THE opening of the state's first Ikea store could be held up for a year due to delays in the upgrade of the M50 motorway.
Under the Swedish store's planning conditions, it cannot be opened on the outskirts of Ballymun in Dublin until a crucial interchange is completed by the contractors working for the National Roads Authority.
The head of Ballymun Regeneration Limited, Ciaran Murray admitted yesterday that the opening of the €100m flatpack furniture store could be pushed from January 2009 to January 2010 as a result.
"There is certainly a concern there could be a significant time delay," he said.
An Bord Pleanala has insisted on the necessity of the Ballymun interchange upgrade due to fears that the huge traffic levels to Ikea -- 2.8m shoppers or 400 an hour -- could overwhelm the already gridlocked M50.
Costs
Mr Murray told the Dail's Public Accounts committee that Ikea had been lobbying the NRA to get the upgrade completed as quickly as possible.
The NRA had explained this would incur "significant extra costs" from the contractor, SIAC-Ferrovial, which is only obliged to complete the upgrade by mid-2010, said Mr Murray.
"At the moment it really is in the hands of the contractors," he said.
The Ballymun interchange is due to be upgraded as part of major works being undertaken on the M50 to add an extra lane in each direction along the length of the ring-road.
Fine Gael committee chairman Bernard Allen said he wanted to see the opening of Ikea, with its promise of 500 jobs for the disadvantaged area of Ballymun, speeded up.
The company is setting up training programmes and is hoping to fill at least 250 of the jobs from the local area.
In its first year of operation, Ikea will also be forced to close its store during the annual pre-Christmas "Operation Freeflow" traffic programme in Dublin.
Mr Murray also defended the fact that the cost of the Ballymun regeneration project has doubled to €942m and is now set to be delivered six years late.
He said it had been affected by factors such as planning delays, lack of underground mapping and problems in moving the area's 17,000 people to new houses.
The Department of Environment secretary general Geraldine Tallon, said that lessons had been learned for future regeneration projects -- such as carrying out better cost planning and risk assessments.
Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label M50. Show all posts
Showing posts with label M50. Show all posts
Friday, 2 May 2008
M50 works holding up opening of first Ikea superstore
THE opening of the state's first Ikea store could be held up for a year due to delays in the upgrade of the M50 motorway.
Under the Swedish store's planning conditions, it cannot be opened on the outskirts of Ballymun in Dublin until a crucial interchange is completed by the contractors working for the National Roads Authority.
The head of Ballymun Regeneration Limited, Ciaran Murray admitted yesterday that the opening of the €100m flatpack furniture store could be pushed from January 2009 to January 2010 as a result.
"There is certainly a concern there could be a significant time delay," he said.
An Bord Pleanala has insisted on the necessity of the Ballymun interchange upgrade due to fears that the huge traffic levels to Ikea -- 2.8m shoppers or 400 an hour -- could overwhelm the already gridlocked M50.
Costs
Mr Murray told the Dail's Public Accounts committee that Ikea had been lobbying the NRA to get the upgrade completed as quickly as possible.
The NRA had explained this would incur "significant extra costs" from the contractor, SIAC-Ferrovial, which is only obliged to complete the upgrade by mid-2010, said Mr Murray.
"At the moment it really is in the hands of the contractors," he said.
The Ballymun interchange is due to be upgraded as part of major works being undertaken on the M50 to add an extra lane in each direction along the length of the ring-road.
Fine Gael committee chairman Bernard Allen said he wanted to see the opening of Ikea, with its promise of 500 jobs for the disadvantaged area of Ballymun, speeded up.
The company is setting up training programmes and is hoping to fill at least 250 of the jobs from the local area.
In its first year of operation, Ikea will also be forced to close its store during the annual pre-Christmas "Operation Freeflow" traffic programme in Dublin.
Mr Murray also defended the fact that the cost of the Ballymun regeneration project has doubled to €942m and is now set to be delivered six years late.
He said it had been affected by factors such as planning delays, lack of underground mapping and problems in moving the area's 17,000 people to new houses.
The Department of Environment secretary general Geraldine Tallon, said that lessons had been learned for future regeneration projects -- such as carrying out better cost planning and risk assessments.
Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Under the Swedish store's planning conditions, it cannot be opened on the outskirts of Ballymun in Dublin until a crucial interchange is completed by the contractors working for the National Roads Authority.
The head of Ballymun Regeneration Limited, Ciaran Murray admitted yesterday that the opening of the €100m flatpack furniture store could be pushed from January 2009 to January 2010 as a result.
"There is certainly a concern there could be a significant time delay," he said.
An Bord Pleanala has insisted on the necessity of the Ballymun interchange upgrade due to fears that the huge traffic levels to Ikea -- 2.8m shoppers or 400 an hour -- could overwhelm the already gridlocked M50.
Costs
Mr Murray told the Dail's Public Accounts committee that Ikea had been lobbying the NRA to get the upgrade completed as quickly as possible.
The NRA had explained this would incur "significant extra costs" from the contractor, SIAC-Ferrovial, which is only obliged to complete the upgrade by mid-2010, said Mr Murray.
"At the moment it really is in the hands of the contractors," he said.
