MOTORISTS coming into the very centre of Manchester may have to pass through THREE congestion charge zones, it has been revealed.
Plans to have two pay-as-you-drive areas - an outer ring and an inner ring - have already been unveiled.
But now a third ring, around the inner relief road, which includes the Mancunian Way, has been proposed by Salford council leader John Merry.
But he insists drivers would not be expected to pay three times - the maximum number of charges would be two.
Officials are examining his proposals for a `smart' charge depending on distance travelled between the proposed intermediate and inner zones.
The aim is to remove the unfairness of people living just outside the originally planned inner cordon having to pay a charge while those living inside paying nothing.
To pay the maximum charge, drivers would have to cross two out of the three possible congestion charge boundaries.
Coun Merry said today: "This would not be an extra charge, but it would mean that people would have to travel a certain distance rather than just cross a single cordon."
The news comes after the start of a six-week consultation exercise into the whole congestion charging scheme.
Rochdale Lib Dem MP Paul Rowen said: "I can't for one minute imagine that people would be happy about this.
"This is a major consultation and it's got to be done properly. Changing the criteria half way through the consultation only serves to confuse and make people more annoyed."
The idea has not yet been put to the independent panel of business leaders vetting the plans and Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce chief executive Angie Robinson said today: "We are in a period of consultation and it is good that people are making suggestions.
"But I am not sure whether this idea would add any value to the scheme."
A six-week consultation exercise is currently under-way to allow the public to give their views on the congestion charge proposals.
Leaders of the 10 councils that make up the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities will meet later this month to receive the results from the opinion survey.
They will then decide whether to go ahead with a bid for £1.1 billion of funds from the government to improve public transport in Greater Manchester, which would be linked to the introduction of a congestion charge.
The M.E.N. can reveal today which roads are within the original inner charging ring.
These are the roads which will cost drivers £1 to cross in the morning rush hour and £1 on the way home under the plan if Greater Manchester wins its bid to introduce congestion charging.
The outer cordon - which will cost £2 to enter in the morning - follows the line of the M60.
But this is the first time that details of the intermediate boundary - costing a further £1 - have been disclosed.
We can reveal that drivers arriving from the east in the morning will be charged £1 for crossing Alan Turing Way, which passes the City of Manchester Stadium.
Motorists who drive in from the south of the city will pay to cross Dickenson Road and Kirkmanshulme Lane at Longsight.
The cordon follows the route of the long-planned intermediate relief road which circles Manchester city centre between the M60 motorway ring road and the inner relief road, which includes the Mancunian Way.
Anti-clockwise, after Alan Turing Way, the cordon enters Queens Road at Collyhurst before taking in Great Cheetham Hill East and West towards Salford - meeting the A6 briefly.
It carries on along Eccles Old Road before crossing the M602 at junction 2 and heading south through Trafford Park to Stretford, joining Wilbraham Road. It then turns left on to Wilmslow Road, right on to Dickenson Road, heading north towards Manchester on Stockport Road, before turning right on to Kirkmanshulme Lane at Longsight and on to Pottery Lane to complete the circle.
The details were revealed by GMPTE interim chief executive David Leather to a meeting of the Pro Manchester group of business leaders but he refused to elaborate afterwards, claiming that the route was only `indicative' and could change.
What do you think of the congestion charge? Have your say.
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ruth davis (02/07/2007 at 09:04)
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (02/07/2007 at 09:28)
This is totally out of order.
It just goes to prove you can not trust them.
Those leaflets that were sent out are a lie.
Were is promise of the 5 pound a day cap now.
Anti Greater Manchester congestion site run by MART.
Manchester Against Road Tolls
www.manchestertolltax.com/
The petition
www.gopetition.com/online/12888.html
Complain to GMPTE directly
GM Future Transport
c/o GMPTE
2 Piccadilly Place
Manchester
M1 3BG
Dave Sherwood, Hollins Green (02/07/2007 at 09:49)
Mark, South Manchester (02/07/2007 at 09:50)
Kill off Manchester city centre and relocate its jobs & businesses to Salford - right?
PW, Manchester (02/07/2007 at 09:57)
tricia jonson (02/07/2007 at 10:11)
ace, manchester (02/07/2007 at 10:13)
Once agian big words that mean anything until they get their own way..vote labour out or you will all be paying even more for less services ect.
dessie, manchester (02/07/2007 at 10:18)
BUSINESSES BEWARE LESS PEOPLE IN THE TOWN CENTRE MEANS NO PROFITS!!!
Katie., Manchester (02/07/2007 at 10:24)
gillykins, urmston (02/07/2007 at 10:36)
Ms D, Manchester (02/07/2007 at 10:37)
traffordtroublemaker (02/07/2007 at 10:53)
This shoddy organisation need to be called to account. There needs to be a public vote on this, and if this is proposed, I'm pretty sure the whole thing would fall flat on its face. But there won't be a vote will there... since AGMA all know they will lose it - guaranteed.
