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Post by Essexgirl on Dec 12, 2008 7:00:41 GMT
What do we think of the £5 congestion charges proposed for Manchester then? I know something has to be done about the volume of traffic but is this the answer?  |
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Post by JennyWrenn on Dec 12, 2008 7:04:00 GMT
The traffic in the City during the day is DREADFUL DREADFUL DREADFUL - you crawl along; the carparks by 1pm are FULL so if this helps I say bring it on If you havent tried to drive thru Manchester during the day you wont know how DREADFUL it is I tried to find a parking space some time ago - got so fed up came home Train it in would be the best bet as there are free buses picking up at Piccadilly and dropping off anywhere in town I dont know if they still have think called Control Plus that if you park in a none parking area - and you dont know this until you read the 1" by 1" sticker on a parking meter - then your car is hoisted up by crane and taken to the Pound You then have to pay £120 to get it back  If you dont have a credit card with you they arrange for a taxi to take you home - YOU PAY THE TAXI FARE - BOTH WAYS - or you leave overnight and pick up the next day |
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Post by farmersboy on Dec 12, 2008 7:09:08 GMT
Stay away from the big places,better off sticking to the smaller ones ;D
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Post by JennyWrenn on Dec 12, 2008 7:14:09 GMT
Here is a post which I think says a lot and agrees with what I say about Manchester - used to be a clean place to sit and have your lunch in the Piccadilly Gardens - now a concrete monstrosity or Deansgate, Albert Square  The car charging initiative has worked so well in London,that in all likelihood it will be copied in New York. Money from the charges has gone into public transport,as it should. The fact is that something has to be done,co2 emissions are the biggest threat to the world,since Hitler.All serious scientists writing in proper journals (containing peer to peer reviews),have made it crystal clear that their must be radical cuts in emmisions... now..and even then we aren't certain to stop the worst effects of global warming. We are talking,serious objective,intelligent,scientists,with no axe to grind...not people like Clarkson..or Littlejohn. Do people want bumper to bumper gridlock?or a decent,and healthier inner city?Oppose this at your leisure,but if it goes through,you will see the sense and benefit of it pretty quickly. |
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Post by farmersboy on Dec 12, 2008 7:21:06 GMT
But i wonder if it will make much difference to the amount of traffic,people up their have so much money,they will pay it,im thinking of all the stars,footballers,showbiz people,and not forgetting Jenny ;D
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Post by JennyWrenn on Dec 12, 2008 7:26:33 GMT
The footballers dont live in the City FB - they live on the outskirts in Cheshire ;D Used to take me under an hour to get into the centre Manchester - now it is more like one and half hours It maybe that the office workers will get this paid to them by their companies But really this charge has been brought in to reduce the traffic which is necessary - some people can 'bus or train it but prefer to drive in I used to 'bus and train it in but later when I worked outside the City I had to drive in and thru the centre |
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Post by farmersboy on Dec 12, 2008 7:31:38 GMT
I know the footballers dont live there,but they must go there a lot
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Post by Barbara on Dec 12, 2008 8:10:24 GMT
We live in crumpsall, hubby works in wythenshaw, he will have to cross the congestion charge lines to and from work, he leaves at 7.00 his choice. pay £35 per week to get to work by car, or leave at 6.00 to go by tram and 2 buses,and, where will we get the extra £35. he wont be getting a pay rise, they are laying people off, he's already had his yearly bonus stopped. so it's not as clear cut as yes or no for some of us, I would love fewer cars on the road, but, it wont stop the school run mums, they dont cross the charge lines, so no change there.
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Post by MamIDdau on Dec 12, 2008 8:52:39 GMT
It's only at "rush hour" times anyway that the charging applies I believe? I don't think that's really going to stop car parks and whatever getting full because people go there shopping.
Besides, they should be making the improvements to public transport BEFORE bringing in the charge rather than afterwards.
Also, it's not as if people working in Manchester earn the sort of money as people down south. There are people who have to travel to just inside the congestion zone, nowhere near the city centre, and will have to pay. They're not on big city wages and this charge will hit them hard.
Yes, something needs to be done about climate change etc but once again, it's the "little people" who get hit the hardest.
And one thing that gets on my wick about the Save Our Scenery campaigners in Llandudno is that they go on about tourists not coming to the area anymore because of the windfarm. If we don't do something about climate change, there won't be a Llandudno to come to because it'll be under-bloomin-water!!! (Nice bit of tmesis there too see). If they don't like lookin at the windfarm, look the other way ffs.
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Post by carolann on Dec 12, 2008 9:50:59 GMT
I voted NO to the congestion charges. If I need to go into the City centre then I go by train always have done, my driving instructor of years ago said if you want to go into Manchester then you will need a different license. My SIL works just outside the centre but she wont be getting a pay rise to pay for these new charges and there is no other way that she could get to work either. When you go into the centre the majority of traffic is delivery vans or suits going from meeting to meeting, so yes they should pay but not people who work there who have no alternative. Its a horrible place to walk around the pavements are so unforgiving and my feet kill me even only after an hour. I think people who go there shopping should use the train if they can.
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Post by Barbara on Dec 12, 2008 15:33:18 GMT
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Post by MamIDdau on Dec 12, 2008 19:06:20 GMT
I only know 2 people out of all the people I know who live there (and I know a lot) who were going to vote yes. And they don't drive anyway!
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Post by Barbara on Dec 12, 2008 19:12:03 GMT
79% voted no, thats a big majority.
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Post by Ruthie on Dec 12, 2008 19:41:15 GMT
I can see both sides of this argument. But I certainly agree with April that they should improve public transport FIRST because otherwise they will leave some people with no choice. They don't seem to realise that public transport is NOT an alternative for some people.
A couple of years ago they were talking about introducing a congestion charge in Norwich, would you believe. Don't know what happened to that. It never went to a vote as far as I know. Norwich is a small city and does have it's congestion problems, mainly car park queues at this time of year.............well, they have put several car parks IN THE CITY CENTRE in the last few years, so what do they expect?
I am sooooo glad that I rarely have to drive through the City now. They have made a lot of the roads traffic unfriendly, which doesn't stop them being used but does make them very congested.
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