Jams today, pay tomorrow It remains to be seen if anyone will actually pick up and run with the idea that Tyneside should put itself forward as a test bed for a national road pricing scheme. In principle, the idea - from the influential Institute for Public Policy Research in the North - certainly has some merit. Our traffic "hot spots" are clearly defined, both geographically and in terms of the time of day the problems arise. They are also getting worse and, if the cash raised were ploughed back into imaginative, convenient and cost-effective public transport schemes, the whole region might benefit. Another argument is the "common sense" one. Now that the subject has been raised, it is only a matter of time before it is likely to happen. Does anyone, honestly, believe that in 10 or 15 years' time you will be able simply to drive into the centre of any city in the country? We are going to have to do something sooner or later, and the later it is left, the bigger the problem to be solved will be. We might easily miss the boat by failing to be a front-runner in the Government's latest plans. There is, of course, opposition to any form of road pricing and congestion charging, and they make some powerful arguments. But accommodating the motor car has, over the years, proved to be next to impossible in our major cities. New roads and traffic management systems have simply become swamped by the rapid increase in vehicle ownership. Appeals to people not to use cars have so often fallen on deaf ears and, sooner or later, some form of compulsion or "taxation" was always going to arrive. It was only a matter of time. Politicians are now feeling bold enough to talk about the issue openly and they will act - sooner or later. The justification will be that there are so many cars on the roads that they will be practically useless because of the traffic jams. It is a powerful argument, and those who are prepared to even think about it can see it happening in certain places at certain times before their very eyes. A problem we must learn to live with As if affordable starter homes were not a big enough issue in the North-East, Newcastle also faces a problem accommodating some 4,000 extra students. These temporary residents are good news for the local economy - but only if they can find somewhere to actually live. The fact that our universities are expanding is, obviously, also good news for the region. But Newcastle City Council will have to get its thinking cap on and come up with some kind of sensible policy over where we are going to put them. They will also have to bear in mind that in some of the city's "traditional" student areas, they will face some opposition from local people. We await with interest the result of these deliberations. It will not be an easy balance to achieve but, for a whole host of economic, cultural and social reasons, it is going to have to be done. To find out more on both of these stories, subscribe to TheJournal e:edition. Click here. | 