The Ballymun interchange is due to be upgraded as part of major works being undertaken on the M50 to add an extra lane in each direction along the length of the ring-road.
Fine Gael committee chairman Bernard Allen said he wanted to see the opening of Ikea, with its promise of 500 jobs for the disadvantaged area of Ballymun, speeded up.
The company is setting up training programmes and is hoping to fill at least 250 of the jobs from the local area.
In its first year of operation, Ikea will also be forced to close its store during the annual pre-Christmas "Operation Freeflow" traffic programme in Dublin.
Mr Murray also defended the fact that the cost of the Ballymun regeneration project has doubled to €942m and is now set to be delivered six years late.
He said it had been affected by factors such as planning delays, lack of underground mapping and problems in moving the area's 17,000 people to new houses.
The Department of Environment secretary general Geraldine Tallon, said that lessons had been learned for future regeneration projects -- such as carrying out better cost planning and risk assessments.
Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Three-year M50 upgrade to start
Motorists using Dublin's M50 are set for further disruption, as phase two of the €1 billion upgrade starts on Monday.
Phase two, which involves additional lanes and the rebuilding of junctions on the northern and southwestern sections of the motorway, will take three years to complete. Phase one is due for completion next August.
The latest phase is a larger and more expensive project and will cost some €650 million.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday cited commercial reasons for not revealing how much of the €650 million is to be contributed by the State. The contractor, a Spanish-Irish consortium comprising FCC Construction SA, Itinere SA and J P Hegarty and Sons will maintain and service the entire motorway for the next 35 years.
It will be paid directly by the NRA from receipts it receives from tolls levied on cars passing the West-Link bridge. A spokesman for the NRA said there are no plans to collect tolls on sections of the motorway not already tolled.
Work is to begin between the M1 and M2 junctions only, on Monday, but will be expanded as the project progresses.
A small section from the Blanchardstown interchange with the N3, to the West-Link, which has been described as phase three, has already begun.
The section from Sandyford to the junction with the M11 is not being upgraded.
Further projects to improve capacity on the N7 and N4 roads resulting from the proposed increase in capacity on the M50 are also due to get under way this year. These include a free flow, "up and over" pass for the N7 at Newlands Cross and improvements to the Palmerstown junction on the N4.
Spokesman for the NRA Seán O'Neill said that while it was true phase two was to be a year longer than phase one, there was less traffic on phase two.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Phase two, which involves additional lanes and the rebuilding of junctions on the northern and southwestern sections of the motorway, will take three years to complete. Phase one is due for completion next August.
The latest phase is a larger and more expensive project and will cost some €650 million.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday cited commercial reasons for not revealing how much of the €650 million is to be contributed by the State. The contractor, a Spanish-Irish consortium comprising FCC Construction SA, Itinere SA and J P Hegarty and Sons will maintain and service the entire motorway for the next 35 years.
It will be paid directly by the NRA from receipts it receives from tolls levied on cars passing the West-Link bridge. A spokesman for the NRA said there are no plans to collect tolls on sections of the motorway not already tolled.
Work is to begin between the M1 and M2 junctions only, on Monday, but will be expanded as the project progresses.
A small section from the Blanchardstown interchange with the N3, to the West-Link, which has been described as phase three, has already begun.
The section from Sandyford to the junction with the M11 is not being upgraded.
Further projects to improve capacity on the N7 and N4 roads resulting from the proposed increase in capacity on the M50 are also due to get under way this year. These include a free flow, "up and over" pass for the N7 at Newlands Cross and improvements to the Palmerstown junction on the N4.
Spokesman for the NRA Seán O'Neill said that while it was true phase two was to be a year longer than phase one, there was less traffic on phase two.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 14 January 2008
Motorway is top of the noise league
THE M5O has been singled out as the worst noise polluter in Ireland, exposing nearby residents to an incessant din of traffic as loud as a twin-engine jet at takeoff.
The first "noise map" of Ireland estimates that traffic, especially on the M5O, causes the biggest racket. More than 23,000 Dublin residents live in the highest band of noise as a result of traffic. Dublin airport and the rail lines around the capital barely register a squeak.
The map, was drawn by Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency as part of the European Noise Directive that requires all countries to chart "unwanted or harmful outdoor sound" created by human activity.
Dublin was the only city to be mapped because it is large enough to meet the threshold, which requires measurement of urban areas with a population exceeding 250,000.
A sound level greater than 75 decibels (db) was recorded from the M5O. Researchers say that 70db is the equivalent of a passenger car travelling at 60 km/h and that 81db is akin to a twin-engine jet at take-off.
The map is a computer simulation based on data taken over one year regarding traffic volumes, frequency of public transport, population densities, the height of buildings, quality of road surface and other information supplied by councils and transport companies. No noise sensors were used to compile the map, but councils are now installing them to verify the data.
Key junctions such as the Red Cow roundabout and relatively small roads in Malahide, Donnybrook and along the Liffey quays are in the loudest noise category.
Tom Stafford, a senior scientific officer at the agency, said: "Because the map is based on annual data, and because there would probably be little activity at the airport or on rail at night this means almost all the noise is from major roads."
