How do we fix the A338? Make it a toll road (From Bournemouth Echo)
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MP calls for tolls on Spur Road to fund £26million repairs
7:58am Friday 16th November 2012 in News
How do we fix the A338? Make it a toll road
DORSET’S busy A338 Spur Road should be made into a toll road to pay for the £26m repairs it desperately needs.
Christchurch MP Chris Chope has mooted the idea and called on Dorset County Council to come up with more “imaginative” ways to fund the repair of the 6.5-mile stretch of worn out road from Bournemouth to Ringwood.
The A338 Bournemouth Spur Road, which carries 59,000 vehicles a day, urgently needs resurfacing but funding from the Department of Transport was pulled last year.
Why the A338 didn't get funding
Dorset Country Council says improving the dual carriageway remains a high priority and there is “no lack of will” to push ahead with plans.
They say it costs £1million a year to patch up what is an already worn-out road.
The importance of a smooth running A338 Spur Road was highlighted again earlier this week when a single vehicle accident saw the northbound lanes closed, bringing Bournemouth to a five-hour standstill. Mr Chope said: “The cost of maintaining this road is disproportionately high. It would be much better value to carry out the full repairs.”
He added: “I have thought in the past one way to deal with this would be to introduce a temporary toll from which all Hampshire and Dorset residents would be exempt.
“We have got to find some more imaginative ways of keeping our roads in a fit state.”
Mr Chope said he has raised the issue in Parliament but was told the coalition agreement excludes introducing tolls on existing roads.
“My point is that this is worth revisiting. We would not toll local people because they are already paying for the upkeep of the local roads through their council tax. Using modern technology I am sure we could find a way to toll all the other people who use our roads but don’t help pay for them.
“Obviously this would be radical and new territory but in order to get this sort of thing going we need to have someone who is going to take it forward.” Mr Chope added that such a toll scheme would need local and political backing to take it forward.
“If there was enough political support for that we could take it forward as a new way of funding road repair improvements. The toll would only be in operation until the necessary repairs have been funded.”
Cllr Peter Finney, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “I am sure that Chris’ idea is very viable and would obviously work. We would have to agree that with Bournemouth Borough Coun-cil because it is partly one of their roads.”
He said such a scheme would undoubtedly cause “concern” with the logistics, how much it would cost to operate and the impact on businesses and visitors to Bournemouth.
But Mark Smith, head of tourism at Bournemouth Borough Council, said: “It would be seriously damaging for businesses here, it would cost people their jobs and would impact on people who live and work here.
“If you are going to charge for vehicles to use major routes then it should be a national scheme and not specific to one particular area.
“It would impact on local residents because their family and friends would have to pay.”
He added that all toll-roads offer motorists a different option but that would not be possible for the A338 Spur Road.
“The businesses here would be strangled by having a prohibitive charge.”
Comments(160)
Victor_Meldrew_Lives!
says...
8:04am Fri 16 Nov 12
The motorist is already taxed to death with fuel duty, VAT on the fuel duty, Road tax, VAT on cars, VAT on parts and servicing etc etc
The fact is that the motorist has paid to have that road fixed many times over. That there is no money to fix the road is because the money was used for other purposes.
j neptune esq
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8:10am Fri 16 Nov 12
Still, as unworkable schemes go, this is a doozy. Charging tourists to sit in hours of roadworks, super
the smiling assassin
says...
8:12am Fri 16 Nov 12
Victor_Meldrew_LivesAbsolutely agree!
! wrote:
Putting toll charges on existing roads is the road to hell. The motorist is already taxed to death with fuel duty, VAT on the fuel duty, Road tax, VAT on cars, VAT on parts and servicing etc etc The fact is that the motorist has paid to have that road fixed many times over. That there is no money to fix the road is because the money was used for other purposes.
steve518
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8:14am Fri 16 Nov 12
jeebuscripes
says...
8:14am Fri 16 Nov 12
Whenever they start to get a bit damaged, head down to Waterstones, avoiding any celebrity book signings if you can, and buy some more.
dorset_sheep
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8:19am Fri 16 Nov 12
Talkingheadera
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8:21am Fri 16 Nov 12
Lord Spring
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8:23am Fri 16 Nov 12
aerolover
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8:24am Fri 16 Nov 12
Road tax should be for roads not to cover benefits.
l'anglais
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8:29am Fri 16 Nov 12
steve518 wrote:Have you got your receipt sir?
I thought I had already paid for the road. Would I be able to charge my customers twice for the same item if I claimed I did not have enough money to pay bills? I think not.
At peak times only, or when there is congestion:
One lane for driver only vehicles, the other lane reserved for cars with 2 or more occupants.
Car share schemes are the way forward.
djd
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8:33am Fri 16 Nov 12
poole man in france
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8:34am Fri 16 Nov 12
aerolover wrote:Drivers from outside the UK do pay for YOUR roads every time they put fuel in their tanks when in the UK (which is much more expensive than fuel in most other countries). Abroad there is no obligation to use a toll road. There is always, albeit slower, a free alternative.
As usual Chris Chope MP like all MP's live in an ivory tower and don't know have the phelbs live. We have paid for this and every road in the country many times over. What we need is a government that charges driver from outside UK to drive on OUR roads the same as we get charged abroad. Also make cyclists pay a type of road tax to cover cycle lanes. They pay nothing but use OUR roads.
Road tax should be for roads not to cover benefits.
jobsworthwatch
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8:35am Fri 16 Nov 12
What a stupid idea it should get Chope the chop at the next election, Mark Smith is right, Bournemouth would become a ghost town!
Gordon Cann
says...
8:42am Fri 16 Nov 12
Question the human and financial cost of British involvement in Afghanistan.
Question the cost (over £!20 million a year ) of the Royal Protection Squad )
Question the cost of the elections for Police Commissioners ( £75 millions)
Question the cost of allowances paid to unelected members of the House of Lords
Question the cost of lowering the top rate of income tax by 5 p in the £
Question the cost of non payment of corporation tax in the UK by companies setting up off shore accounts
Wake up !
ksouth77
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8:43am Fri 16 Nov 12
And note the use of the words "toll road".
See the problem?
Gordon Cann
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8:48am Fri 16 Nov 12
rudolph_hucker
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8:53am Fri 16 Nov 12
1. Ban anyone who has caused an accident on this road from ever using it again
2. Have 2 police cars, one unmarked, permanently driving from county gates roundabout to ashley heath and back again
3. Extend the 50pmh limit to beyond the Blackwater Junction, or remove all the current speed cameras and replace with average speed types.
rayc
says...
8:56am Fri 16 Nov 12
Mr Chope said " We would not toll local people because they are already paying for the upkeep of the local roads through their council tax".
