Well, that's not strictly true, but it got your attention anyway! I read an article in yesterday's Irish Times regarding the M50 tolls - a brief history from the NRA here. It appears the the government, i.e. you and I, Mr/s. Irish Citizen, have agreed to buy the toll rights for the M50 from NTR. No, before you ask, that won't mean that it will be free, because NTR will still have to be compensated and you won't agree to increased taxes to fund that. So, yes there will still be tolls on the bridge.
But, and this is the interesting part, the toll plaza (bottleneck) on the North of the Liffey will be removed, and instead will be replaced by some sort of tracking system on the off- and on-ramps on the M50. Who knows what this will be, but I personally suspect that whoever
is behind the Eazypass system will be involved. Importantly, it means that the M50 as a whole will be tolled. This will be fairer overall, as long as the tolls are fair!
2008 is the target date for the implementation of this, to coincide with the completion of the new interchange at the N7 (to replace the insane female bovine roundabout).
What's interesting to think about is whether or not this reflects a policy change on the Oireachtas' behalf. Will future schemes be tolled by the government from the outset, providing a fairer source of funds to pay for a particular scheme? Or will this kind of thing happen every time a lobby group kicks up a big enough stink about a privately owned and operated road, bridge or tunnel?
I think I welcome it on face value. It will probably cost me more money as I tend to use the road from the N7 interchange without always using the West-Link bridge, however it will benefit commuters on the M50, it will benefit hauliers using the M50, traffic flow will hopefully be improved substantially and traffic within the city may be reduced as people use the M50 as it was intended. Also, the tolls will contribute towards the M50 upgrade works that are planned. I call this a good thing.
The Irish Examiner ran the story aswell, read it here.
But, and this is the interesting part, the toll plaza (bottleneck) on the North of the Liffey will be removed, and instead will be replaced by some sort of tracking system on the off- and on-ramps on the M50. Who knows what this will be, but I personally suspect that whoever
is behind the Eazypass system will be involved. Importantly, it means that the M50 as a whole will be tolled. This will be fairer overall, as long as the tolls are fair!2008 is the target date for the implementation of this, to coincide with the completion of the new interchange at the N7 (to replace the insane female bovine roundabout).
What's interesting to think about is whether or not this reflects a policy change on the Oireachtas' behalf. Will future schemes be tolled by the government from the outset, providing a fairer source of funds to pay for a particular scheme? Or will this kind of thing happen every time a lobby group kicks up a big enough stink about a privately owned and operated road, bridge or tunnel?
I think I welcome it on face value. It will probably cost me more money as I tend to use the road from the N7 interchange without always using the West-Link bridge, however it will benefit commuters on the M50, it will benefit hauliers using the M50, traffic flow will hopefully be improved substantially and traffic within the city may be reduced as people use the M50 as it was intended. Also, the tolls will contribute towards the M50 upgrade works that are planned. I call this a good thing.
The Irish Examiner ran the story aswell, read it here.
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