(posted 7794 days ago)The Times
December 16, 2002'I'm being charged to drive out of my own road'
By Gabriel RozenbergFEW of London’s residents can be looking forward to the congestion charge with a greater sense of dread than those of Kennington Lane, SE11.
The road, running along the edge of the congestion charging zone, is likely to become South London’s biggest rat run on February 17. Transport for London predicts that more than 180 extra vehicles an hour will pass through it at peak times. To add to their woes, those living on the south side of the road have been told that they must pay the charge in full whenever they drive into town, even though their neighbours on the north side will get a 90 per cent discount.
Charlotte Bacon, an actress living on the south side of Kennington Lane, said she needed her car for work but was now trapped by the charge.
“I can effectively only drive one way out of my road without paying,” she said. “I’m being charged to drive out of my own road, which is ridiculous.” Miss Bacon, 27, said that she supported the congestion charge in theory but that noise and congestion in her street would quickly become impossible to deal with.
“Already there are huge tailbacks and it’s going to be a nightmare,” she said. “I’m dreading what’s going to happen round here. The fact that this main road outside Central London will suddenly have motorway-volumes of traffic doesn’t fill me with a great deal of joy.
“It’s difficult to resign yourself to the fact that, because you live in London, that’s what you have to put up with. I feel utterly powerless.”
Miss Bacon said that pollution could only get worse on her street. “God knows what it’s going to do to my front garden,” she said.
Non-driving residents of Kennington Lane, by contrast, had few complaints about the congestion charge.
André Rostant, 40, a father of four, said that his family had reaped the benefits of greater investment in transport for non-drivers. Pedestrian crossings, which residents had been calling for for 30 years, were now being installed, he said. Ramps for prams had been installed and the recent rephasing of traffic lights favoured pedestrians. Mr Rostant said that London was a walkable city, and that Soho was only 40 minutes away by foot.
“Ninety-nine per cent of people here are angry about the charge, but I’m not sure they’re angry for rational reasons,” he said. “They want something to be angry at, and Ken is a convenient target.”