Who are these local people? Where do they live to be classed as local and what part of their Council Tax pays for the upkeep of this road?
We have to get used to Tory MP's calling for toll roads as there are plenty of businesses poised to make fortune from the technology, in the same way as speed enforcement made a fortune for some manufacturers and other organisations.
Ferndown Steve
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8:58am Fri 16 Nov 12
Where does that money go then ?
If it's not used for repairing or up grading, what is it used for ?
Maybe increase the lorry tax to start with (most damage is caused by their heavy wear and tear) !
Fred Luton
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9:00am Fri 16 Nov 12
This man obviously doesnt need to use this road on a regular basis
PokesdownMark
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9:01am Fri 16 Nov 12
jeebuscripes
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9:04am Fri 16 Nov 12
scrumpyjack
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9:06am Fri 16 Nov 12
rudolph_hucker wrote:Yes yes. I love your rational thinking.
I can tell you now how to drastically cut down on accidents on this road:
1. Ban anyone who has caused an accident on this road from ever using it again
2. Have 2 police cars, one unmarked, permanently driving from county gates roundabout to ashley heath and back again
3. Extend the 50pmh limit to beyond the Blackwater Junction, or remove all the current speed cameras and replace with average speed types.
Ban anyone with a car that can do more than 50 mph.
Install motion detectors that fire lasers if any car exceeds 30 mph within 3 miles of a junction.
Introduce a three strikes and your out rule, none of this losing your licence notice just hang them.
Families of speeders should be dragged into the streets and herded into "community farms" where they will work the land for the benefit of this glorious nation.
The bar stewards.
Gordon Cann
says...
9:06am Fri 16 Nov 12
'Forget Bermuda. Britain's tax havens are much closer to home'
then write your MP and ask if he has read the article and then ask yourself, whether politics is about justice and reason or little more than class interest
Dont drop litter
says...
9:07am Fri 16 Nov 12
dorset_sheep wrote:what about the Canford Bottom roundabout? Another wate of money. Who ever though that digging up roundabout and replacing it with 70 sets of traffic lights only to get stuck at the next roundabout was a good idea?
Maybe we should have spent less on the twin sails bridge if we knew we didn't have enough money to repair our roads.
Then there is the new (and badly syncronised) traffic light system at the top of Holdenhurst Road, and the emormous junction by the Hospital where no one can find the correct lane and when you do, a bus parks across it.
The list goes on and on.
Dont drop litter
says...
9:10am Fri 16 Nov 12
aerolover wrote:I do. infact i have a tax disc on my car and my motorbike.
As usual Chris Chope MP like all MP's live in an ivory tower and don't know have the phelbs live. We have paid for this and every road in the country many times over. What we need is a government that charges driver from outside UK to drive on OUR roads the same as we get charged abroad. Also make cyclists pay a type of road tax to cover cycle lanes. They pay nothing but use OUR roads.
Road tax should be for roads not to cover benefits.
I might feel inclined to pay for cycle lanes when pedestrians start paying for foot paths.
It's not cyclists that have worn the road out is it!
stop being such an infant.
Glashen
says...
9:12am Fri 16 Nov 12
djd wrote:Maybe now that Christchurch has reverted to a very safe conservative seat he needs reminding that even the voters here can turn.
Maybe Christchurch needs a new MP. One who is in touch with reality.
-
I have never voted for him and never would.
-
We lost a good MP when he narrowly defeated Diana Maddocks in 1997 and gained a ...........(IMHO)
chicken_madras
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9:13am Fri 16 Nov 12
rayc
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9:18am Fri 16 Nov 12
Gordon Cann wrote:On Question Time last night Harriett Harman said that " those companies who avoided paying tax because they argued that "their activities are not illegal and are in line with current tax rules" are immoral".
or read Polly Toynbee in the Guardian yesterday
'Forget Bermuda. Britain's tax havens are much closer to home'
then write your MP and ask if he has read the article and then ask yourself, whether politics is about justice and reason or little more than class interest
Wasn't the companies reasoning the same as that used by MP's during the expenses scandal?
Dibbles2
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9:21am Fri 16 Nov 12
chicken_madras wrote:I think that may well be the point as an alternative route would be via Christchurch! Let me think oh and Chris Chope is a councillor for Christchurch!
What a great way to reduce tourism to bournemouth even more.
Dibbles2
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9:24am Fri 16 Nov 12
The Renegade Master
says...
9:29am Fri 16 Nov 12
But we're used to Chope not knowing what he's talking about. This time last year he deliberately sabotaged the vote in Parliament for lighter evenings all year round by standing up and waffling on about nothing for a couple of hours until they ran out of time. The Lighter Later campaign was backed by a large number of MP's as well as countless business, tourism and safety organisations around the country but the actions of one pitiful excuse of a man meant democracy had to take a back seat to stupidity. Well done on that Chope.
Dorset Mitch
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9:36am Fri 16 Nov 12
Cheaper than parking for the day in town.
Arjay
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9:36am Fri 16 Nov 12
You wait --I'll bet they finally decide to repair that, at the same time as the spur road resurfacing finally happens.
2 river crossings restricted at the same time. That will be fun, won't it?
Any bets?.....
Jazzyb
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9:37am Fri 16 Nov 12
EscapefromBournemouth
says...
9:38am Fri 16 Nov 12
jeebuscripes
says...
9:42am Fri 16 Nov 12
Dont drop litter wrote:It's not road tax anyway. It's vehicle excise duty. Your vehicle causes so much damage to the environment you SHOULD have to pay to use it.
aerolover wrote:I do. infact i have a tax disc on my car and my motorbike.
As usual Chris Chope MP like all MP's live in an ivory tower and don't know have the phelbs live. We have paid for this and every road in the country many times over. What we need is a government that charges driver from outside UK to drive on OUR roads the same as we get charged abroad. Also make cyclists pay a type of road tax to cover cycle lanes. They pay nothing but use OUR roads.
Road tax should be for roads not to cover benefits.
I might feel inclined to pay for cycle lanes when pedestrians start paying for foot paths.
It's not cyclists that have worn the road out is it!
stop being such an infant.
And you do. HA!
bundyse
says...
9:42am Fri 16 Nov 12
TinyLegacy
says...
9:51am Fri 16 Nov 12
a.g.o.g.
says...
9:54am Fri 16 Nov 12
Gordon Cann wrote:Question too the £54Million we lob into the Euro Coffers - EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.
Question the cost , running into billions,on replacing the Trident submarine and missile programme Question the human and financial cost of British involvement in Afghanistan. Question the cost (over £!20 million a year ) of the Royal Protection Squad ) Question the cost of the elections for Police Commissioners ( £75 millions) Question the cost of allowances paid to unelected members of the House of Lords Question the cost of lowering the top rate of income tax by 5 p in the £ Question the cost of non payment of corporation tax in the UK by companies setting up off shore accounts Wake up !
