Would Congestion Charging help to reduce traffic in our area?
Possible "Electronic Gate" positions shown in red.
Discussions locally about the growth of congestion on the A330, A308 and the Braywick roundabout together with concerns surrounding the planned further development of Bracknell, the impact of CrossRail and, perhaps, the building of a major new hospital adjacent to Junction 8/9 seem to be coalescing around a wider discussion of how the road infrastructure within Bray Parish, especially as it impacts Holyport, should be managed.
One strand of discussion emerging is that it seems that congestion within the Parish is not caused by the residents traffic.
Congestion generally only occurs at peak hours in the morning and evening and is caused by traffic transiting through the Parish.
If this analysis were to be confirmed then there seems to be broadly two main strategies that could be pursued;
Increasing road capacity to cope with the peak hours by widening our roads and, perhaps, the creation of a new southerly exit from J8/9.
Managing the volume of traffic at peak times, either by the natural process of allowing the congestion to limit peak hour flows or by introducing active congestion management.
The first option requires a major road development programme almost solely for the benefit of traffic transiting the Parish at the very considerable expense of the residents in terms of houses that would need to be demolished, other houses would be blighted, noise, CO2 and NO (?) pollution, increased local taxes and increased traffic.
Leaving things as they are provides no relief for residents of the Parish who get caught up in the congestion caused by transit traffic.
A somewhat radical alternative might be to consider peak hour congestion charging.
A congestion charge system can be designed to 'make the polluter pay' by discriminating in favour of traffic originating in, or finalising their journey in, the Parish the system would exempt residents from the charge while ensuring transit traffic paid for the congestion they cause.
Congestion Charge systems are self funding, in fact they produce an income that could be used to improve our public transport and park and ride schemes.
The other advantages include but are not limited to;
1. You can easily differentiate between local traffic, high occupancy vehicles (HOV) and through traffic. Local traffic, PSV, HOV and local taxis could be exempted.
2. It is possible to relax or waive the charge outside the congested periods.
3. Through traffic would be incentivised to use the motorway system at peak periods.
4. Some congestion systems differentiate between goods vehicles and cars varying the charge and enforcing weight/size limits by super charging non compliant vehicles.
5. Some congestion systems improve road safety by recording vehicles in and out so average speed limits can be enforced.
6. Congestion systems record all vehicle movements and are, potentially, a useful tool in fighting crime.
7. Some congestion charging systems can differentiate between through traffic and out of area traffic making local deliveries. This is achieved by operating a 'time in' period in combination with the facility to record vehicles in and out. For instance if a goods vehicle is in the parish for more than 30 minutes it is deemed to have made a delivery and the congestion charge is waived.
The disadvantages are;
1. People living outside the parish will dislike it, hopefully they will avoid it.
2. Parish boundaries and the precise definition of the Congestion Zone will require careful consideration.
One strand of discussion emerging is that it seems that congestion within the Parish is not caused by the residents traffic.
Congestion generally only occurs at peak hours in the morning and evening and is caused by traffic transiting through the Parish.
If this analysis were to be confirmed then there seems to be broadly two main strategies that could be pursued;
Increasing road capacity to cope with the peak hours by widening our roads and, perhaps, the creation of a new southerly exit from J8/9.
Managing the volume of traffic at peak times, either by the natural process of allowing the congestion to limit peak hour flows or by introducing active congestion management.
The first option requires a major road development programme almost solely for the benefit of traffic transiting the Parish at the very considerable expense of the residents in terms of houses that would need to be demolished, other houses would be blighted, noise, CO2 and NO (?) pollution, increased local taxes and increased traffic.
Leaving things as they are provides no relief for residents of the Parish who get caught up in the congestion caused by transit traffic.
A somewhat radical alternative might be to consider peak hour congestion charging.
A congestion charge system can be designed to 'make the polluter pay' by discriminating in favour of traffic originating in, or finalising their journey in, the Parish the system would exempt residents from the charge while ensuring transit traffic paid for the congestion they cause.
Congestion Charge systems are self funding, in fact they produce an income that could be used to improve our public transport and park and ride schemes.
The other advantages include but are not limited to;
1. You can easily differentiate between local traffic, high occupancy vehicles (HOV) and through traffic. Local traffic, PSV, HOV and local taxis could be exempted.
2. It is possible to relax or waive the charge outside the congested periods.
3. Through traffic would be incentivised to use the motorway system at peak periods.
4. Some congestion systems differentiate between goods vehicles and cars varying the charge and enforcing weight/size limits by super charging non compliant vehicles.
5. Some congestion systems improve road safety by recording vehicles in and out so average speed limits can be enforced.
6. Congestion systems record all vehicle movements and are, potentially, a useful tool in fighting crime.
7. Some congestion charging systems can differentiate between through traffic and out of area traffic making local deliveries. This is achieved by operating a 'time in' period in combination with the facility to record vehicles in and out. For instance if a goods vehicle is in the parish for more than 30 minutes it is deemed to have made a delivery and the congestion charge is waived.
The disadvantages are;
1. People living outside the parish will dislike it, hopefully they will avoid it.
2. Parish boundaries and the precise definition of the Congestion Zone will require careful consideration.