Jay said:
Until pedestrian taxes are introduced (which may only be a matter of time) I think motorists will have the upper hand.
Sorry but you don't have any idea about how roads are funded. Roads are funded out of general taxation and council tax. Therefore you can argue that pedestrians have more rights than those driving into Stafford.
Why? simple, the pedestrian lives locally and pays their council tax in Stafford. Those driving into Stafford from outside the area are likely to be paying their council tax for another town and are therefore contributing nothing.
The direct funding of roads by road taxes were abolished in 1937 by Winston Churchill. The tax disc on your car is banded depending on how much pollution your car produces. Pedestrians and cyclists emit no pollution and therefore are exempt.
If you actually add up all the misery, congestion, deaths, health problems from noise and air pollution and other negative effects of motor vehicles on our roads the figure is much less than all the taxation raised in total. Therefore people driving motor vehicles are subsidised by those who do not drive.
There was even more subsidisation recently with the car scrappage scheme, non-car drivers get sod all.
What about those low emission cars that have free VED, should they not be allowed to drive on the roads?
http://ipayroadtax.com/no-such-thing-as-road-tax/15/