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Residents challenge congestion charges

The charges are due to start in february 2003

Two people have launched a human rights challenge against London Mayor Ken Livingstone and his plans for congestion charges in the city.

Cathy Preece and Gareth Adamson have been granted permission to join Westminster Council in its attempt to block the proposals.

From February motorists will be charged £5 per day to travel within central London.

Ms Preece lives in Kennington Lane, Lambeth, south-east London, and Mr Adamson at Cricketers Court, which runs off Kennington Lane.

Health concerns

Kennington Lane forms part of London’s inner ring road between Elephant and Castle and Vauxhall Bridge Road.

The inner ring road forms the boundary within which congestion charges will apply.

Lawyers for Ms Preece and Mr Adamson are expected to argue the scheme will lead to a traffic increase on the inner ring road, which will not itself be affected by charges.

This, they say, will adversely affect the local environment and local property values, causing a wide-scale breach of human rights.

Residents particularly fear the ill-effects on health and well-being from a rise in air and noise pollution.

In the connected action, Westminster’s legal team is asking the court to overrule the Mayor’s plan without first causing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be produced, or holding a public inquiry into how charging will be introduced and operated.

230 cameras

Mr Livingstone hopes the charge will cut congestion by up to 15% and raise at least £130m per year.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa May said the scheme was a “sort of stealth tax, trying to price the motorist off the road.”

Under the scheme, drivers will be charged £5 on weekdays to enter central London between 0700 and 1830.

Motorists can leave and enter the zone as often as they like for the one-off daily charge.

The area will be policed by 230 cameras which read car registration plates, which will be automatically checked with a central database to see if the daily fee has been paid.

Tickets can be bought up to 2200 on the day of travel, and in advance for chosen dates.

Those who do not pay will be fined up to £120.

The joint application for judicial review is due to start on 15 July.

GET KEN TO THINK AGAIN

KENNINGTON TRAFFIC & CONGESTION CHARGING PETITION TO THE MAYOR OF LONDON, KEN LIVINGSTONE from the residents, businesses and local organizations of Kennington.

RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY BLIGHTED BY THROUGH TRAFFIC

The residential and small business communities of the Kennington area are blighted by the priority given to traffic travelling THROUGH, not TO, Kennington.

Day and night – cars, motorbikes, vans and lorries speed unchecked down Kennington Lane, Kennington Road, Kennington Park Road and Harleyford Road.

Our shops and small businesses have suffered a 20% decrease in business as a result of Red Route parking restrictions and are already struggling to survive.

MORE VEHICLES, MORE POLLUTION ON CONGESTION BOUNDARY

The proposed Congestion Charging zone boundary on Kennington Lane will increase traffic on the lane and outside the edge of the zone by up to 15%.

More traffic will bring more noise, more pollution and worse air quality.

DIVIDING COMMUNITY – A TAX ON THE POOR AND SMALL SHOPS

The £5 per day, per vehicle charge to cross into the central zone will discriminate against all those who have to drive to doctors and hospitals or to visit infirm relatives.

Residents inside the zone will pay an extra 50p per day to keep their car on the street.

Shops and small businesses who rely on customer access and their delivery vehicles, fear that Congestion Charging’s increased costs will force them to close and move.

HISTORIC LANE – BLOCKED BY DAY – TRUCK SPEEDWAY BY NIGHT

Kennington Lane is not Park Lane – it is – a lane – predominantly single carriageway with houses close to the road. It is already unsuited for the amount of traffic it carries. The traffic increase will surely bring the Lane to a standstill during the day and encourage delivery lorries at night. The existing night-time lorry ban must be enforced.

Moving the boundary to Kennington Park Road and Harleyford road is not a solution.

The Kennington community will still be divided and our vital small shops will be further cut off from their South London customer base, even deeper inside the zone.

This unique central London residential community must not be destroyed by congestion charging and through traffic priority.

WE THE UNDERSIGNED CALL ON THE MAYOR OF LONDON TO HOLD A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE CONGESTION CHARGING SCHEME IN LAMBETH.

Petition organised by residents, businesses and local organisations of Kennington and supported by Kennington Oval & Vauxhall Town Centre Partnership Board, all local Councillors and Kate Hoey MP.

