Transport for London has revealed it plans to bring in road tolls on the Blackwall tunnel, which is currently free, to help pay for a controversial new multi-million pound tunnel building project. The London Mayor Boris Johnson’s transport body said the tolls, which would also operate on the new tunnel, would be the “most appropriate” way of funding the link between Thamesmead and Beckton.
Lawrence Webb who was the UKIP candidate for London Mayor in May told me that: "Plans to impose a toll on the Blackwall Tunnel is yet another tax on beleaguered motorists and businesses. The Blackwall Tunnel toll is the equivalent to an extra £800 tax for motorists who have no choice but to use it to get to and from work; nobody drives in London for pleasure people do it to put food on the table. Vans will be charged £2.50 per trip a cost that they will simply pass on, this will mean that everyone in London will feel the effects of this with an increase in the cost of living.
Some of those most affected will be shift workers on low wages who will eventually be priced out of going to work and end up as just another statistic in the unemployment figures. We are told that this is to help pay for the new Silvertown crossing, but also that once it place tolls should apply on both crossings. Once imposed it will never be lifted, just as with the Dartford crossing. People voted for Boris because they believed that he would help boost business in London, but clearly he is more concerned with raising revenues to pay for his vanity projects than he is in helping the London economy. The only way to ease congestion is to stop uncontrolled immigration to Britain which is causing the never ending rise in population growth."
I did ask the London Mayor, Boris Johnson: "Are UKIP correct to suggest that a new toll on the Blackwall Tunnel would cost the average motorist £800 a year?" Mr Johnson declined to responded.
Green Assembly member Darren Johnson said: “The Mayor will please very few people with his announcement that tolls would have to be imposed to pay for a new road across the Thames. Those of us opposed to the Silvertown Crossing because of its dreadful impact on air pollution will remain opposed. Moreover, I suspect many of those who were originally in favour of a new road crossing will hate the idea of having to pay tolls on the Blackwall Tunnel. Given there are now far more public transport options for crossing the Thames in East London, there is really no need for a new road crossing.”
In its consultation document into the new tunnel, published today, TfL said: “There is currently no funding set aside in TfL’s budget for the major infrastructure projects outlined in this consultation. This means that in order to deliver them we would need to identify a means of paying for them. We believe that the most appropriate way to fund the projects would be to charge a toll for using the Silvertown Tunnel and any new crossing linking Thamesmead and Beckton. Tolling would provide a new revenue stream to pay for the crossings, and would ensure that those who benefit most from these new projects – by using them – help to pay for them in return.”
