Congestion charge petition online

An online petition against proposals to charge motorists up to £5 a day to drive in Manchester city centre has been officially launched.

Campaign group Manchester Against Road Tolls (Mart) has set up the protest in response to the congestion charge which could be ready for use in the city by autumn 2012.

Entering an outer cordon around the M60 would cost £2, with an additional fee of £1 to get into the centre.

Another £1 would be charged to leave each of the zones but motorists would not pay outside peak times.

Council chiefs in Greater Manchester say the scheme is vital for the city to realise its full economic potential and doing nothing could cost 30,000 jobs over the next 15 years.

Campaigners against the introduction of the scheme say it would have the opposite effect and would harm business.

Launching the petition - www.manchestertolltax.com - Peter Roberts, who set up a Downing Street petition against road pricing earlier this year which attracted 1.8 million signatures, said Manchester was isolating itself with its own "Berlin Wall".

He said: "Now is the time for the people of Manchester to start the fightback against these toll plans which will destroy jobs and put the city at a major economic disadvantage.

"Transport planners have hatched a scheme to isolate Manchester with a version of the Berlin Wall, an electronic barrier called the M60 motorway - an astonishing own goal for a great city. Politicians are denying the people of Manchester a voice on this crucial issue and Mart is determined to give them their say."

Earlier this week a survey revealed that four out of five local businesses were against a congestion charge in the city. In March, a poll showed that 80% of people living in the area thought it would have a negative effect on the local economy.

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