EscapefromBournemouth
says...
9:55am Fri 16 Nov 12
rudolph_hucker wrote:You are wonderful, I bet you have rippling muscles and a deep tan too. I bet you even have a combine harvester and a big barn x
I can tell you now how to drastically cut down on accidents on this road:
1. Ban anyone who has caused an accident on this road from ever using it again
2. Have 2 police cars, one unmarked, permanently driving from county gates roundabout to ashley heath and back again
3. Extend the 50pmh limit to beyond the Blackwater Junction, or remove all the current speed cameras and replace with average speed types.
hadvar
says...
9:55am Fri 16 Nov 12
bundyse wrote:Bullseye. *The only road*. There is the problem. Single point of failure. As a start......
That's right Tax the only main road in and out of Bournemouth, to Southampton and London
1. A31/35 dual to dorchester.
2. Dual link between wessex and dorset ways.
Then, in the event that the spur road is shafted (as will occasionally happen whatever condition it's in) the rest of the region doesn't stop.
Wont happen though.
Redgolfer00
says...
9:59am Fri 16 Nov 12
the smiling assassin wrote:And I for that.
Victor_Meldrew_LivesAbsolutely agree!
! wrote:
Putting toll charges on existing roads is the road to hell. The motorist is already taxed to death with fuel duty, VAT on the fuel duty, Road tax, VAT on cars, VAT on parts and servicing etc etc The fact is that the motorist has paid to have that road fixed many times over. That there is no money to fix the road is because the money was used for other purposes.
a.g.o.g.
says...
10:01am Fri 16 Nov 12
a.g.o.g. wrote:I heard it on ? Time so it must be true?
Gordon Cann wrote: Question the cost , running into billions,on replacing the Trident submarine and missile programme Question the human and financial cost of British involvement in Afghanistan. Question the cost (over £!20 million a year ) of the Royal Protection Squad ) Question the cost of the elections for Police Commissioners ( £75 millions) Question the cost of allowances paid to unelected members of the House of Lords Question the cost of lowering the top rate of income tax by 5 p in the £ Question the cost of non payment of corporation tax in the UK by companies setting up off shore accounts Wake up !Question too the £54Million we lob into the Euro Coffers - EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.
penhale
says...
10:09am Fri 16 Nov 12
In 1910 the road fund licence was introduced to build and maintain the road network, since then that money has been stolen to pay for everything but maintaining the roads, call it what you like, road fund tax, vehicle excise duty, carbon tax, the money was still supposed to pay for the roads, why should motorists pay tax twice for the same service.
Amost 6 billion a year is stolen from motorists and frizzeled away on some high class toffs expenses.
EscapefromBournemouth
says...
10:11am Fri 16 Nov 12
owledge-network/uplo
ads/Highway%20Risk%2
0and%20Liability%20C
laims%20-%202nd%20Ed
ition%20July%202009.
penhale
says...
10:13am Fri 16 Nov 12
EscapefromBournemoutBulldoze all churches and make the world a better place.
h wrote:
I think we should plant daffodils and bluebells on the verges. We could have daisys where the white lines are too It should be closed on Sundays so when we come out of church we can have a street party and all the children can play on it.
4FoxAche
says...
10:13am Fri 16 Nov 12
Presumably for the purposes of paying your stinking road tax, you would be a Christchurch resident and therefore exempt. No matter though, I suppose if you did have to pay it, you would claim it back on your MP's expenses .
It all ready smells bad enough as you travel towards Bournemouth, without another stinking tax... Get a grip, you louse.
speedy231278
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10:15am Fri 16 Nov 12
The Seasider
says...
10:18am Fri 16 Nov 12
Realistically, most traffic gridlocks are caused by accidents/ collisions which are a result of bad driving. You could spend £50 million on this road, but the bad drivers will still drive badly.
The main problem of the A338 and why accidents cause so much congestion, is the lack of access on/ off. Perhaps a temporary relief road (locked barrier, opened only by police) off the A338 on to Matchams Lane/ Hurn Road and at Avon Causeway, would help divert traffic when accidents occur.
The Seasider
says...
10:18am Fri 16 Nov 12
Realistically, most traffic gridlocks are caused by accidents/ collisions which are a result of bad driving. You could spend £50 million on this road, but the bad drivers will still drive badly.
The main problem of the A338 and why accidents cause so much congestion, is the lack of access on/ off. Perhaps a temporary relief road (locked barrier, opened only by police) off the A338 on to Matchams Lane/ Hurn Road and at Avon Causeway, would help divert traffic when accidents occur.
Avengerboy
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10:26am Fri 16 Nov 12
Avengerboy
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10:27am Fri 16 Nov 12
8:02am Fri 16 Nov 12
We need a monorail.
Hahah yes The Simpsons episode, very good.
I-H-S
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10:33am Fri 16 Nov 12
benjamin
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10:41am Fri 16 Nov 12
saynomore
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10:46am Fri 16 Nov 12
Adrian XX
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10:49am Fri 16 Nov 12
We are not taxed to death and it simply isn't true that fuel in other European countries is much cheaper. We have the eighth highest petrol price in Europe according to the AA but this varies month on month as other countries adjust their fuel taxes and exchange rates fluctuate. And even the countries below us in the 'league table' are not very far below. Of course, major reductions in all forms of tax would be fantastic, but in the current climate they are pure fantasy. And penhale, the money from vehicle excise duty is not currently meant to pay for roads - that idea stopped in 1937.
I don't see a bright hope for the immediate future unfortunately. We trade a lot with Europe and Europe is economically distressed because of the single currency project. We're not staying ahead of the pack - we seem to hate success in this country - success causes jealousy rather than appreciation or admiration. Many would like our main industries to leave: it's banking's turn at the moment, but it it was pharmaceuticals a few years back - both industries in which we lead the world. We're falling behind in technology because we don't push science and engineering degrees and instead want 50% of young people to go to university no matter what they study. I would suggest no tuition fees at all for quality academic degrees (that is challenging, rigorous maths, engineering and science degrees at top universities). For silly subjects, you'll have to pay through the nose.
We need to get out of the economic pit before we can spend money on roads.
Arthur Maureen
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11:03am Fri 16 Nov 12
joeinpoole
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11:12am Fri 16 Nov 12
Dont drop litter
says...
11:15am Fri 16 Nov 12
Avengerboy wrote:Blackwater junction is a black spot because the slipway is too short and the traffic light phasing means cars have to queue on the main carriageway. Lighting won't prevent accidents. Cutting down the undercroth and hedges so that people ccan see emerging vehicles entering the carriageway certainly would.
