A cycling group has called for congestion charges in Essex's major towns to help tame the county's traffic.
Colchester Cycling Campaign proposes that charging motorists to enter the county's towns should be included within the local transport plan. This sets out Essex County Council's transport policy until 2011.
A spokesman for the group said: "We feel that Essex is not being radical enough, and is still looking to improve roads to reduce congestion, which is a 1980s idea.
"We feel that the county council should take a lead on congestion charging and workplace parking charges.
"The alternative is worse jams tomorrow, which would strangle the economy of our county, the commercial powerhouse of England".
Rodney Bass, the county council's transport chief, dismissed the idea out of hand.
"There is no way that Essex is going to introduce congestion charging," he said.
"We do not agree with additional taxes on motorists. We want to provide sensible road and rail interchanges and develop improved bus services, to give people a real choice apart from their cars."
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Monday, February 21, 2005
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