The population's exposure to noise is measured in Ldens, a logarithm based on decibels which gives a level based on combined day, evening and night readings. Night-time noise attracts a higher "annoyance score" than sounds occurring at day or evening time.
Most of Dublin's population of 1.2m people live in areas that have a sound level below the "noisy" 70 Ldens score. More than 141,000 people, however, live in areas that are exposed to more than 70 Ldens and 23,600 of them are in areas that experience the highest noise category recorded - greater than 75 Ldens.
Anthony Staines, an epidemiologist at Dublin City University said excessive noise was bad for human health. "It leads to hypertension, high blood pressure and affects childrens' learning ability," he said. "Sleep disturbance can also lead to daytime sleepiness resulting in accidents. Testing for noise pollution should form a much larger part of environmental impact statements, particularly when it comes to roads and airports."
Derek Keating, an independent councillor with South Dublin county council, said residents' complaints about the M50's noise pollution had been ignored. "Locals objected to the widening of the road but it went through anyway. Since heavy goods vehicles were removed from the city centre, it has gotten even worse," he said.
Margaret Errity, a psychiatric nurse who lives beside the M5O in the Woodfarm estate in Palmerstown, said she can no longer sleep with her windows open. "My house is the width of two lanes of traffic in distance from the motorway and the noise is constant. At night when it's less busy, the cars just speed up," she said.
After submitting the noise map to the European Commission, the local authorities must now formulate action plans, in consultation with the agency, to reduce the number of people affected by high noise levels.
The low noise levels from air and rail travel is likely to prompt councils to promote these modes of public transport over the use of cars.
Brian McManus, the head of Dublin city council's traffic, noise and air quality division, said the detail on the map would also enable the councils to plan better traffic management.
Ciaran Cuffe, a Green TD, hopes the government will reintroduce a noise pollution bill this year. "I want to see a one stop shop where people can go to complain about noise," he said.
Mark Tighe and Colin Coyle
Sunday Times
The first "noise map" of Ireland estimates that traffic, especially on the M5O, causes the biggest racket. More than 23,000 Dublin residents live in the highest band of noise as a result of traffic. Dublin airport and the rail lines around the capital barely register a squeak.
The map, was drawn by Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency as part of the European Noise Directive that requires all countries to chart "unwanted or harmful outdoor sound" created by human activity.
Dublin was the only city to be mapped because it is large enough to meet the threshold, which requires measurement of urban areas with a population exceeding 250,000.
A sound level greater than 75 decibels (db) was recorded from the M5O. Researchers say that 70db is the equivalent of a passenger car travelling at 60 km/h and that 81db is akin to a twin-engine jet at take-off.
The map is a computer simulation based on data taken over one year regarding traffic volumes, frequency of public transport, population densities, the height of buildings, quality of road surface and other information supplied by councils and transport companies. No noise sensors were used to compile the map, but councils are now installing them to verify the data.
Key junctions such as the Red Cow roundabout and relatively small roads in Malahide, Donnybrook and along the Liffey quays are in the loudest noise category.
Tom Stafford, a senior scientific officer at the agency, said: "Because the map is based on annual data, and because there would probably be little activity at the airport or on rail at night this means almost all the noise is from major roads."
The population's exposure to noise is measured in Ldens, a logarithm based on decibels which gives a level based on combined day, evening and night readings. Night-time noise attracts a higher "annoyance score" than sounds occurring at day or evening time.
Most of Dublin's population of 1.2m people live in areas that have a sound level below the "noisy" 70 Ldens score. More than 141,000 people, however, live in areas that are exposed to more than 70 Ldens and 23,600 of them are in areas that experience the highest noise category recorded - greater than 75 Ldens.
Anthony Staines, an epidemiologist at Dublin City University said excessive noise was bad for human health. "It leads to hypertension, high blood pressure and affects childrens' learning ability," he said. "Sleep disturbance can also lead to daytime sleepiness resulting in accidents. Testing for noise pollution should form a much larger part of environmental impact statements, particularly when it comes to roads and airports."
Derek Keating, an independent councillor with South Dublin county council, said residents' complaints about the M50's noise pollution had been ignored. "Locals objected to the widening of the road but it went through anyway. Since heavy goods vehicles were removed from the city centre, it has gotten even worse," he said.
Margaret Errity, a psychiatric nurse who lives beside the M5O in the Woodfarm estate in Palmerstown, said she can no longer sleep with her windows open. "My house is the width of two lanes of traffic in distance from the motorway and the noise is constant. At night when it's less busy, the cars just speed up," she said.
After submitting the noise map to the European Commission, the local authorities must now formulate action plans, in consultation with the agency, to reduce the number of people affected by high noise levels.
The low noise levels from air and rail travel is likely to prompt councils to promote these modes of public transport over the use of cars.
Brian McManus, the head of Dublin city council's traffic, noise and air quality division, said the detail on the map would also enable the councils to plan better traffic management.
Ciaran Cuffe, a Green TD, hopes the government will reintroduce a noise pollution bill this year. "I want to see a one stop shop where people can go to complain about noise," he said.