At a guess I would say this MP is a Tory???!! The true problem here is the amount that the contractors want. Re-engineering of Blackwater junction could be overcome with lighting, the main issue for that blackspot. The rest of the road requires resurfacing, drainage and driver visual safety devices. £26 million, impressive mark up.
Dont drop litter
says...
11:16am Fri 16 Nov 12
Dont drop litter wrote:Incidentally, what does this persons political stance have to do with it? Idiots come in all shapes and sizes.
Avengerboy wrote:Blackwater junction is a black spot because the slipway is too short and the traffic light phasing means cars have to queue on the main carriageway. Lighting won't prevent accidents. Cutting down the undercroth and hedges so that people ccan see emerging vehicles entering the carriageway certainly would.
At a guess I would say this MP is a Tory???!! The true problem here is the amount that the contractors want. Re-engineering of Blackwater junction could be overcome with lighting, the main issue for that blackspot. The rest of the road requires resurfacing, drainage and driver visual safety devices. £26 million, impressive mark up.
static kill
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11:20am Fri 16 Nov 12
hamworthygarden
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11:23am Fri 16 Nov 12
Adrian XX
says...
11:29am Fri 16 Nov 12
hamworthygarden wrote:Your son wouldn't pay since the suggestion is that "Hampshire and Dorset residents would be exempt".
What a ridiculous suggestion, most of the users of this road are commuters like my son who is struggling to keep a family afloat he has to travel from Poole to Lymington everyday the fuel costs are difficult to find each month and now they suggest drivers pay even more, take it out of the fuel duty and road fund license. Did this gentlemen not hear about the chaos of the roads on Monday because this road was closed this will happen everyday when people avoid the charges. Think again!
Wallisdown
says...
11:35am Fri 16 Nov 12
Mudefordman
says...
11:36am Fri 16 Nov 12
the smiling assassin wrote:I agree as well, with more people due to come into the country,this government as got to find monies to support them.
Victor_Meldrew_LivesAbsolutely agree!
! wrote:
Putting toll charges on existing roads is the road to hell. The motorist is already taxed to death with fuel duty, VAT on the fuel duty, Road tax, VAT on cars, VAT on parts and servicing etc etc The fact is that the motorist has paid to have that road fixed many times over. That there is no money to fix the road is because the money was used for other purposes.
Jim_Springbourne
says...
11:44am Fri 16 Nov 12
Feel sorry for my parents having this right wing chump as their MP....
JLC U Later
says...
11:46am Fri 16 Nov 12
Of course it should be a toll road. There are other ways into the conurbation.
Why should those of us who can afford it have to share roadspace with those who can't? I've worked hard to get my lot. This means I can afford to live in a house away from other people. I can eat in restaurants that others can't afford. I can go on holidays to islands that others can’t get to.
Why shouldn't I be able to drive my Q7 on this road if I'm willing to pay for the privilege?
rayc
says...
11:57am Fri 16 Nov 12
Adrian XX wrote:What is the ratio of Hampshire and Dorset registered keepers of vehicles using the road compared to others?
hamworthygarden wrote:Your son wouldn't pay since the suggestion is that "Hampshire and Dorset residents would be exempt".
What a ridiculous suggestion, most of the users of this road are commuters like my son who is struggling to keep a family afloat he has to travel from Poole to Lymington everyday the fuel costs are difficult to find each month and now they suggest drivers pay even more, take it out of the fuel duty and road fund license. Did this gentlemen not hear about the chaos of the roads on Monday because this road was closed this will happen everyday when people avoid the charges. Think again!
Who would get the exemption? Commercial vehicles and company vehicles registered to Hampshire and Dorset businesses?
Was this proposal written on the back of a cigar packet in a late night session of the Commons members bar?
GrahamC
says...
12:01pm Fri 16 Nov 12
....................
........This road is primarily used by WORKING COMMUTERS who are travelling to and from their place of work, earning money, supporting their families AND PAYING TAXES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!.......they have paid quite enough already for the powers that be to ensure the road is safe and in good repair..............
.Again we see the slimy side of politicians trying to squeeze more money our of the hard working populace ............ Is it any wonder they are universally held in utter contempt!!!.........
.......It is comforting at least that Professional Officers like Mark Smith are in post who are not afraid to 'tell it like it is" and spell out the severely damaging consequences of this stupid, moronic,Tony inspired, cloud cuckoo land 'proposal'......
bundyse
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12:07pm Fri 16 Nov 12
grazzer
says...
12:25pm Fri 16 Nov 12
BmthNewshound
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12:31pm Fri 16 Nov 12
.
Labour governments reward areas which return Labour MP's. The Tories and Lib Dems see Dorset constituencies as safe seats so don't feel that they need to "buy votes".
mouse66
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12:33pm Fri 16 Nov 12
manjon
says...
12:41pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Square Old Codger
says...
12:42pm Fri 16 Nov 12
PokesdownMark wrote:Oh! but they are, unemployable in the real world, they use Politics as a career, the majority have never done a decent days work in their lives and are from such privilaged backgrounds that they have no idea how they are forcing us ti live. Make it a Toll road ( and toll roads are Tory policy) and the area will be traffic gridlocked as traffic relocates to alternative routes. Leaving the main roads free for the wealthly, or those on expenses. The M6 relief toll road is a prime example, it remains under used, whilst the M6 is gridlocked.
How on earth do people in such positions come up with these ill thought out schemes? They can't be that stupid. It must just be to just stir up discussion. A tactic? Please tell me it's just a political tactic.
username is already in use
says...
12:44pm Fri 16 Nov 12
SophieRJ
says...
12:47pm Fri 16 Nov 12
whataboutthat
says...
12:51pm Fri 16 Nov 12
jeebuscripes wrote:Lovely!
If everyone buys a copy of the Echo's Dorset book we could lay them out flat and use them as a temporary road surface.
Whenever they start to get a bit damaged, head down to Waterstones, avoiding any celebrity book signings if you can, and buy some more.
ekimnoslen
says...
1:04pm Fri 16 Nov 12
the smiling assassin wrote:Couldn't agree more. Besides there will be more congestion on other roads as people seek to avoid the toll.
Victor_Meldrew_LivesAbsolutely agree!
! wrote:
Putting toll charges on existing roads is the road to hell. The motorist is already taxed to death with fuel duty, VAT on the fuel duty, Road tax, VAT on cars, VAT on parts and servicing etc etc The fact is that the motorist has paid to have that road fixed many times over. That there is no money to fix the road is because the money was used for other purposes.
miketheplumb
says...
1:13pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Why make it a toll road, the way forward is clear, just keep raising more nd more tax on petrol, such as the three pence due in January. You will eventually price most people off the road, no need for repairs then, a quick slap of tarmac over the op, that'll do.