Manticore, Urmston (02/07/2007 at 11:11)
Stewart Warburton (02/07/2007 at 11:11)
RKelly, Timperley (02/07/2007 at 11:13)
Our council rates have maintained a continuous and merciless road building programme that means we have avoided the congestion of other cities like Oxford, Edinburgh, Norwich and of course London. Car parking space and cost limits traffic at present, if clumsily.
If it takes you more than 15mins to reach the suburbs in peak times it will be because of thoughtless roadworks, bus breakdowns or queuing, a police incident or broken traffic lights (in my experience some broken lights actually allow the traffic to flow better though, accidents aside). Reducing traffic volume by congestion charging will NOT alter any of the delays by these.
Yes, there is some congestion on the M60 motorway and on Manc Way as your photo illustrates. But again if it lasts more than 10 mins it's because of an accident, police activity or roadworks and charging will have only slight effects on those.
Indeed the paraphenalia of collecting the charge will create delays at new bottlenecks and surrounding areas will be blighted with excessive traffic and parked cars as has happened so demonstrably in London.
So congestion charging is nothing to do with alleged congestion and everything to do with a idealogical Labour regime in Westminster attempting to bale out profligate Labour city councils with a new slice of the motorist tax take. This latest
outburst from Salford is an overt attempt to get some of this new tax.
The 'congestion charge' (aka local motorist tax) debate hasn¿t started in earnest yet. When it does it will become apparent to Manchester's councillors that it is political suicide to take it to the people in the next election. This will be despite the (empty?) promises of lower council tax bills
Looking on the bright side for everyone, the new regime in Westminster will remove the pressure coming from Dept of Transport and the whole flawed, stupidly complicated and ridiculous idea will be quietly dropped.
Hooraah!
Napoleon, Manchester (02/07/2007 at 11:15)
Colin Bell's Underpants (02/07/2007 at 11:30)
Mark,Radcliffe. (02/07/2007 at 11:39)
Snare Drum, Ashton-under-Lyne (02/07/2007 at 11:50)
Philipac, Northenden Manchester (02/07/2007 at 11:59)
ace, manchester (02/07/2007 at 12:18)
Mark Johnson (02/07/2007 at 12:36)
Forward with Frank (02/07/2007 at 13:27)
It's all about making money.
I'll tell you where there is some congestion though, on whitworth Street near the Gay Village. They are building an office/aprtment block on the site of an old car park (makes sense) that nobody wanted. It is going to block out views and natural daylight for about five existing apartment blocks. Nobody wanted it building, there was a lot of official objections to the council and surprise, surprise after an appeal the council gives it the go-ahead.
Where the congestion comes in on Whitworth Street is that the developers have boraded up the site including the pavement on Whitworth Street. There have put bollards in the road and in doing so have reduced it from two lanes to one. So they take out a car park and take out one lane of road. This will take eighteen months to build. Clever.
On Saturday I went on a journey that usually takes me 40 minutes by car but I decided to help the environment and get the train. It took me twenty minutes to walk to Piccadilly, then I had to get a bus beacuse of some problem with the train. The bus took me half way there and then I had to get a train and then walk at the other end. It took me two hours and twenty minutes and then the same on the way back. A joke. I also don't get vomit, litter and drunk smoking youths in my car either.
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (02/07/2007 at 13:46)
Well spotted on the Bus lane times, that will probably be the very first change in the hours.
Give it 18 months afterwards and and it will be 7 to 7
I think even the those who initially believed the 5 pound cap and time zones are now starting to have second thoughts on if they believe the GMPTA/GMPTE/AGMA
Curious how the Yellow bus tours are now over.
MART went to three of these tours and witnessed nearly zero effort from the Yellow bus crew to engage with the public except when the TV cameras were there.
I would say now the tours are over, and now they have changed their minds, that results of are a joke and can not be cited by Rogers Jones and his cohorts, the whole consultation is now totally invalid, not that it ever was in the first place.
Manchester Against Road Tolls
www.manchestertolltax.com/
The petition
www.gopetition.com/online/12888.html
Complain to GMPTE directly
GM Future Transport
c/o GMPTE
2 Piccadilly Place
Manchester
M1 3BG
Tony (02/07/2007 at 14:05)
Rectify this and we would not have a problem.
My work puts me on the road 10 hours a day in Manchester and I accept the fact that I will at some stage be sat in traffic, that is my choice and I will NOT pay a congestion charge.
If this charge is brought into being it will effectively put me out of work and I don't care, I will quite happily collect unemployment benefit and sit at home........and wait for polling day.......your choice.