Whatcha mean it's not supposed to work like that?

[caddyman]

For the first time in some months, those drivers that insist on visiting central London during the day time must be pleased. I don't know how much the Congestion Charge is these days, but in the Victoria area at least, it's gridlock. Finally, the congestion they've spent all this money on, and it's clearly worth every penny. I assume that organising proper traffic congestion has become more expensive and that the GLA have been saving up so that they can organise a really good one.

Well, it's worked. I'd be dead chuffed if I was visiting the city today by car. I would have every penny's worth of congestion I could ever have wanted. There have been days when the level of traffic and the speed of movement was such that I thought that drivers should get some kind of rebate. Not today. Today's a corker.

And bless!

In an attempt to include pedestrians in the fun (and we get it for free, too. What a bargain!), the increasing number of 'bendy buses' traveling in convoy means that vast swathes of road are blocked in their entirety, so that just crossing the street is a major adventure, even when the traffic is at a standstill. Just crossing Wilton Road this morning entailed walking an extra couple of hundred yards up and down the length of several parallel and stationary bendy buses like some horrible mobile maze in the middle of the road.

I never did understand what the problem was with the old Routemaster buses every one liked and which everyone in the rest of the world still thinks we have.

Still, can't have everything, and as I say, it's free to pedestrians. As long as the drivers are getting the congestion they're paying so handsomely for, can't complain.

Comments

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

Well, there's stil some "Heritage routes" running (eg the 15), and in the interests of "inclusion" about 1 in 3 bus on this route is a regular one.

I reproduce a rant I wrote to the ES recently, but I don't believe this one was published.




The congestion charge was never about reducing overall pollution, it was an attempt to improve speeds in central London at the cost of worse traffic around the boundary and slightly higher pollution across the whole of London. Traffic planning was also to keep speeds down at their previous level so that the severity of accidents didn't increase.

The larger than expected traffic reduction has been accompanied by -

New traffic lights with an increasingly larger time on uncontrolled pedestrian cycles or deliberate desynchronisation;

a systematic concentration of traffic onto longer and ever-more tortuous routes at the same time as eliminating feeder routes;

Lane narrowing and the introduction and widening of traffic island preventing other traffic (including buses) from passing even a single stopped vehicle;

The introduction of bendy buses without reconstruction or resiting their stops so they end up blocking junctions - and particularly box junctions, queuing for stops or waiting for cycles to pass up their whole length;

Preventing black cabs from using "key" bus lanes, ....

The list goes on and on, like the queues.

The result is slower traffic with the same level of pollution. I want to move around Central London quickly, and my usual modes of transport are to walk, take a bus or cab, or take a tube. The increased congestion charge could only be justified to prevent more traffic coming in if flows were improved. As it is, it is damaging the character of specialist shops, while not helping journey times, pollution or our quality of life. Thanks, Ken.