Mark Tighe and Colin Coyle
Sunday Times
Friday, 4 January 2008
NRA vows to end chaos at Red Cow roundabout
The National Roads Authority has promised an end to the confusion for motorists who have been led astray by poor signposting at the notorious Red Cow roundabout in Dublin.
The NRA is hoping that a new road layout, which will begin operation from Sunday week, January 13th, will help filter traffic better than has been the case since work on the upgrade began two years ago.
Motorists have complained that the upgrade of the roundabout, one of the busiest intersection in the country, is particularly hazardous driving from the N7 in the direction of Dublin and that the filter lanes for the M50 and for the city centre are badly signposted and appear too late to change lanes.
Dozens of listeners deluged the Today with Pat Kenny Show on RTÉ Radio One yesterday complaining that they had got lost because of the signposting. One woman said she had missed her flight. Another listener said he was driving towards Dublin airport to catch a flight to Helsinki and instead ended up going in the direction of Limerick, while a woman said it should be called the "magic roundabout" because it needed magical directions to figure it out.
Presenter Pat Kenny said his own brother-in-law was just one driver who had gone astray and had ended up on the Long Mile Road heading in the direction of Dublin city centre rather than the M50 South. "Are they all stupid? Are they all careless, are they all not watching what they are doing?" Mr Kenny asked.
NRA spokesman Seán O'Neill said the problems at the Red Cow roundabout had been caused by the construction of an underpass, which had left traffic approaching from the south without a clear line of sight until too close to the interchange.
"We have to force you left because we are putting in an underpass. There is signage up to that point. There is another sign right on that pedestrian bridge that if you are going slow enough, ie during normal traffic, you are going to see well in advance, but if you are not and you are looking straight, it can come on top of you," he said.
Mr O'Neill said from January 13th, traffic approaching the roundabout from the south will be filtered into four lanes at the traffic lights just before the Monastery Road junction - the last before they approach the roundabout.
The two inside lanes will be for the M50, north and south respectively, and the two outside lanes will be for the city centre and the Luas park and ride.
The filter lanes will be signposted well in advance, with variable message signage and lane markings.
The NRA said the curve in the road that had caused so many problems will now be straightened out as construction moves elsewhere, making it easier for motorists to see the layout of the roundabout.
The NRA has also admitted that temporary signs had to be erected by the contractor SIAC Ferrovial over the footbridge near the roundabout in recent weeks to warn motorists to get into the proper lane.
The changes to the Red Cow roundabout are part of the €1 billion upgrade for the M50, which will be completed by 2010.
It is hoped to eliminate the notorious bottlenecks thereby making it a freeflow junction, while the Luas will be carried on stilts.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The NRA is hoping that a new road layout, which will begin operation from Sunday week, January 13th, will help filter traffic better than has been the case since work on the upgrade began two years ago.
Motorists have complained that the upgrade of the roundabout, one of the busiest intersection in the country, is particularly hazardous driving from the N7 in the direction of Dublin and that the filter lanes for the M50 and for the city centre are badly signposted and appear too late to change lanes.
Dozens of listeners deluged the Today with Pat Kenny Show on RTÉ Radio One yesterday complaining that they had got lost because of the signposting. One woman said she had missed her flight. Another listener said he was driving towards Dublin airport to catch a flight to Helsinki and instead ended up going in the direction of Limerick, while a woman said it should be called the "magic roundabout" because it needed magical directions to figure it out.
Presenter Pat Kenny said his own brother-in-law was just one driver who had gone astray and had ended up on the Long Mile Road heading in the direction of Dublin city centre rather than the M50 South. "Are they all stupid? Are they all careless, are they all not watching what they are doing?" Mr Kenny asked.
NRA spokesman Seán O'Neill said the problems at the Red Cow roundabout had been caused by the construction of an underpass, which had left traffic approaching from the south without a clear line of sight until too close to the interchange.
"We have to force you left because we are putting in an underpass. There is signage up to that point. There is another sign right on that pedestrian bridge that if you are going slow enough, ie during normal traffic, you are going to see well in advance, but if you are not and you are looking straight, it can come on top of you," he said.
Mr O'Neill said from January 13th, traffic approaching the roundabout from the south will be filtered into four lanes at the traffic lights just before the Monastery Road junction - the last before they approach the roundabout.
The two inside lanes will be for the M50, north and south respectively, and the two outside lanes will be for the city centre and the Luas park and ride.
The filter lanes will be signposted well in advance, with variable message signage and lane markings.
The NRA said the curve in the road that had caused so many problems will now be straightened out as construction moves elsewhere, making it easier for motorists to see the layout of the roundabout.
The NRA has also admitted that temporary signs had to be erected by the contractor SIAC Ferrovial over the footbridge near the roundabout in recent weeks to warn motorists to get into the proper lane.
The changes to the Red Cow roundabout are part of the €1 billion upgrade for the M50, which will be completed by 2010.
It is hoped to eliminate the notorious bottlenecks thereby making it a freeflow junction, while the Luas will be carried on stilts.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 13 December 2007
How barrier-free tolling system will operate
Motorists using the M50 motorway from next August will have three payment options.
