Date published: 2006/06/05
The Cambridge Evening News says:
Business leaders fear congestion charging could have a devastating effect on Cambridge traders.
A new study to ease Cambridge's congestion crisis has looked at charging £4 a day to enter the city. The charge may have good intentions of encouraging drivers to turn to public transport, but businessmen and women are concerned about the impact it could have on them.
Bob Jackson, chief executive of Cambridge Building Society, which is based in Newmarket Road, Cambridge, said: "Anything that might put people off coming into Cambridge can only be a bad thing for business - particularly retailers.
...
Derek Langley has sold black and white photographs on Cambridge's All Saints Garden market for more than 20 years. He fears for its future if congestion-charging ever came in.He said: "I am quite concerned by it and fear the market would be adversely affected by charges. A lot of people who come to the market are visitors to the city and I think a lot of the locals use their cars too. We rely heavily on people who use Park Street car park."
Well this is a no-brainer. But the people who run Cambridge don't really care about business. The Cambridge ruling elite hate cars and that seems to be their prime motivation in all their policies, and to heck with any other consideration.
And if the All Saints market traders are relying on people who use the Park Street car park they are in serious trouble even before this so-called congestion charge (which is really just an access charge) comes in. The Cambridge ruling elite want to shut down Victoria Avenue during the day. Less than a decade ago someone coming up Huntingdon Road (say from the A14) who wanted to park at the Park Street car park just continued up Bridge Street and turned left up Round Church Street into the car park. If and when Victoria Avenue is closed the same journey would instead involve going down Victoria Road, then up Chesterton Road, then up Elizabeth Way, then up Maid's Causeway, then up Jesus Lane, then right turn onto Park Street and into the car park. That's an extra two miles or so. The Park Street car park already has a large section just for bicycles (so it qualifies as the world's most expensive cycle shed) because it is already so difficult to get to via car. Closing Victoria Avenue will make the situation much worse.
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