Seriously this governement (and I mean that irrespective of party) is a bunch of jokers, we pay so much road tax, why can we not use it to save lives and upgrade this road. Get real British Government .
madras
says...
1:13pm Fri 16 Nov 12
FNS-man
says...
1:20pm Fri 16 Nov 12
penhale wrote:The latest government report shows that the cost to the country of motoring is at the very least £11bn more than is collected in VED, fuel duty and VAT on fuel. The motorist is subsidised to the hilt for driving around.
Motorists are taxed to death already, we dont need any more. In 1910 the road fund licence was introduced to build and maintain the road network, since then that money has been stolen to pay for everything but maintaining the roads, call it what you like, road fund tax, vehicle excise duty, carbon tax, the money was still supposed to pay for the roads, why should motorists pay tax twice for the same service. Amost 6 billion a year is stolen from motorists and frizzeled away on some high class toffs expenses.
Kenwood1957
says...
1:21pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Rather than consider how to extract yet more money from road users as eloquently expressed elsewhere, this lot should use 'more imaginative' ways of collecting taxes from their wealthy friends and corporations who are given tax breaks and are able to exploit tax avoidance schemes. Then road user's money could be spent on the roads.
sussexcherry
says...
1:22pm Fri 16 Nov 12
NONCOM
says...
1:29pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Adrian XX
says...
1:40pm Fri 16 Nov 12
sussexcherry wrote:There will be some automated scanning technology as there is for the congestion charge in London. No need to queue.
Great advert for the tourists, come and experience hours of hell queueing to pay to use our toll road!! What planet is he from?
dorsetspeed
says...
1:45pm Fri 16 Nov 12
No, I haven’t made it up, it’s true, I did have a meeting with him.
To register your dissatisfaction, please join www.pooletraffic.co.
uk (also covers Bournemouth)
davecook
says...
1:50pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Adrian XX
says...
2:08pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Kenwood1957 wrote:While there are some highly dubious tax avoidance schemes such as the K2 scheme used by Jimmy Carr, most of what is termed "tax avoidance" by large corporations is perfectly legal and uses the basic (and well known) tenets of EU and international tax law to move profits around the world. No need to use a "tax haven" - Luxembourg has lower corporation tax, so profits are moved there. I don't think we can remove ourselves unilaterally from global tax treaties and certainly not from EU treaties unless we leave the EU altogether. It was quite funny to hear Tessa Munt MP on question time last night stating "somehow we have to get a mechanism so that they (Starbucks) pay some tax on their UK sales". THEY DO - IT'S CALLED VAT!
This proposal just goes to show how out of touch (and not very bright)members of this governing party are.
Rather than consider how to extract yet more money from road users as eloquently expressed elsewhere, this lot should use 'more imaginative' ways of collecting taxes from their wealthy friends and corporations who are given tax breaks and are able to exploit tax avoidance schemes. Then road user's money could be spent on the roads.
Adrian XX
says...
2:13pm Fri 16 Nov 12
they use Politics as a career, the majority have never done a decent days work in their lives
If you do just a tiny bit of research you will find that most MPs did not enter parliament straight from school. Many had very successful careers before they entered parliament. Chope was a barrister.
bobsworthforever
says...
2:29pm Fri 16 Nov 12
mouse66 wrote:Iknow this is a idiotic idea but it might wake up those muppets in Lyndhurst who dont want a bypass. We wont be able to get to London that way either. its easy to wonder why this idiots in Government but apart from the occasional Libdem difficult to get anyone else elected in Christchurch
It seems most people on here would like to see the back of Chope and his idiotic/dinosaur (delete as applicable) views. Where were you in May 2010 when a majority of Christchurch voters send him back to Parliament?!
PokesdownMark
says...
2:37pm Fri 16 Nov 12
davecook wrote:Ooo hark at you with yer real world proven, evidence based, locally demonstrably successful ideas!
One way of getting a good repair job on this is actually a toll road, but not as people generally understand toll roads to be. Get a private company to repair the road, and then pay them over a 25 year period a tiny toll for every car that uses the road, paid for out of the road tax which we already pay. This was done locally with the contruction of the Bere Regis bypass, a road which was abandoned short of Dorchester when Labour came to power in 1997. The Bere Regis bypass has needed no repairs whatsoever, as it was built to last, by a company who knew that building a good road which didn't need repairs would be the most profitable long term way to manage the project. I'd be more than happy if an arrangement like that was looked at for repairs.
P Barker
says...
2:51pm Fri 16 Nov 12
frarog
says...
2:55pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Stop Press
says...
3:01pm Fri 16 Nov 12
freedom for pokesdown
says...
3:02pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Those without off road vehicles to find work in the countryside - keeping the crows off the crops etc.
And to really make matters worse, I suggest we allow developers to build more and more out of town housing estates.
freedom for pokesdown
says...
3:06pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Just add water?
Hobie18007
says...
3:41pm Fri 16 Nov 12
freedom for pokesdown wrote:Yes you're right!...cast your mind back to the car park in the Hampshire centre that worked didn't it?
When I find a crack in a wall I use poly-filler. Surely there has got to be some equivalent for cracks in the road?
Just add water?
muscliffman
says...
3:43pm Fri 16 Nov 12
This issue had clarified one thing however "Mark Smith, head of tourism at Bournemouth Borough Council, said: “It would be seriously damaging for businesses here, it would cost people their jobs and would impact on people who live and work here." A mix up of his notes, this was what he was meant to say on TV the other day about the failure of his precious reef. Now it all makes sense.
Anyway, about those lizards and other creepy crawlies on the A338, remind me what it cost to pointlessly decimate the trees and vegetation to put up that silly fragile polythene fence prior to these same roadworks NOT happening a couple of years ago.
muscliffman
says...
3:45pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Hobie18007 wrote:'Hampshire Centre' ??????????????
freedom for pokesdown wrote:Yes you're right!...cast your mind back to the car park in the Hampshire centre that worked didn't it?
When I find a crack in a wall I use poly-filler. Surely there has got to be some equivalent for cracks in the road?
Just add water?
Dont drop litter
says...
3:52pm Fri 16 Nov 12
muscliffman wrote:who's idea was that? lunacy.
That would be Chris Chope ex-MP then!. Why not just come and spit at your voters it might be simpler than talking this insulting rubbish - surely we pay enough taxes to his Government for a decent road system already. In any case if there was a charge he would claim his back on expenses wouldn't he - kerching.
This issue had clarified one thing however "Mark Smith, head of tourism at Bournemouth Borough Council, said: “It would be seriously damaging for businesses here, it would cost people their jobs and would impact on people who live and work here." A mix up of his notes, this was what he was meant to say on TV the other day about the failure of his precious reef. Now it all makes sense.
