I suspect that the congestion charged area will clear, firstly because the traffic lights will be put back to normal and secondly because anyone who has not got business in that area will avoid it like the plague.
But I suspect that the roads immediately outside the congestion charged area will gridlock.
I can't see how that is going to help anyone.
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But I suspect that the roads immediately outside the congestion charged area will gridlock. I can't see how that is going to help anyone.
Well call me synical but if the surrounding area is gridlocked this will give an excuse to widen the charging zone to cover the whole area.
There is thinkning in some camps that the whole south east should charge and not just central London and Heathrow.
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I hope they don't! We have a regular run down to South London, the easiest route is Edgware Road/ Park Lane/ Victoria/ Vauxhall Bridge which takes you all the way down the side of the charging zone, what's it going to be like after February?
The congestion charging leaflet I have lists the groups of exempt motorists, but it doesn't include people who don't register their cars, foreign vehicles, people with mis-spaced numberplates or those with fancy script on them, etc etc.
How long before someone gets a nasty letter/ gets their car towed away because another car with a similar registration has been seen in the zone 3 times? My mum had a parking ticket in the post from London last year, but she hasn't been out of Letchworth since 1998.
If payment is to be collected by newsagents, convenience stores, anywhere that has an on-line terminal similar to those used for mobile phone top-ups etc, how many retailers are going to inadvertently enter the wrong registration number when you pay them? Thus leaving your "account" unpaid... Some petrol stations I use can't even put the correct registration number on my receipt!
What happens if the payment terminals "go down" in the evening so you are unable to pay even if you want to, before leaving London?
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"What happens if the payment terminals "go down" in the evening so you are unable to pay even if you want to, before leaving London?"
IIRC you will be able to pay up to 10.00 pm on the day.
Just before the theatres and cinemas close!
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Payment is up to midnight, but if you pay after 10pm there is a £5 excess on top of the £5 charge, total £10!
Trouble is, these terminals have been known to pack up at 7 or 8 in the evening for a good few hours. And I don't think many people will want to stop at 4 or 5 other shops on their way back to the motorway, in unfamiliar parts of town, to try and pay!
I don't see why they couldn't have payment cards, again similar to mob phones, freely available in all participating shops, that you could top-up with more than one day's credit.
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Well the rephasing of traffic lights was thoroughly discussed l thought so why the surprise at the result.
BTW ChrisR Currently we use British Pounds in this country, a currency not used by ANY other country. Doesn't seem to be hindering our current status as financial centre of the world does it you Pro-YES vote scaremongerer? Of course l'll save that discussion for another site.
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But they're denying any tampering with the lights in London...!
Similar thing happening here, there's a new section of the A6 being opened next week (as long as it doesn't subside any more in the meantime!) (most people think the new road will just take over the same queue) and for the last month the gas board have been digging a hole on the old A6, the temporary lights cause delays that gridlock Bedford town centre most nights for 3 hours longer than normal. And when the new road opens, and the queues disappear, it'll almost be as though it must be working!!!
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Well looks like all roads lead to laying the blame at utilities and roadworks companies who currently have carte blanche to dig where-ever, when-ever and take as blinking a long time as they like about it.
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On the contrary, new rules brought in to placate the "why oh why" brigade mean that there are tight restrictions on how long a hole can be left in the road. As a result there are now more holes being dug, often two or three in the same place to finish the same job, and more disruption. People power! Ain't it just great.
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Hang on Chris,
Agreed this does happen just like the old Carlsberg ad (?). But only in some areas. The rules at the moment are unenforceable, the utilities just say everything (generalisation added) is an emergency and the council hasn't the resoucrces to properly check the work being done.
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Oh...l think l overly skim-read your post.
Sorry.
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Don't worry lads. London's pre-eminence as a financial center is not tied to the Pound any more than Singapore's is to the Sing $. Neither is it necessary to have warm bodies sitting on seats physically located in London to ensure its survival in this day and age of IT. Euro neither, London will embrace that and move on and adapt.
The motoring bit? Oh, yes, just that congestion charge, Mickey-mousing with traffic lights etc won't threaten any of that per se.
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