Give us a discount on bridge toll, plead residents

Oct 18 2007 by Adrian Short, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

THE depth of concern about bridge tolls has been highlighted in a public consultation over the proposed Mersey Gateway project.

Halton Council has concluded the consultation phase of the proposed scheme and is now set to begin the planning stage of the £390m project – with final completion on target for 2014.

More than 3,000 people responded to the consultation and 1,500 visited exhibitions across Halton.

And chief among the concerns raised was the prospect of tolling both the new crossing and the existing Silver Jubilee bridge.

Approximately 49% of those polled favoured discounts for Halton residents, with a further 23% calling for an allowance for regular bridge users.

Steve Nicholson, project director, said: ‘There was a strong call for a discount scheme.

‘We knew this would be an issue and it’s given us an idea of the level of feeling.

‘We are now looking at how we could structure a discount scheme that is practical and affordable.’

Mr Nicholson added that new technology was being looked at which could include ‘pre-paid’ tolling with sensors fitted inside cars or cameras which can read car number-plates.

A £1m ‘traffic model’ was also carried out by the council - which involved surveys of bridge users from the borough and beyond - and predicted a 5% drop in bridge use if tolls came into force.

Mr Nicholson added: ‘We would have been concerned if we found that large numbers of people would avoid the bridge to avoid the tolls, but the model has found it is only about 5%.’

Planners predict that 80% of traffic using the current Silver Jubilee crossing will switch to the new bridge.

Also among the proposals are plans to replace the existing Catalyst Industrial Estate on West Bank with a new junction and approach road.

Findings from the public consultation will be distributed to all Halton residents and businesses next month – ahead of submitting a planning application next spring.

mark.smith