Anyway, about those lizards and other creepy crawlies on the A338, remind me what it cost to pointlessly decimate the trees and vegetation to put up that silly fragile polythene fence prior to these same roadworks NOT happening a couple of years ago.
Dont drop litter
says...
3:56pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Stop Press wrote:That's the last they hearrd of it too.
Last I heard Bournemouth Council had £60 Million pounds in an Icelandic Bank.
Dont drop litter
says...
3:57pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Stop Press wrote:That's the last they heard of it too!
Last I heard Bournemouth Council had £60 Million pounds in an Icelandic Bank.
Dont drop litter
says...
4:00pm Fri 16 Nov 12
rudolph_hucker wrote:You should become an MP, you ideas are about as useful are the schemes they dream up.
I can tell you now how to drastically cut down on accidents on this road:
1. Ban anyone who has caused an accident on this road from ever using it again
2. Have 2 police cars, one unmarked, permanently driving from county gates roundabout to ashley heath and back again
3. Extend the 50pmh limit to beyond the Blackwater Junction, or remove all the current speed cameras and replace with average speed types.
Howdie
says...
4:09pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Afcbpete
says...
4:17pm Fri 16 Nov 12
EGHH
says...
4:40pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Bournefre
says...
5:30pm Fri 16 Nov 12
scrumpyjack wrote:Now we're talking!
rudolph_hucker wrote:Yes yes. I love your rational thinking.
I can tell you now how to drastically cut down on accidents on this road:
1. Ban anyone who has caused an accident on this road from ever using it again
2. Have 2 police cars, one unmarked, permanently driving from county gates roundabout to ashley heath and back again
3. Extend the 50pmh limit to beyond the Blackwater Junction, or remove all the current speed cameras and replace with average speed types.
Ban anyone with a car that can do more than 50 mph.
Install motion detectors that fire lasers if any car exceeds 30 mph within 3 miles of a junction.
Introduce a three strikes and your out rule, none of this losing your licence notice just hang them.
Families of speeders should be dragged into the streets and herded into "community farms" where they will work the land for the benefit of this glorious nation.
The bar stewards.
The 2 police cars should be assisted by a helicopter though, because obviously it can cover more ground faster - it's a no-brainer really.
That should solve the problem of how to pay to have the A338 resurfaced.
happyinbournemouth
says...
5:33pm Fri 16 Nov 12
CC C-siders
says...
5:38pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Having voted Conservative most of my life I am now ashamed that this bunch are little better than the mindless morons that went before.
Forget more taxes. Forget what the self-centred bankers (including Mervyn) are telling you. It is the working people of this country that have been completely ignored by all politicians for far too long.
No more taxes Mr Chope and local politicians - try to engage your brains and come up with an alternative; start with stopping wasting other peoples money on half-baked projects (look at Poole bridge, the Boscombe fiasco, mindless ideas about developing Sandbanks) and wasteful year end spending on anything to use up your budgets.
Pick up the mirror for cost savings
muscliffman
says...
6:02pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Bournefre wrote:Oh yes.
scrumpyjack wrote:Now we're talking!
rudolph_hucker wrote:Yes yes. I love your rational thinking.
I can tell you now how to drastically cut down on accidents on this road:
1. Ban anyone who has caused an accident on this road from ever using it again
2. Have 2 police cars, one unmarked, permanently driving from county gates roundabout to ashley heath and back again
3. Extend the 50pmh limit to beyond the Blackwater Junction, or remove all the current speed cameras and replace with average speed types.
Ban anyone with a car that can do more than 50 mph.
Install motion detectors that fire lasers if any car exceeds 30 mph within 3 miles of a junction.
Introduce a three strikes and your out rule, none of this losing your licence notice just hang them.
Families of speeders should be dragged into the streets and herded into "community farms" where they will work the land for the benefit of this glorious nation.
The bar stewards.
The 2 police cars should be assisted by a helicopter though, because obviously it can cover more ground faster - it's a no-brainer really.
That should solve the problem of how to pay to have the A338 resurfaced.
Additionally though two large coach loads of police standing-by at each end in full high-viz 'get up' with all the trimmings, to descend on even the slightest incident on the A338 road.
Then turn these situations into an 'make this will last until end of shift plus overtime pay' event, whilst closing the road for hours and hours to add to the sense of occasion.
Oh hang on, I think that idea may already be in place.
Capricorn 1
says...
6:03pm Fri 16 Nov 12
It's one thing to build a new road like the M6 toll road and to charge for using that, but to literally hijack an existing main arterial road and make it a toll road would make Dick Turpin look like Pudsey Bear.
anti wrinkle
says...
6:14pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Capricorn 1 wrote:Brilliant
I thought that Highwaymen were a thing of the past.
It's one thing to build a new road like the M6 toll road and to charge for using that, but to literally hijack an existing main arterial road and make it a toll road would make Dick Turpin look like Pudsey Bear.
corozin
says...
6:14pm Fri 16 Nov 12
It's only 9 miles long. Are they putting in gold paving or something?
dorsetspeed
says...
6:17pm Fri 16 Nov 12
corozin wrote:well they did manage to spend 6 million on a roundabout!
Perhaps a more relevant question is how the hell is this work costing an estimated £26m?
It's only 9 miles long. Are they putting in gold paving or something?
anti wrinkle
says...
6:20pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Drivers banging on my door in the middle of the night asking if I had change for a twenty pound note.
2kosh
says...
6:45pm Fri 16 Nov 12
alasdair1967
says...
6:46pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Hobad1
says...
6:47pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Starpoint
says...
6:48pm Fri 16 Nov 12
corozin wrote:Probably gold Cats eyes.
Perhaps a more relevant question is how the hell is this work costing an estimated £26m?
It's only 9 miles long. Are they putting in gold paving or something?
Dj Kaz
says...
7:10pm Fri 16 Nov 12
r soles
says...
7:36pm Fri 16 Nov 12
poole man in france wrote:you obviously haven`t been to europe recently.
aerolover wrote:Drivers from outside the UK do pay for YOUR roads every time they put fuel in their tanks when in the UK (which is much more expensive than fuel in most other countries). Abroad there is no obligation to use a toll road. There is always, albeit slower, a free alternative.
As usual Chris Chope MP like all MP's live in an ivory tower and don't know have the phelbs live. We have paid for this and every road in the country many times over. What we need is a government that charges driver from outside UK to drive on OUR roads the same as we get charged abroad. Also make cyclists pay a type of road tax to cover cycle lanes. They pay nothing but use OUR roads.
Road tax should be for roads not to cover benefits.
the cost in mainland europe makes our prices seem positively benign
Bournefre
says...
8:19pm Fri 16 Nov 12
dorsetspeed wrote:Then there's that bit of fence by the Cooper Dean roundabout; how much did that cost? 17 grand?
corozin wrote:well they did manage to spend 6 million on a roundabout!
