We can already hear those screams of rage if The City ever really follows through on a plan to charge vehicles for driving in the congested downtown area during peak hours. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority is farther along than ever in exploring details of a “congestion pricing” proposal along the lines of London’s successful version.

To those who worry core city vehicle tolls would hurt business and burden average residents, it is possible that downtown commerce and recreation has no worse physical enemy than rampant traffic gridlock.

For business deliveries to flow freely in the city center and for recreational visitors to more fully enjoy our urban attractions, few enhancements could be better than unencumbered street access.

Transportation Authority numbers leave few doubts that central San Francisco’s overcrowded, century-old streets are stressed far beyond capacity. The City is estimated to squeeze in 1 million total daily trips. Of these, 532,000 are daily car trips downtown and another 304,000 are daily transit trips downtown.

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Traffic congestion wasted $80 million in unnecessary fuel costs during 2005, a drain expected to double in 25 years. And the average Bay Area auto trip requires 32 minutes, just more than half of which is spent waiting in traffic. Every driver loses money and wastes time because of traffic congestion.

Naturally, numerous questions would need answering before this newspaper could back any downtown San Francisco toll: What central areas would congestion pricing cover? What hours would tolls be in effect? How much would drivers pay? How would tolls be collected and enforced? What discounts and exemptions would be offered?

And this especially important element cannot be overlooked: What new public transit improvements would be funded from congestion toll revenues? Experience demonstrates that drivers stubbornly resist leaving their vehicles home unless public transit delivers a practical alternative in both price and convenience.

At this point, there are two basic plans. One idea is a “gateway toll” on any vehicle entering San Francisco in peak congestion hours. This would be in addition to bridge tolls, but Peninsula drivers who don’t need a bridge to enter San Francisco would also pay.

The alternative is a toll just for entering The City’s busiest areas during peak congestion. Toll districts would include the Financial District, Civic Center and South of Market.

Countless proposals considerably less controversial than congestion pricing swiftly died under pressure from The City’s confrontational interest groups. Downtown driver tolls might now have a chance only because gas prices are skyrocketing and deficit-battered City Hall is desperately seeking more revenues.