Warrington Liberal Democrat Dr Jo Crotty claims park and ride schemes will not deter traffic flow through Warrington

Jun 18 2009 by Mark Smith, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

A WARRINGTON councillor claims her town will see increased traffic if tolling takes effect on the Gateway.

Dr Jo Crotty (pictured), who is also the prospective Lib Dem MP for Warrington, voiced her opposition to tolls in a letter submitted to the public inquiry on Tuesday.

She claimed traffic modelling revealed that road use could increase in Warrington by between 3-9% due to tolling, and said plans for park and ride schemes would not deter increased traffic flow.

Cllr Crotty said: “Warrington Borough Council’s executive board on March 9 stated Halton Council’s strong support for a network of strategic park and ride sites located close to motorway junctions.

“It is proposed that these arrangements are at best deficient and at worst insufficient to mitigate the impact of increased congestion arising from this project.”

In his rebuttal of the evidence, Mersey Gateway project director Steve Nicholson said: “Park and ride facilities are not intended to offer an alternative to the actual traffic that may divert to Warrington to avoid Mersey Gateway tolls.”