Perhaps a more relevant question is how the hell is this work costing an estimated £26m?
It's only 9 miles long. Are they putting in gold paving or something?
West moors 1
says...
8:25pm Fri 16 Nov 12
theoakman
says...
8:39pm Fri 16 Nov 12
fossilmole
says...
8:40pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Give the man Chope a lesson in history.
Until the politechickens changed the name to Vehicle Excise Duty we must have paid absolutely enormous amounts of money to pay for these roads a million times over.
arthur1948
says...
9:06pm Fri 16 Nov 12
get a brain politicians...
rayc
says...
9:52pm Fri 16 Nov 12
r soles wrote:I have been to France in the last month. Diesel was on average €1.35 per litre. With the exchange rate to the £ being €1.2 it makes it much cheaper than the average UK price.
poole man in france wrote:you obviously haven`t been to europe recently.
aerolover wrote:Drivers from outside the UK do pay for YOUR roads every time they put fuel in their tanks when in the UK (which is much more expensive than fuel in most other countries). Abroad there is no obligation to use a toll road. There is always, albeit slower, a free alternative.
As usual Chris Chope MP like all MP's live in an ivory tower and don't know have the phelbs live. We have paid for this and every road in the country many times over. What we need is a government that charges driver from outside UK to drive on OUR roads the same as we get charged abroad. Also make cyclists pay a type of road tax to cover cycle lanes. They pay nothing but use OUR roads.
Road tax should be for roads not to cover benefits.
the cost in mainland europe makes our prices seem positively benign
bestmen
says...
11:13pm Fri 16 Nov 12
dirtyboy
says...
11:15pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Avengerboy
says...
11:40pm Fri 16 Nov 12
11:16am Fri 16 Nov 12
Dont drop litter wrote:
Avengerboy wrote:
At a guess I would say this MP is a Tory???!! The true problem here is the amount that the contractors want. Re-engineering of Blackwater junction could be overcome with lighting, the main issue for that blackspot. The rest of the road requires resurfacing, drainage and driver visual safety devices. £26 million, impressive mark up.
Blackwater junction is a black spot because the slipway is too short and the traffic light phasing means cars have to queue on the main carriageway. Lighting won't prevent accidents. Cutting down the undercroth and hedges so that people ccan see emerging vehicles entering the carriageway certainly would.
Incidentally, what does this persons political stance have to do with it? Idiots come in all shapes and sizes.
Tory elitist cretin, in a financial position that relegates paying a Toll an irrelevance. Others will just cant afford it.
Martin243
says...
12:09am Sat 17 Nov 12
eyesropen
says...
12:39am Sat 17 Nov 12
victor meldrew 17
says...
7:40am Sat 17 Nov 12
a.g.o.g.
says...
8:06am Sat 17 Nov 12
victor meldrew 17 wrote:"vote with their wheels" more like but it isn`t the ever-likely low-spending Day-tripper we should be concerned about.
i,m not sure if it was the AA or RAC that came up with the figure of 45 billion a year that british motorists contribute in taxes each year.About one fith of witch is spent on the roads.At the moment we are not getting value value for money.If we want people to visit our town and spend there money here we need to make it easy for them to do so, on a busy weekend the queue to get into town starts in the middle of the new forest .when it comes to going home again its even worse ,how many people sit in a traffic jam ,trying to get out of town,with a car load of whining children thinking i'm never coming to this bloody town again.\if we want to attract visitors we have to make it an easy and plesant experience for them.If they do not enjoy themselves they will vote with there feet,and spend there money eleswhere in future . ..
Goods and services along with, principally, working commutors in both directions being the main-line users.
What point is there in the drive towards all using economical vehicle if we don`t have a well maintained road system that exploits them. It should be beyond politics.
anti wrinkle
says...
8:39am Sat 17 Nov 12
Leave ours alone
Build your own one then,
And see how many drivers you get to use it
You could name it
Chope no hope dope road to Amarillo.
spooki
says...
9:02am Sat 17 Nov 12
Stop 'patching' the roads, cut down that mound of overgrown grass at Blackwater and get someone with half a brain (who actually uses the road regularly) to come up with a better solution.
Rolsy71
says...
9:04am Sat 17 Nov 12
It's a sad fact that our road fund fees (car tax) are not wholly spent on our roads. If any other organisation were to operate the way the government and councils do, they'd be prosecuted for various different reasons...
Charging people to use the spur road will push traffic onto the A31 and the A35 in the other direction causing more problems than it's supposed to be solving! :/
rayc
says...
9:40am Sat 17 Nov 12
Martin243 wrote:Strange that we are told by the Police that distraction is one of the main causes of accidents but when it comes to councils making money, by things such as sponsoring a roundabout with associated signage, the safety aspect is ignored.
Why don't we get advertising boards on the side of this road charging business for advertising space. That way we get money to repair the road. A toll would be damaging on business and with high petrol prices people are cutting back as it is.
bkiddus
says...
9:43am Sat 17 Nov 12
Low tech version would be toll booths at each end? cost of expensive planning process, cost of building toll booths, cost of widening the roads leading to said toll booths to prevent gridlock, cost of wages for attendants.
OK so lets use some tech with a number plate registration system, cost of gantries and cameras, cost of cabling to a data centre, cost of software development because there is no off the shelf system to do this.
All of these solutions would cost far more than the £25M needed to resurface the road.
Mr Chope you are PAID to REPRESENT the people of your constituency so may I suggest you get yourself down to the DoT and make a nuiscience of yourself until you get the money.
May I also suggest that as thinking is clearly not one of your strong points, that the next time you have an idea that you post it here to see what the people you are supposed to REPRESENT think of it.
Dorset receives a pittance from the DoT compared to the rest of the country DO YOUR JOB.
bkiddus
says...
10:01am Sat 17 Nov 12
Adrian XX wrote:Yes but he is saying that people in Dorset and Hampshire wont have to pay. So it would need to differentiate drivers, the congestion charge sytem used by london would need to be modified and the cost of implementing this would be more than £25Million. Might be interesting to find out if Chope has shares in companies that sell this tech or is a 'consultant' ie snout in the trough.
sussexcherry wrote:There will be some automated scanning technology as there is for the congestion charge in London. No need to queue.
Great advert for the tourists, come and experience hours of hell queueing to pay to use our toll road!! What planet is he from?
anti wrinkle
says...
10:12am Sat 17 Nov 12
Our local lollipop lady.
polblagger
says...
10:16am Sat 17 Nov 12
There's nothing wrong with this road, you want to go to London to see a road that really needs resurfacing.
As for the number of accidents, it's got nothing to do with the road. Dorset seems to have a massively disproportionate number of terrible drivers.
