System costing £166 million will be obsolete in 2 years
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has joined with other congestion charge protestors to highlight the £166million that is being spent by Transport for London on extending the zone.
The West London Residents Association produced a report which shows it will cost £166 million to set up number plate reading cameras before the extension goes live in February 2007. The technology will be superseded by a 'tag and beacon' system in 2009.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, said, ”Ken Livingstone is wasting £166 million on technology for the western extension that will be obsolete in two years' time. The mayor might live in a dream world where taxpayers can write blank cheques for his latest whim but Londoners don't have money to burn. The current system is crude, expensive and unpopular and Ken Livingstone needs to have a rethink before more money is wasted."
Local residents joined the protest which took place as delegates arrived for a transport conference at the Institute of Physics in Portland Place.
Just last week, local MP, Greg Hands expressed concern at research by TfL which showed Hammersmith and Fulham already has the most congested streets in London whilst the most recent consultation revealed that 3 out of 4 Londoners were opposed to the extension.
Greg Hands MP said “This shows very clearly that the Western Extension to the Congestion Charging Zone will have a detrimental effect on Hammersmith and Fulham. The displaced traffic will be pushed into an area which already has the highest annual vehicle delay of any borough in London.”
June 22, 2006