New protest planned over Mersey bridge tolls

A PROTEST is planned at the Mersey Gateway Bridge on Monday, August 14 in the ongoing campaign to persuade the Government to scrap tolls on the bridge.
It has been organised by Widnes campaigner Karen Forde, after an online petition she set up attracted more than 4,000 people in a fortnight.
Karen is hoping to attract 100,000 signatures before she sends the petition to transport secretary Chris Grayling.
She believes the £90-a-month toll which people living outside Halton will have to pay to use the bridge could tip some struggling businesses “over the edge” and vulnerable people could be forced to stop using the bridge – in effect splitting the borough of Halton in two.
Karen believes the tolls could result in a knock-on effect on Warrington, will traffic diverting through the borough to avoid the bridge tolls.
Similar problems could hit other nearby areas.
“We believe the original commitments to fund the new bridge, as promised by George Osborne, should be honoured,”
The Communication Workers Union, which has offices at Preston Brook, has also launched a petition calling on the Government to abolish the tolls because of the damaging impact they will have on the North West.
The August 14 protest will take place between 7.30am and 9.30am, starting at the Widnes end with the aim of lining the whole bridge with people.
The online petitions can be found at www.change.org