use of personal cars in cities like London is not only about carbon emissions and climate change. It is also about localised air pollution, public health, road safety and the cost of congestion. It is about creating more liveable urban spaces. The benefits of reducing the dominance of cars in urban environments are myriad and really it shouldn't be so controversial for people. We all have experiences of visiting places that are so much the better for limiting the impact of cars whether it be shopping centres, medieval city centres like York or Durham, Bank junction, piazzas in Europe or entire cities like Copenhagen or anywhere in the Netherlands. Plus now Paris, Milan, Barcelona and really any city with aspirations to improve the life of its citizens and attract inwards investment. But the key word here is "reducing" not banning so people who are dependent on cars for trades and many other reasons will continue to use them. Nobody, not even me at my most playful, has ever suggested banning cars on this forum to my knowledge. The Mayor's statement cites 27%. There are of course many other important contributors to carbon as you say. Any major change will involve tackling big issues and also low-hanging fruit. Decarbonising transport is a priority for most policy-makers, it is relatively easier to address than other priorities and it delivers many other useful benefits that reduce the cost of harmful externalities such as illness and death from air pollution and road KSIs. The fact that we are all so focused on the transport component on this forum is a function of the local nature of the debate. £2 a day is just an example of one option that will be considered in the consultation. There will be others. I think it is good to have a roadmap for the next decade with graduated disincentives for driving that ends with road-user charging. I'm not really campaigning on here. I am more than aware of how inconsequential the conversation on this forum is. All the important stuff happens in the real world. This is just a bit of fun and yeah I don't mind angry reactions or insults from people on here. I am secure enough in my work, family and social life to pay no heed to being called a "moron" or many of the worse things people have called me. Most people who do it are never going to change their minds anyway. They are as convinced that we should maintain total freedom of driving as I am convinced that we should curtail it because it actually limits too many of our freedoms and is harmful for all of us. You are right that more investment in PT is needed. This government is going to make that difficult for London. Which is a real shame. Removing cycle lanes and planters and transferring the entire budget for active travel wouldn't make much difference to that. So my view is that in the absence of substantially increased investment in PT, provision for active travel is even more important to enable substitution of some car journeys. |