I grew up in a town that made it practically impossible to find parking in the downtown area. Evetually...over a twenty year period...real business moved out of downtown, to the burb’s. There isn’t a single thriving business in the downtown area today...except a couple of bars...banks....and second-hand shops.
In the case of the British towns...it is rapidly teaching folks to shop and frequent places outside of town. It will eventually trigger an event where the inner city is most for tourist only....and then the city will be in serious jeopardy.
My humble opinion of the Obama team looking at something like this...let the cities fix their own problems and don’t get the federal government in the business of car routes.
The total collapse of the American economy will do wonders in reducing vehicle congestion and traffic.