"Capitol" wrote in message
...


Tony Bryer wrote:

In article , Capitol wrote:

In your dreams, traffic surveys IIRC show traffic up on other
routes around the centre! It is destroying Central London as a
great shopping area. 20% loss of trade so far.


You see this sort of number tossed around but I do not believe it for
one minute. Firstly I would find it very surprising if 20% of shoppers
had gone in to central London by car. No one that I know would have
driven into central London pre CC except in exceptional circumstances.
Secondly it's £5 (until now) - not the sort of amount to put you off
if you're going to be spending hundreds at Selfridges. Finally if
there really is less traffic then those who do chose to drive in find
getting around easier and it will be much easier to park. Meanwhile
all this reduced traffic is saving other businesses money or
increasing their profits - I'm guessing at numbers but it would not
seem impossible that a Viking delivery driver could now do 35 drops in
a day, when it used to be 30.

Not my figures, this does not only reflect a drop in number of
consumers coming into Central London, but the loss of trade in all the
small shops and businesses just inside the congestion zone. IMO the
vehicle miles in the central zone have actually increased, as the number
of taxis appears to be way up on the norm of a couple of years ago
(diesel pollution?). Indeed almost a plague of them. I have not
personally noticed any significant decrease in traffic congestion in
the central zone, but bearing in mind that the traffic light timings
were deliberately screwed up until congestion charging was introduced, I
can believe that congestion has dropped back to normal pre congestion
charging levels. Now many of the central zone potential customers are
saying, "If I'm going to pay £8 + car parking charges to go into
Selfridges, I'll go elsewhere". These customers do not want to use
public transport. Selfridges etc and all the other smaller support
businesses lose out. The last time I was in Oxford street, I decided
that it was not a place I would now want to shop. The result of the
congestion charge, is IMO going to be the same as lack of low cost
parking provision in provincial town centres, they die. I was in one
yesterday, which 3 years ago was thriving. The car parking was increased
to £1/hr and almost empty. 50% of the shops were either closed or
charity operations. The local population density is extremely high, but
the customers have given up going to the town centre and presumably are
part of the reason for the 25% increase in delivery vehicle which are
clogging the road systems. The unwillingness of our politicians to
respect the actual lifestyles practised by the population is simply
foolhardy. I am very worried, because I believe in this, IMM has a
point, we need more housing on Welsh and Scottish mountain tops and
many, many fewer people and businesses in Central London and some common
sense. I doubt the number of delivery drops by Viking has increased, as
there are many more delivery drivers and taxis clogging the roads than
there were 2 years ago.
I believe that I read that the West End theatres are losing money
heavily, as the customers no longer wish to travel into London to see
their productions. Maybe someone can correct me?

I find it interesting, that I can travel into downtown Chicago by car,
and park on the waterfront and by the museums with ease and for a
reasonable cost for a family. I can't do this in London!

Because Chicago is built on a grid system, not a medieval street pattern.
The business section in the morning is light in traffic, as only traffic
going there is actually there. None running straight through as happens in
the west end of London. Before the congestion charge, surveys found that
the majority of vehicles in the west end were just passing through. It is
those that need to be discouraged.