The first is a pre-paid electronic tag, under which the toll will be €2. These tags are operated by up to six different companies. Users will have to register and deposit at least €36 with one of the companies. They will have to top up by at least €18 when the initial deposit expires or they will no longer have the facility. There is a monthly administration fee, which will range from 36c to €1 depending on which company is used. There is no registration fee.
The second system, which involves a €2.5 toll, is for drivers who use a number plate-based account system. You register and give your car number details as well as your credit or debit card details.
The third is for those who pay for each trip separately. They will pay €3. There will be a machine in shops where you can register your car's number plate and pay. Bills must be paid by 8pm the day after use of the toll. Otherwise a bill will be posted to you.
If the bill is not paid within 10 days, you incur a penalty of €3. Failure to pay will invoke a minimum €40 fine and possible prosecution. Cameras mounted above each carriageway of the motorway photographs number plate details of the vehicles using the toll road.
Specialist equipment detects if an oncoming vehicle has an electronic tag fitted. Equipment is connected with the National Vehicle Driver Database, which has names and addresses of every vehicle owner.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The first is a pre-paid electronic tag, under which the toll will be €2. These tags are operated by up to six different companies. Users will have to register and deposit at least €36 with one of the companies. They will have to top up by at least €18 when the initial deposit expires or they will no longer have the facility. There is a monthly administration fee, which will range from 36c to €1 depending on which company is used. There is no registration fee.
The second system, which involves a €2.5 toll, is for drivers who use a number plate-based account system. You register and give your car number details as well as your credit or debit card details.
The third is for those who pay for each trip separately. They will pay €3. There will be a machine in shops where you can register your car's number plate and pay. Bills must be paid by 8pm the day after use of the toll. Otherwise a bill will be posted to you.
If the bill is not paid within 10 days, you incur a penalty of €3. Failure to pay will invoke a minimum €40 fine and possible prosecution. Cameras mounted above each carriageway of the motorway photographs number plate details of the vehicles using the toll road.
Specialist equipment detects if an oncoming vehicle has an electronic tag fitted. Equipment is connected with the National Vehicle Driver Database, which has names and addresses of every vehicle owner.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Barrier-free toll to cost 50pc more in new plan
Those who use the M50 motorway occasionally face paying tolls 50pc higher than the normal charge, when barrier-free tolling is introduced next year.
And drivers who refuse to pay toll fees face fines of at least €40 -- and the possibility of being brought to court.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday revealed that, from August, motorists who use a pre-paid electronic tag on the M50 will pay €2 per trip.
Those who set up a number plate-based payment account will pay €2.50. But car owners who do not have a tag, or do not have an account, will be hit with a €3 toll.
The move has been slammed by consumer groups which said it was "unfair" and "anti-consumer". They said that, unless the system was changed, people would avoid using the upgraded motorway.
The charges were outlined at a public hearing into the tolling system yesterday. The NRA has had six objections to its proposals to remove barriers and replace them with electronic tolling.
The move is certain to affect thousands of holidaymakers from outside the capital who make their way to Dublin Airport via the motorway every summer.
Unfair
Hauliers without an account will also be hit with increased charges of up to €6.10 per journey, while concerns have been raised on whether cars from outside the state could be tolled.
National Consumer Agency chairwoman Ann Fitzgerald said it made "no economic sense" for occasional users to purchase an electronic tag.
"It forces you to get a tag," she said. "This is the first time that barrier-free tolling has been used and it's going to be rolled-out across the country so it has to be fair," she said.
"There's a tag with hidden charges. If you're an occasional user it makes no sense. It's a question of doing it in a fair way."
Consumers Association of Ireland chief Dermott Jewell said there should be no difference in the tolls paid. The measure was "inequitable, unfair and anti-consumer", he said.
Some 90,000 motorists a day use the M50 and earlier this year the Government paid a reported €600m to buy back the road from National Toll Roads, which operated the Westlink toll bridge.
The NRA admitted that when barrier-free tolling was introduced next August, some motorists from outside Ireland would escape paying the charge.
Not until a pan-European database of vehicle registrations was available could it guarantee that all vehicles would pay the toll, a spokesman said.
The AA described the proposed system as a "monster in the making", saying it would be overly complex and costly. It would cost €25m a year to run, and a two cent per litre "infrastructure levy" on fuel should be introduced instead of a toll.
"What the NRA is proposing for the M50 is insanely complex and enormously expensive," AA public affairs manager Conor Faughnan said, labelling it, "an expensive and complex mechanism for collecting a tax".
He added of the €80m collected in revenue each year, over 30pc would disappear in costs, which was "scandalously wasteful".
But the NRA defended the new system, saying that tags would allow motorists to use any tolled road in the country. Incentive schemes were common in countries which used barrier-free tolling, as using an electronic tag resulted in lower administration costs.
On the increased charges for hauliers, a spokesman said that truckers paid lower tolls on the Westlink toll bridge because the cost of the trip was subsidised by the taxpayer. The improved motorway would result in speedier journey times, leading to savings.
Paul Melia
www.buckplanning.ie
And drivers who refuse to pay toll fees face fines of at least €40 -- and the possibility of being brought to court.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday revealed that, from August, motorists who use a pre-paid electronic tag on the M50 will pay €2 per trip.
