TWO of York's main parties say they will go into the May council elections OPPOSED to congestion charges on the city's roads.

The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have each told The Press they want to tackle congestion and pollution but do not want York to adopt the charging policies adopted by other cities across the country, such as Cambridge and Oxford, which have proved highly controversial.

The Lib Dems say charges would put more financial pressure on residents and businesses and risk creating more rat runs in residential areas, 'in effect, just moving the congestion rather than reducing it,' while the Tories say they 'prefer a carrot rather than stick approach' to tackling congestion and pollution.

Lib Dem transport spokesperson Cllr Stephen Fenton said: “We are not in favour of the introduction of a congestion charge.

"Tackling congestion is an important objective, not least because of the impact that it has on the reliability of local bus services and on air quality. But we believe that introducing a congestion charge would not in itself deliver a solution to these issues."

He said he believed that plans to further tackle congestion and improve air quality needed to be based on an ambitious Local Transport Strategy which had at its core improvements and incentives that encouraged the use of more sustainable modes of transport, whilst recognising that for some residents this wouldn't be a practical option.

“We’re starting from a good place, with a number of measures already underway that will make a difference across the city – from investing in carbon reduction measures to delivering EV charging facilities, expanding the electric bus network, encouraging use of public transport, implementing the clean air zone, improving cycle routes and securing funding for the dualling the outer ring road, which will be critical in moving traffic out of the city centre."

Tory group leader Cllr Paul Doughty said: “We believe the Conservative Group are unique in York in that we will not punish our residents by making it more difficult to get around.

"We have heard the nightmare stories emerging on transport policy being caused by the other parties at Councils such as Bath and North East Somerset, Cambridge, Oxford and Mayor Khan’s London and we don’t want to see these repeated here.

"While we are finalising our manifesto for the 2023 local elections, we are committing to ruling out a Congestion Charge, which the York LibDem’s previously had as a question in one of their surveys. We also absolutely rule out any introduction of an Ultra Low Emission Zone or other zoning, where access is limited or fees chargeable to motorists and residents.

"We will encourage new cycle infrastructure, particularly as part of new developments so that it can be properly integrated. We will not however force exclusion on any of our city’s residents by locking out their right of access.”

The Press has asked Labour and the Green Party for their stance on congestion charges at the election, and will report back when they respond.

 

This is what Cambridge and Oxford are planning to tackle congestion and pollution:
The Greater Cambridge Partnership, involving three councils, businesses and the University of Cambridge, is proposing a sustainable travel zone, covering most of the city.

Vehicles that drive into the zone - or move around inside it- between 7am and 7pm on weekdays will have to pay at least a £5 daily charge. The money raised will be used to pay for a £50m-a-year expansion in the bus network, plus improvements to infrastructure for walking and cycling.

The scheme is said to cut carbon emissions and reduce pollution, but it has attracted fierce opposition as well as support.

In Oxford, there are plans to divide the city into six traffic zones, with traffic filters trying to deter people from driving through central areas and numberplate recognition cameras fining people £70 for passing a filter if they are not exempt.

These plans have won support from some but met with extreme opposition from others, with claims on social media that the city wants to impose a 'climate change lockdown.'

*What do you think about congestion charges for York?  Are the LibDems and Tories right in opposing them?