A Sad Day For London

This is an interesting thread . . . however i voted for Boris, why, because my work involves me having to drive a commercial vehicle into the congestion charge for most of the year, and it hits me hard in the wallet, if there was a viable alternative i would go for it, but there isn't . . i agreed with the original CC, but the new proposals where plain stupid, as an environmental policy TFL's emission tax has a hole in it bigger than the one we are making in the ozone layer. If i drive a Van into the CC and park up after a mile, then i will have burdened the environment with 400g of CO2 . . if a Toyota Prius covers 10 miles from health food shop to shiatsu bar to Hemp U Like emporium it will have contributed 1040g of CO2.

The problem with Kens big idea is not that, at best, its was ineffectual or, at worst, damaging to the environment. The real problem is that it got past the planning stage in the first place. There are 2 scenarios; either nobody thought of this obvious flaw in the plan, in which case God help us all, or as is far more likely one of the bright young things at Kens elbow raised his hand in a meeting to point out this problem only to have his concern dismissed as an inconvenient truth.

Maybe its time to remember that in a world where those who could make a difference choose to levy petty penalties, its not big cars that will cause the planet the most concern, but small minded politicians.

I also voted Tory in the last general election because of one factor, that Labour wanted to cut the facilities at Charing Cross Hospital and the Tory's pledged to maintain it, i have lived in Fulham all my life and that hospital has saved both mine and my dads life, and is essential to the ordinary lives of many locals.

Most of the gestures i have seen from both sides are token - either go the whole hog and pedestrianize most of central London with goods access during restricted hours, bring all taxis (the heaviest polluters on our roads) into a decent emissions limit, and make Public Transport the only viable option, or carry on and put sensible road pricing options into action and make the citys traffic work while gradually phasing in emissions and traffic controls. The current restrictions are far more easy tax revenue for the government than they are beneficial restrictions that we the people can see and reap the benefits of.

I can understand the green issues of a number of us on here, and i always choose human powered transportation when i can, but i too live in the real world, and for one have had enough of political grand standing disguised as environmental policy's with revenues that have failed to ever be truly recycled into public transport, or environmentally friendly transport systems.

The congestion charge was originally introduced to reduce the number of cars on the road in London. Carbon emissions had nothing to do with it. The decision to have higher charges for more polluting cars was a sop to the Greens in the Assembly.

And the hypothetical you give is a little specious: the main outcome of the reformulated policy would have been to persuade people to buy smaller cars, which would indeed have a beneficial influence on overall emissions levels. Of course heavier users are going to produce more carbon than lighter users, no matter what they drive - do you really think that nobody in the world is smart enough to work that out but you?

Oh, and how much carbon would have have burnt on your way into the CC zone, by the way?

You then say:

"either go the whole hog and pedestrianize most of central London with goods access during restricted hours, bring all taxis (the heaviest polluters on our roads) into a decent emissions limit, and make Public Transport the only viable option, or carry on and put sensible road pricing options into action and make the citys traffic work while gradually phasing in emissions and traffic controls. The current restrictions are far more easy tax revenue for the government than they are beneficial restrictions that we the people can see and reap the benefits of."

Pedestrianising central London - are you joking? Road pricing while phasing in emissions and traffic controls - erm, congestion charge? If that's not a form of road pricing, what is?

"I can understand the green issues of a number of us on here, and i always choose human powered transportation when i can, but i too live in the real world, and for one have had enough of political grand standing disguised as environmental policy's with revenues that have failed to ever be truly recycled into public transport, or environmentally friendly transport systems."

Let me see - erm, over the last 8 years we've gone to having fewer cars, more buses, more cycles on the roads. More cycle lanes at that, whether you like them or not. I'm confused. Is that not transport policy in action? Maybe it's not as noticeable over in Fulham?

Stupid thing is I don't particularly like Ken (though I would have rather have had him than Boris). But I don't see how we're ever going to have a decent debate about transport and environmental policy in this country when people so willfully close their eyes to the facts in the name of partisan political purity. No hint of difficult political choices - always compromises - that the rest of us have to make in our reality-based world.