Those who set up a number plate-based payment account will pay €2.50. But car owners who do not have a tag, or do not have an account, will be hit with a €3 toll.
The move has been slammed by consumer groups which said it was "unfair" and "anti-consumer". They said that, unless the system was changed, people would avoid using the upgraded motorway.
The charges were outlined at a public hearing into the tolling system yesterday. The NRA has had six objections to its proposals to remove barriers and replace them with electronic tolling.
The move is certain to affect thousands of holidaymakers from outside the capital who make their way to Dublin Airport via the motorway every summer.
Unfair
Hauliers without an account will also be hit with increased charges of up to €6.10 per journey, while concerns have been raised on whether cars from outside the state could be tolled.
National Consumer Agency chairwoman Ann Fitzgerald said it made "no economic sense" for occasional users to purchase an electronic tag.
"It forces you to get a tag," she said. "This is the first time that barrier-free tolling has been used and it's going to be rolled-out across the country so it has to be fair," she said.
"There's a tag with hidden charges. If you're an occasional user it makes no sense. It's a question of doing it in a fair way."
Consumers Association of Ireland chief Dermott Jewell said there should be no difference in the tolls paid. The measure was "inequitable, unfair and anti-consumer", he said.
Some 90,000 motorists a day use the M50 and earlier this year the Government paid a reported €600m to buy back the road from National Toll Roads, which operated the Westlink toll bridge.
The NRA admitted that when barrier-free tolling was introduced next August, some motorists from outside Ireland would escape paying the charge.
Not until a pan-European database of vehicle registrations was available could it guarantee that all vehicles would pay the toll, a spokesman said.
The AA described the proposed system as a "monster in the making", saying it would be overly complex and costly. It would cost €25m a year to run, and a two cent per litre "infrastructure levy" on fuel should be introduced instead of a toll.
"What the NRA is proposing for the M50 is insanely complex and enormously expensive," AA public affairs manager Conor Faughnan said, labelling it, "an expensive and complex mechanism for collecting a tax".
He added of the €80m collected in revenue each year, over 30pc would disappear in costs, which was "scandalously wasteful".
But the NRA defended the new system, saying that tags would allow motorists to use any tolled road in the country. Incentive schemes were common in countries which used barrier-free tolling, as using an electronic tag resulted in lower administration costs.
On the increased charges for hauliers, a spokesman said that truckers paid lower tolls on the Westlink toll bridge because the cost of the trip was subsidised by the taxpayer. The improved motorway would result in speedier journey times, leading to savings.
Paul Melia
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 7 December 2007
Supreme Court overturns M50 costs award
A Dublin man is facing an estimated €500,000 legal bill after the Supreme Court overturned a High Court order directing the State to pay the costs of his unsuccessful challenge to controversial new laws. They had been enacted to speedily complete the south eastern section of the M50 motorway which was delayed by court actions aimed at protecting the Carrickmines Castle site.
When awarding Dominic Dunne his costs in the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy said that although he had lost his case, she considered the issues raised were "truly ones of general public importance".
The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously overturned that costs decision and also awarded costs against Mr Dunne of his unsuccessful Supreme Court appeal. Mr Dunne, of Collins Square, Benburb Street, is facing a legal bill of some €500,000.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, said he believed "undue weight" was given by the High Court to two principles as determining factors on costs - that (1) Mr Dunne was acting in the public interest in a matter which involved no private personal advantage and (2) the issues raised were of sufficient general public importance to warrant an order for costs in his favour.
The High Court went "too far" in saying the court's discretion on costs in this type of public law litigation was not in any way dependent on one or more of the issues of fact or law in the case being decided in favour of Mr Dunne.
That approach seemed to discount excessively, if not altogether exclude from consideration, the normal costs rule that when the issues in a case were decided in favour of one side, that the successful side was entitled to its costs.
He also believed Ms Justice Laffoy incorrectly took into account that there had been other successful proceedings against the State relating to the Carrickmines site. Against that background, she considered the issues in Mr Dunne's proceedings "truly ones of general public importance".
The Chief Justice was giving the court's reserved judgment on an appeal by the State and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council against the High Court costs decision.
The proceedings arose from Mr Dunne's challenge to the constitutionality of section 8 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004. In rejecting that challenge last year, the Supreme Court noted the disputed legislation "removes a bundle of protections" from national monuments, but found the Oireachtas was not prohibited under the Constitution from enacting such laws.
In the costs ruling, Mr Justice Murray, with whom Ms Justice Susan Denham, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan and Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns agreed, said the law governing costs of civil actions was that costs went to the winning party unless the court ordered otherwise.
There was no fixed rule or principle governing the court's discretion on costs and no overriding principle which determined it should be exercised in favour of an unsuccessful plaintiff in specified circumstances, or in a particular class of case.
The fact a plaintiff was not seeking a personal private advantage and that the issues raised were of special and general public importance were factors which may be taken into account.
However, the legal authorities did not support the view of the High Court judge that the principles to which she referred were in themselves the determining factors on costs in a category of public interest litigation cases. They might be "relevant" factors but were not "determinative".