THANK YOU

Link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/173712231?1107424054

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105  12:49 am PST, Mar 28 David Dunkleberger Doylestown US  
104  8:37 pm PST, Mar 20 kristina ricci US cause mines bigger than yours!!!!!!
103  8:33 pm PST, Mar 18 Robin Machin jr Montevallo US Ken should have never broken up with Barbie,so what if she wore skippy clothes and flirted with other guys but hey you know he was gettening some!Then again maybe this is a good thing.New barbies could be inveted like”divourse barbie or working the streets barbie or sex in the city barbie and why not even help me im on welfare barbie.and ken could have new dolls to like,’deadbeat dad ken ,stripper ken,and hey want five bucks for a good time ken.Ken really wasnt that hot anyway i guess i mean he always seemed to like barbies friends boyfriends .yep him and eric were a little to close there.I just hope barbie does good in court…I wounder who will get the dream house.
102  9:39 am PST, Nov 21 Anonymous GB Down with bearded sandal wearing trendies who want to take us back to the ox cart. Cars rock, bikes suck, and Critical Mass can kiss my bum. This is a tax on free movement, which is nothing more or less than a reversion to feudalism.
101  3:07 am PDT, Jun 18 Daniel Main Wimborne GB I parked in London in the evening. Leaving in the afternoon of the following day I was not aware of the need to pay the charge. I have now been billed 40 GBP. This underhanded approach to charging this exhorbitant sum, I consider, to be most unfair. Why do they not make the rules clear. Had I waited 30 minutes I would have saved this fee.
100  3:41 am PDT, Jun 2 Anonymous Brighton GB Because this is a waste of time as he has done a great thing. At last a decisive stand on transport issues. Of course there will be winners and losers but overall we will all be winners.
99  5:54 pm PDT, May 10 Marie Collins GB I agree with Ken and besides, he laid out his congestion charge plan BEFORE he was voted in so no sneakiness on his part. The less traffic the better in my opinion.
98  10:24 pm PST, Mar 22 Linda Linderman Phoenix US to get Ken to think again!
97  6:44 am PST, Mar 15 Ashleigh Mott   US  
96  7:33 am PST, Mar 8 Zoe Fox Saracens Head GB  
95  4:57 am PST, Mar 3 Sian and Jessica LONDON GB WE H8 KEN LIVINGSTONE; THIS is why we are signing this petition. He is a money Grabbing IDIOT!
94  7:33 pm PST, Feb 16 Katie Dionne esmond US i care
93  6:43 am PST, Feb 6 Cornilius Macphartin   US Got nufin else to do
92  6:41 am PST, Feb 6 me metoo   VN im bored
91  6:36 am PST, Feb 6 Jimmy Jones   GB I hate Ken Livingstone!I( drive into London everyday for work for 300 days a year.Thats £1500 a year!
90  9:03 am PST, Jan 29 Anonymous   GB This is the only country in the world that pays so much taxes and now we will have to pay to drive on roads which we pay to maintain and drive on anyway…. If we start to pay to drive through London. We will be setting ourselves up to fall once again and soon we will have to pay to drive on every road in the country. (As well as paying Road Tax, Insurance, MOT, Council Tax, etc.)
89  10:35 pm PST, Jan 25 Brian Livingstone dagenham GB What happen in underground on saturday should make you think again Ken.Before some life’s are lost on public tranports.What death rate is acceptible before charge will be cancealled.????
88  12:52 pm PST, Jan 24 Gail Gove Redmond US  
87  3:12 pm PST, Jan 22 Anonymous London GB I am signing this petition because everyone has to work for a living,we don’t live to work anymore we work to live, wherever we are in this country. To be able to do my job(like many others) I have to be able to keep appointments, be able to park to assess future early years providers, I already have to pay £130pa.for a public sector parking permit, now I must pay to get to the placements to carry out my assessments, for the students to gain their qualifications. As the national debt rises, & so many of us are in debt just to live, me included. We are given yet another bill that HAS to be paid. No delays here! Give us all a break, Please?
86  9:57 am PST, Jan 22 John Doe   GB Because its wrong. Lets make more from those we overcharge any way!!!???? Wheres the logic , Who gives a damn about them any how it seems to be.
85  5:10 pm PST, Jan 16 Craig Walder Bognor Regis GB I think it’s a good idea! Maybe some people will realise that there are busses and trains (and your own legs, you know.. those things that you “walk” on) can be used to get to place to place unlike some people that take their car just to go down the road.
84  11:19 am PST, Jan 16 Anonymous London GB I wrote an email months ago to good ol’ Red Ken to voice my objection and have not recieved a response yet… Like I really make a difference? I’m only a Londoner who voted for him in(sorry). Don’t worry you only make that kind of mistake once. Let’s start improving the public transport first. Don’t get me wrong, I travel by the DLR every day, it’s great at 6:30/7:00am but any later than that and I’m breathing in someone’s coffee breath a hands width away from my face. Rush hour(s) travel is appawling. The 4th biggest financial city in the world and we have to travel in standards that would be illegal for cattle? How about spending money on “road improvements” and actually improving roads? When my suspension broke after a year, I was told “well it’s all the bumps init? what do you expect?”. Well I tell you… I expect my journey to be safe, clean, on time… and comfortable. Hard task??? Maybe, but until then I want to be able to drive my car in the city that I live.
83  12:43 pm PST, Jan 15 Anonymous Croydon US We already pay to use the roads, why should we pay to drive into the city???.
82  12:04 pm PST, Jan 15 Pam Worster Ridge GB I think Ken is totally out of order and really messing up the City with his left wing ideas
81  10:43 am PST, Jan 15 d cresswell   GB I belive the majority of all congestion is caused by bad traffic management eg; traffic lights,road works and bus lanes where they restrict the flow of traffic.