Why not just charge a toll to cars entering downtown in order to reduce traffic in downtown?
In London, UK, there are a number of reports indicating a significant reduction of commercial activity (down 9%) within the London Congestion Charge Zone during the first year of tolls. After the third year of implementation 84.2% of surveyed merchants located inside the Congestion Charge Zone said their sales have declined; while 33% of these merchants are considering relocating, and 28% are considering closing their business due to the charging scheme (source: London Chamber of Commerce). After the London experience, the residents of Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, voted 74% against a similar congestion charge scheme for their city in a public referendum on February 2005. In Toronto, there are already reports indicating a relocation of Head offices outside of downtown due to two major reasons: higher taxes and increasing traffic congestion. By imposing an extra toll, with no improvements on road capacity, we will effectively be charging an added cost with dubious benefits to downtown