The Chief Justice also noted there was "no predetermined category" of cases which fell outside the ambit of the courts' discretionary jurisdiction on costs. Such a category would have to be done by legislation, he said.
Mary Carolan
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
When awarding Dominic Dunne his costs in the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy said that although he had lost his case, she considered the issues raised were "truly ones of general public importance".
The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously overturned that costs decision and also awarded costs against Mr Dunne of his unsuccessful Supreme Court appeal. Mr Dunne, of Collins Square, Benburb Street, is facing a legal bill of some €500,000.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, said he believed "undue weight" was given by the High Court to two principles as determining factors on costs - that (1) Mr Dunne was acting in the public interest in a matter which involved no private personal advantage and (2) the issues raised were of sufficient general public importance to warrant an order for costs in his favour.
The High Court went "too far" in saying the court's discretion on costs in this type of public law litigation was not in any way dependent on one or more of the issues of fact or law in the case being decided in favour of Mr Dunne.
That approach seemed to discount excessively, if not altogether exclude from consideration, the normal costs rule that when the issues in a case were decided in favour of one side, that the successful side was entitled to its costs.
He also believed Ms Justice Laffoy incorrectly took into account that there had been other successful proceedings against the State relating to the Carrickmines site. Against that background, she considered the issues in Mr Dunne's proceedings "truly ones of general public importance".
The Chief Justice was giving the court's reserved judgment on an appeal by the State and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council against the High Court costs decision.
The proceedings arose from Mr Dunne's challenge to the constitutionality of section 8 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004. In rejecting that challenge last year, the Supreme Court noted the disputed legislation "removes a bundle of protections" from national monuments, but found the Oireachtas was not prohibited under the Constitution from enacting such laws.
In the costs ruling, Mr Justice Murray, with whom Ms Justice Susan Denham, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan and Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns agreed, said the law governing costs of civil actions was that costs went to the winning party unless the court ordered otherwise.
There was no fixed rule or principle governing the court's discretion on costs and no overriding principle which determined it should be exercised in favour of an unsuccessful plaintiff in specified circumstances, or in a particular class of case.
The fact a plaintiff was not seeking a personal private advantage and that the issues raised were of special and general public importance were factors which may be taken into account.
However, the legal authorities did not support the view of the High Court judge that the principles to which she referred were in themselves the determining factors on costs in a category of public interest litigation cases. They might be "relevant" factors but were not "determinative".
The Chief Justice also noted there was "no predetermined category" of cases which fell outside the ambit of the courts' discretionary jurisdiction on costs. Such a category would have to be done by legislation, he said.
Mary Carolan
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 14 June 2007
IKEA vows to help pay for M50 work
SWEDISH furniture giant IKEA has been given the green light for its new Dublin store - despite a raft of unusual conditions and the fact that it's not set to open until at least 2010.
However, IKEA told the Irish Independent last night it would pay to speed up M50 roadworks to allow it to open sooner.
An Bord Pleanala yesterday granted planning permission for the 30,000 sq m superstore at Ballymun, but said it cannot open until the €1bn M50 upgrade is completed in three years.
But the company said it had offered to pay any extra costs involved in accelerating the roadworks, which would allow it to open in September next year.
It also revealed that up to 2.8m people are expected to visit the store in the first year of opening - with between €100-€150m spent on home furnishings.
A spokesman said IKEA was "delighted" to have the project approved, despite the stringent conditions.
The 30 conditions also include a requirement that a shuttle bus be provided every 20 minutes to Ballymun town centre.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
However, IKEA told the Irish Independent last night it would pay to speed up M50 roadworks to allow it to open sooner.
An Bord Pleanala yesterday granted planning permission for the 30,000 sq m superstore at Ballymun, but said it cannot open until the €1bn M50 upgrade is completed in three years.
But the company said it had offered to pay any extra costs involved in accelerating the roadworks, which would allow it to open in September next year.
It also revealed that up to 2.8m people are expected to visit the store in the first year of opening - with between €100-€150m spent on home furnishings.
A spokesman said IKEA was "delighted" to have the project approved, despite the stringent conditions.
The 30 conditions also include a requirement that a shuttle bus be provided every 20 minutes to Ballymun town centre.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Monday, 19 February 2007
Hauliers Predict Chaos On M50 Following HGV City Ban
So were they right? Or was it scaremongering? I imagine life was that little bit more pleasant in the city today and alot more unpleasant on the M50!
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) today ( Monday the 19th of February) predicted widespread traffic chaos on the M50 following the introduction of Dublin City Council’s HGV Management Strategy that came into operation today. This new strategy prohibits 5 axle vehicles from travelling within a cordon area of the city from 07.00-19.00hrs Monday to Sunday.
The IRHA has had lengthy discussions with DCC officials and believes that its elected councillors are “steamrolling” in this crude and unscientific strategy without any professional advice taken. The IRHA believe that this ban will lead to widespread difficulty across the city and is very premature in advance of the M50 being upgraded and barrier free tolling being introduced on the Westlink.
