What they said....when they said it!....The M50

[Frank Zappa]

As today sees in the first day of barrier free tolling on the M50, I would like to get a little nostalgic about what Government Ministers have been saying regarding the bottleneck caused by the M50 Toll Plaza.

Today will tell if the traffic nightmare was in fact caused by forcing people to stop, rummage around for change, etc etc.

Government Ministers have always stood by the party line and commented that the Toll booths were not the cause. The next few days will decide.

Feel free to post quote's from Irish Politicians over the last six or seven years regarding traffic chaos caused by the toll booths.

 

[The_Banker]

How do foreign registered cars get billed on the barrier free toll?
I see a lot of NI registered cars on the M50. Not to mention all the Polish and Eastern European cars.

 

[Mpsox]

IN fairness, it will take some weeks for the toll booths etc to be removed and for it to be truely barrier free

I also drove through it on Saturday(twice) and on both occassions, the car in front of my, which was not a foreign reg, slowed down and nearly stopped as if they hadn't a clue what was going on and what they were supposed to do.

 

[cork]

How do foreign registered cars get billed on the barrier free toll?.

The idea of tolling roads needs debate big time. Mororists pay tax on fuel, road tax, VRT ,VAT + tolls.


Admin Costs of this new system are only 15 million per year.

Talk about rip off.

 

[csirl]

Not to mention all the Polish and Eastern European cars.

The photographic record of them not paying on the M50 on a regular basis is great evidence for them having imported their cars rather than being tourists. Just made Customs & Exise life a lot easier with regard to collecting VRT.

 

[BillK]

We are over in Ireland quite often, three times in the last year, and use the M50 frequently. Does this new system mean that foreign registered cars pay nothing?

 

[GeneralZod]

Does this new system mean that foreign registered cars pay nothing?

According to a [broken link removed] on the eFlow website the NRA will use a "trans-European enforcement agency" to recover foreign fees. If that is real rather than spoofing why aren't they more specific about the name of this agency.

 

[Sunny]

According to a [broken link removed] on the eFlow website the NRA will use a "trans-European enforcement agency" to recover foreign fees. If that is real rather than spoofing why aren't they more specific about the name of this agency.

I suppose they can ask Interpol for help!! Evade the M50 toll more than 5 times and you may even top their their most wanted list!

 

[michaelm]

I see a lot of NI registered cars on the M50. Not to mention all the Polish and Eastern European cars.

Just one of the reasons that both tolls and motor tax should be scrapped with a tax/toll levy added to petrol/diesel. It sickens me that the tax payer paid for this road in both directions only for NTR to be allowed to build the bridge (£20 million was it?) in the middle to choke the traffic and dip into the pockets of motorists for maybe 20? years. Then the tax payer buys the bridge back for €600 million but for what? so the barriers are lifted but the casual charge for crossing goes up 50%. Once this e-flow system is bedded down they will change it so that they can detect cars as they enter and exit the M50 and will charge on a per kilometer basis.

 

[monkeyboy]

Just one of the reasons that both tolls and motor tax should be scrapped with a tax/toll levy added to petrol/diesel. It sickens me that the tax payer paid for this road in both directions only for NTR to be allowed to build the bridge (£20 million was it?) in the middle to choke the traffic and dip into the pockets of motorists for maybe 20? years. Then the tax payer buys the bridge back for €600 million but for what? so the barriers are lifted but the casual charge for crossing goes up 50%. Once this e-flow system is bedded down they will change it so that they can detect cars as they enter and exit the M50 and will charge on a per kilometer basis.

Now im not 100% sure on the history as I was a teen at the time, but my understanding is that NTR built the bridge as a private high risk venture. There was vey little traffic on it, to be honest I rememebr it as a white elephant, using it with my Dad as a teen it was so empty.

The roads were hardly built to and from the edges of the valley prior to the road, the bridge was there 1st for obvious reasons.

Its only the huge increase in cars that caused the trouble. Its universally accepted as unforseeable, unprecedenetd and never to be seen again growth in wealth and population that put the cars on over and beyond the design capabilities of the road.

As a private company they raked it in and as much a bain as it was on the user, why would they have opened it up? The ax payer never owned it so are not buying it back and its only the fault of the Govt for putting such critical infrastrucure in private hands....again however only became an issue due to the unprecedenetd growth.

I am open to correction on any of the above.

 

[Mpsox]

It could be worse, I was streaming a San Francisco radio station yesterday (KFOG) and on the news they said the toll for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge had gone up to $6 a trip

 

[TarfHead]

Now that they have 'fixed' the Westlink & M50, can they please sort out the Eastlink and the out-dated roundabout at the northen end of the bridge ?

Following the opening of the Port Tunnel, the roads have been widened but there is still a roundabout in the way, causing traffic sclerosis. If they changed to a signal junction, with priority given north south traffic (i.e. as opposed to traffic on the north quays), the traffic would move quicker and avoid the traffic jams throughout Sandymount & Ringsend.

But they won't

 

[shnaek]

The idea of tolling roads needs debate big time. Mororists pay tax on fuel, road tax, VRT ,VAT + tolls.

Just wait for the carbon tax! Death and taxes, my friend. Wouldn't be so bad if they weren't just p*ssing it all away.

 

[monkeyboy]

Now that they have 'fixed' the Westlink & M50, can they please sort out the Eastlink and the out-dated roundabout at the northen end of the bridge ?

Following the opening of the Port Tunnel, the roads have been widened but there is still a roundabout in the way, causing traffic sclerosis. If they changed to a signal junction, with priority given north south traffic (i.e. as opposed to traffic on the north quays), the traffic would move quicker and avoid the traffic jams throughout Sandymount & Ringsend.

But they won't

I think the main thing about the EL is the fact is that it is only 1 lane, no advantage in upgrading the roads and still having a 1 lane bottle neck of a bridge. Upgrading this is a huge job though.

All the south bound traffic onlyhas one real option nd that is also to continue on lane starnd road until Merrion and the N11 some distance away. Its lose lose all the way.
I vote for a bay side express way. But the few woi live here and the Eco gimps will never allow the majority have an acceatble infrastructural network

 

[elefantfresh]

According to the radio, the traffic seems to have improved