Chch congestion charges ruled out
Motorists will not be charged for driving on Christchurch roads, with the idea being ruled out by Transport Minister Phil Twyford.
Christchurch City Council staff have been looking for the past six months at whether fees could be used to reduce congestion in an upgraded Cranford St, which is expected to see a dramatic increase in traffic when the northern corridor opens this year.
Twyford ruled out congestion charging in Wellington last year and applied the same ruling to Christchurch when approached by The Press yesterday.
It was a useful future tool, he said, but better public transport, cycling and walking options were needed for it to work. ‘‘[Christchurch] does not currently have the transport infrastructure and public transport services to make congestion charging fair.’’
Ministry of Transport demand management and revenue manager Marian Willberg said ministry officials had not had any formal discussions with council staff regarding a fee or levy to reduce congestion. Implementing a congestion charge on any roads in the city would require a change to the Land Transport Management Act, she said.
As part of the council decision approving projects in St Albans to address the effects of the new northern corridor, head of transport Richard Osborne said the council asked staff to investigate pricing mechanisms to manage future traffic demand. That investigation was still being completed and would report back to the urban development and transport committee, he said.
Committee chair councillor Mike Davidson said a congestion levy was one of several ideas being explored and the council needed to keep working on solutions to reduce traffic for affected residents.
Davidson said he thought the idea of a levy was worth exploring if proceeds were invested into improving public transport but ‘‘if the minister is saying we can’t do it then obviously there is no point going down that avenue.
‘‘But we need to find out exactly why he is saying no.’’
A dramatic increase in traffic is expected in Cranford St when the northern corridor opens this year.