Jimmy Quinn, spokesperson for the IRHA said: “we are very committed to a developing a common sense solution to the DCC HGV strategy, but the mindset of Dublin City Councillors to introduce this change now will lead to chronic traffic congestion on the M50, unless a sensible solution outcome prevails involving the association and stakeholders.”
The IRHA has hosted meetings with groups that share similar concerns about the introduction of this HGV ban. The groups include IBEC, fruit importers, Small Firms Association, shipping lines and the Dublin Port Company.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) today ( Monday the 19th of February) predicted widespread traffic chaos on the M50 following the introduction of Dublin City Council’s HGV Management Strategy that came into operation today. This new strategy prohibits 5 axle vehicles from travelling within a cordon area of the city from 07.00-19.00hrs Monday to Sunday.
The IRHA has had lengthy discussions with DCC officials and believes that its elected councillors are “steamrolling” in this crude and unscientific strategy without any professional advice taken. The IRHA believe that this ban will lead to widespread difficulty across the city and is very premature in advance of the M50 being upgraded and barrier free tolling being introduced on the Westlink.
Jimmy Quinn, spokesperson for the IRHA said: “we are very committed to a developing a common sense solution to the DCC HGV strategy, but the mindset of Dublin City Councillors to introduce this change now will lead to chronic traffic congestion on the M50, unless a sensible solution outcome prevails involving the association and stakeholders.”
The IRHA has hosted meetings with groups that share similar concerns about the introduction of this HGV ban. The groups include IBEC, fruit importers, Small Firms Association, shipping lines and the Dublin Port Company.
Monday, 12 February 2007
NRA warned council about M50 chaos
This story by Ian Kehoe in the Sunday Business Post was hardly unexpected, but it is still galling.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) warned Dublin City Council 12 months ago that its plan to ban heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the city centre was based on poor research and could lead to chaos for commuters on the M50.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) warned Dublin City Council 12 months ago that its plan to ban heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the city centre was based on poor research and could lead to chaos for commuters on the M50.
The NRA wrote to the council last February stating that there was a ‘‘significant knowledge gap in the decision-making process’’ in relation to the council’s HGV policy. It asked for the ban on trucks to be implemented on a phased basis over a number of years.
From February 19, all trucks with five axles or more will be banned from the city centre from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. From then, the trucks will be forced the use the Port Tunnel and drive onto the M50 to access routes to the west or south of the country.
According to the NRA, the new policy is ill advised and will lead to a greater number of HGVs than expected using the M50, already one of the busiest roads in the country. In the letter, seen by The Sunday Business Post, the NRA said that it was not aware of any research or traffic-modelling that had been done to predict truck flow in the tunnel.
Furthermore, the state agency said that no assessments had been carried out on the impact that the corridor would have on M50 traffic.
‘‘The exact effects of the HGV management proposals on the tunnel itself and on the M50 motorway have not been assessed,” the letter states.
The NRA believes that HGVs will now be heading to a point where traffic is already being held up by a major upgrade project underway between the N81 and N4 junctions. Another major upgrade project is due to get underway next year.
Meanwhile, despite the government’s plans to go ahead with the purchase of the West Link toll bridge, barrier-free tolling is not due to come into operation until next year. With these problems on the M50, the NRA is warning that a blanket ban on HGVs using a southern access route - particularly to the South Port - would risk creating traffic chaos on the motorway.
A spokeswoman for the council said it still believed that the M50 ‘‘will be manageable’’.
She said that traffic modelling was not required and that the council had carried out its own research.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) warned Dublin City Council 12 months ago that its plan to ban heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the city centre was based on poor research and could lead to chaos for commuters on the M50.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) warned Dublin City Council 12 months ago that its plan to ban heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the city centre was based on poor research and could lead to chaos for commuters on the M50.
The NRA wrote to the council last February stating that there was a ‘‘significant knowledge gap in the decision-making process’’ in relation to the council’s HGV policy. It asked for the ban on trucks to be implemented on a phased basis over a number of years.
From February 19, all trucks with five axles or more will be banned from the city centre from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. From then, the trucks will be forced the use the Port Tunnel and drive onto the M50 to access routes to the west or south of the country.
According to the NRA, the new policy is ill advised and will lead to a greater number of HGVs than expected using the M50, already one of the busiest roads in the country. In the letter, seen by The Sunday Business Post, the NRA said that it was not aware of any research or traffic-modelling that had been done to predict truck flow in the tunnel.
Furthermore, the state agency said that no assessments had been carried out on the impact that the corridor would have on M50 traffic.
‘‘The exact effects of the HGV management proposals on the tunnel itself and on the M50 motorway have not been assessed,” the letter states.
The NRA believes that HGVs will now be heading to a point where traffic is already being held up by a major upgrade project underway between the N81 and N4 junctions. Another major upgrade project is due to get underway next year.
Meanwhile, despite the government’s plans to go ahead with the purchase of the West Link toll bridge, barrier-free tolling is not due to come into operation until next year. With these problems on the M50, the NRA is warning that a blanket ban on HGVs using a southern access route - particularly to the South Port - would risk creating traffic chaos on the motorway.
A spokeswoman for the council said it still believed that the M50 ‘‘will be manageable’’.
She said that traffic modelling was not required and that the council had carried out its own research.
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