Just the other day I passed a middle aged man in a Jag on the A338. He was doing 70mph on a 50mph max space saver spare wheel while on his mobile.
Talkingheadera
says...
10:42am Sat 17 Nov 12
poole man in france wrote:Foreign drivers fill up before they get here to avoid our high prices
aerolover wrote:Drivers from outside the UK do pay for YOUR roads every time they put fuel in their tanks when in the UK (which is much more expensive than fuel in most other countries). Abroad there is no obligation to use a toll road. There is always, albeit slower, a free alternative.
As usual Chris Chope MP like all MP's live in an ivory tower and don't know have the phelbs live. We have paid for this and every road in the country many times over. What we need is a government that charges driver from outside UK to drive on OUR roads the same as we get charged abroad. Also make cyclists pay a type of road tax to cover cycle lanes. They pay nothing but use OUR roads.
Road tax should be for roads not to cover benefits.
News Fanatic
says...
11:38am Sat 17 Nov 12
PaulOvey
says...
12:17pm Sat 17 Nov 12
polblagger
says...
12:44pm Sat 17 Nov 12
PaulOvey wrote:Agreed, I've driven down it covered in sheet ice, in snow you can barely see through and in freezing fog.
Can someone please explain to me why this road seems to be so challenging to so many drivers to safely navigate? I used to use this road twice a day to commute to work for almost 10 years and have never had a problem with it. It almost straight, and the hills (if you can call them that) dont exactly creep up on you.
This is about as safe as a road gets, if you can't drive safely on the spur road you shouldn't be driving.
Phixer
says...
1:24pm Sat 17 Nov 12
They say it costs £1million a year to patch up what is an already worn-out road."
I must be driving on the wrong road, have certainly driven on worse condition roads, so why the urgent need to spend my taxes?
Don't you just like the idea of an MP requiring tolls on a road system which would push more traffic through Christchurch causing gridlock and chaos.
poshboy
says...
3:17pm Sat 17 Nov 12
RivermeadMike
says...
7:44am Sun 18 Nov 12
Adrian XX wrote:AdrianXX obviously doesn't know how VAT works.
Kenwood1957 wrote:While there are some highly dubious tax avoidance schemes such as the K2 scheme used by Jimmy Carr, most of what is termed "tax avoidance" by large corporations is perfectly legal and uses the basic (and well known) tenets of EU and international tax law to move profits around the world. No need to use a "tax haven" - Luxembourg has lower corporation tax, so profits are moved there. I don't think we can remove ourselves unilaterally from global tax treaties and certainly not from EU treaties unless we leave the EU altogether. It was quite funny to hear Tessa Munt MP on question time last night stating "somehow we have to get a mechanism so that they (Starbucks) pay some tax on their UK sales". THEY DO - IT'S CALLED VAT!
This proposal just goes to show how out of touch (and not very bright)members of this governing party are.
Rather than consider how to extract yet more money from road users as eloquently expressed elsewhere, this lot should use 'more imaginative' ways of collecting taxes from their wealthy friends and corporations who are given tax breaks and are able to exploit tax avoidance schemes. Then road user's money could be spent on the roads.
Starbucks et al don't pay VAT! Any VAT they pay is effectively refunded.
The ultimate consumer, ie you and me are the ones who actually pay the tax.
FNS-man
says...
10:40am Sun 18 Nov 12
victor meldrew 17 wrote:A 2009 government report said that there was £48bn collected in VED, fuel duty, VAT on fuel and other charges. The costs of motoring just for urban areas were:
i,m not sure if it was the AA or RAC that came up with the figure of 45 billion a year that british motorists contribute in taxes each year.About one fith of witch is spent on the roads.At the moment we are not getting value value for money.If we want people to visit our town and spend there money here we need to make it easy for them to do so, on a busy weekend the queue to get into town starts in the middle of the new forest .when it comes to going home again its even worse ,how many people sit in a traffic jam ,trying to get out of town,with a car load of whining children thinking i'm never coming to this bloody town again.\if we want to attract visitors we have to make it an easy and plesant experience for them.If they do not enjoy themselves they will vote with there feet,and spend there money eleswhere in future . ..
-£9bn on road maintenance
-£11bn delays from congestion
-£9bn accidents
-£5bn poor air quality (lowest estimate, could be £11bn)
-£10bn cost from physical inactivity
-£4bn - noise pollution
So just for towns and cities, that equals at least all revenues collected. So add in all rural areas, and the other costs not listed here, and you see that the motorist is subsidised to a large extent.
reeve007
says...
10:24am Mon 19 Nov 12
Let them install chicanes and speed bumps every 100 yards !
speedy231278
says...
12:08pm Mon 19 Nov 12
sixhundred
says...
5:30pm Mon 19 Nov 12
- reduce the speed limit to 50. This reduces wear and tear
- charge for multiple uses e.g. once or twice a day is fine, more would be pay per use
- allow local tax payers to use for free. Charge others
- make one lane for cars with 2+ occupants. This encourages people to car share
- keep lorries to the inside lane in peak hours. This reduces congestion and travel time.
There's lots of novel ways to improve the use of our roads. It just needs some imaginative thinking. Let's face it, too many cars, too little road.
AdelaidePete
says...
6:03am Tue 20 Nov 12
marketboy
says...
4:39pm Tue 20 Nov 12
AdelaidePete wrote:Much much too radical for this country.
Folk mention a monorail. May I suggest an o-bahn like we have in Adelaide. (Look it up on utube). I can catch a bus into town which runs at 80 to 100k.p.h and be in town much faster than using my car. The bus runs on normal roads then switches to a dedicated track, a bit like a train. Much more flexible than monorail, just needs a bit of investment for the future. Needs next to no ongoing expensive upkeep. Hugely reduces car volume.
Got to to keep the tarmac suppliers in business.Chris Chope MP? ex Tory for Winchester,who was kicked out by the voters,after agreeing to the M3 gouging it's way through the chalk downs.
Phixer
says...
8:13pm Tue 20 Nov 12
AdelaidePete wrote:There is a similar system in Crawley and Cambridge has been spending a lot of money converting conventional train routes for a busway.
Folk mention a monorail. May I suggest an o-bahn like we have in Adelaide. (Look it up on utube). I can catch a bus into town which runs at 80 to 100k.p.h and be in town much faster than using my car. The bus runs on normal roads then switches to a dedicated track, a bit like a train. Much more flexible than monorail, just needs a bit of investment for the future. Needs next to no ongoing expensive upkeep. Hugely reduces car volume.
Problem is, only dedicated buses can use the special track. Our existing bus lanes are more flexible and far cheaper to produce the same result.
AdelaidePete
says...
6:28am Wed 21 Nov 12
jeebuscripes says...
8:02am Fri 16 Nov 12