M4 and M5 motorway - Page 2

codprawn · 21 July 2004, 14:46

What in Carmarthen? They are the spawn of the Devil - Soddom and Gomorrah has nothing on them!

Richard B · 21 July 2004, 23:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Just come back from Carmarthen today - they have made the pavements about 6 feet wider each side and it is causing chaos - I counted ONE pedestrian using it.

Sounds like the dual carriageway on the Plympton side of Plymouth - reduced to one lane for cars and one as a cycle lane. Whoever designed this failed to notice that it goes up a bloody big hill. No cyclist has ever been seen on the cycle lane!

(And I'm all in favour of cycle lanes... when they're properly designed)

Bittentobuggery · 22 July 2004, 01:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJL

Congestion Charging does appear to work in London

The mayor's office and transport for London will produce all kinds of statistics that show how bloody clever they are to have brought in this brilliant scheme. Horseshit.

It may have had some impact upon shoppers in the West End who now choose to take public transport or who now shop in Kensington instead but the City of London is as busy as ever and they have just moved the problem around.

It has had a highly inflationary effect on the cost of doing business in London and when coupled with the draconian behaviour of the mindless morons that are employed indirectly by westminster, K & C and camden councils as parking enforcement officers, it becomes prohibitive in the extreme.

I know of a small painting & decorating firm that used to refurbish a lot of schools in central London. Efficient, well run, sensible prices, decent job. What more do you want. The firm just won't touch it now. Too much grief all round. And they are not unique, there are many small firms like them who have voted with their feet.

So, what is the outcome. The local LEA's are spending hugely more for probably an inferior job and the taxpayer is footing the bill. Marvellous.

During 2003, those 3 councils extracted £ 198,000,000 from motorists in London from penalty charge notices. On one occasion, we managed to collect a parking fine when our driver nipped into the shop to buy the bloody congestion charge. How galling is that !

TNT are currently in negotiation with these authorities to see if some sensible solution can be found to their parking fines which amount to £ 300 K per annum. The law actually states that as a commercial vehicle, you can legally stop on a double yellow line for a period of up to 20 minutes to allow continuous loading or unloading to take place, providing that there are no other restrictions in force. On this basis, we have successfully appealed against a significant number of PCN's over the years.

I insist that we pay Bastard Ken's Tax by cash at a shop every day, as that incurs the most cost for transport for london and that way they retain the least of our money. In addition, on the face of every £5 note that we hand over, I write "Livingstone's a bastard".

Illegal I know, but how else can you make your objection heard. Have a look in your wallet and see if you have a £5 note with "Livingstone's a bastard" on it.

And if you don't have one of these collector's items, why don't you write "Livingstone's a bastard" on your Lady Godivas anyway, regardless of where you live.

JK. If you get charged with incitement to deface the Queen's property, I publicly agree to pay the fine for you................with defaced fivers of course.

Jono · 22 July 2004, 07:49

Yo, Dude.. don't beat about the bush.. say what you really feel!

I'm with you, but instead of Livingstone, can I write "All Bureaucrats" ?

Jonny Fuller · 22 July 2004, 08:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whiteshoes

In addition, on the face of every £5 note that we hand over, I write "Livingstone's a bastard".

Now I like that! I'll start immediately.

John Kennett · 22 July 2004, 08:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whiteshoes

The mayor's office and transport for London will produce all kinds of statistics that show how bloody clever they are to have brought in this brilliant scheme. Horseshit.

My experience of it has been very good. On the few occasions I've had to drive into the charging area there has been an appreciable reduction in congestion. Well worth a fiver. It must be prety crappy just outside the zone though . . .

Quote:

I know of a small painting & decorating firm that used to refurbish a lot of schools in central London. Efficient, well run, sensible prices, decent job. What more do you want. The firm just won't touch it now. Too much grief all round. And they are not unique, there are many small firms like them who have voted with their feet.

Do you mean the congestion charge has put them off? I would have thought that an extra fiver per van per day wouldn't make that much difference to the overall price of a job. Presumably most schools have some form of off road parking too.

Quote:

During 2003, those 3 councils extracted £ 198,000,000 from motorists in London from penalty charge notices. On one occasion, we managed to collect a parking fine when our driver nipped into the shop to buy the bloody congestion charge. How galling is that !

If you paid in a more sensible way rather than being bloody minded it wouldn't have happened!

What's your solution? Abolish parking restrictions? If you couldn't get through the streets because of illegally parked cars I'm sure that we would be hearing in no uncertain terms about the lack of action!

John

Bittentobuggery · 22 July 2004, 10:01

Very briefly, 'cos I'm a t work..

The congestion charge was introduced during half term week in February, when there would be a noticeable reduction in traffic anyway and the imposition of this new tax did deter people for the first few weeks. Bastard Ken declared it a triumph due to this initial fall off of traffic volumes.

The reality is that volumes have crept back to, or very close to those pre-introduction levels. Our drivers who are tasked with getting into and out of central London every day, report that the difference in the City (as opposed to the West End) is minimal. There is then the additional congestion on the perimeter of the charging zone to cope with.

Painting & decorating schools. If they had a three week job, with 3 vans per day the cost starts to build up. I think it was the hassle factor that did it for them as they didn't know what vehicles they would be taking in advance or they lost the flexibility to pull people off one project and send them to another job. I do know that they tried to use a motorbike as a supply vehicle to pick up odd pots of paint etc with interesting results...

Parking. I completely agree with the enforcement of parking restrictions when correctly applied, to allow the traffic to flow properly. Unfortunately, these people are targetted to issue 3 PCN's per hour and this has resulted in these individuals hiding in doorways and then running out and slapping the tickets on, regardless of the cause for stopping momentarily. There was the case of that actor, whose wife died just a couple of weeks ago through cancer, who stopped to accomodate his wife being sick at the roadside after attending a chemotherapy session, and he was ticketed...

In the good old days with real traffic wardens, you could explain that you were stopping to make a delivery and would be less than 2 minutes. Now, in a fully liveried delivery vehicle, with an A4 sign in the front saying "Courier delivery. Minimum stay required", when it is obvious that you are making a commercial delivery outside business premises, you will be ticketed in the time it takes for the machine to issue the PCN.

It's just not helpful and then you have all the hassle of fighting the ticket etc...

Jonny Fuller · 22 July 2004, 12:20

In my opinion, commercial vehicles should be exempt from the CC. they have to go into town, so this is a tax on them, not a move to reduce congestion.

I agree ken is a w****r

Or maybe we should be expected to deliver 1/2 ton of AV kit to central London using our excellent public transport system and a rucksack!

Bittentobuggery · 22 July 2004, 14:04

Supposedly, Bastard ken was going to exempt commercial vehicles from the congestion charge but went off the idea when he was informed that the whole of London would then buy a white van.

Can you imagine our captains of industry being chauffeured into work in the back of a white Astravan.........

codprawn · 22 July 2004, 22:23

My landrover is exempt cos it's got 12 seats - bit daft with only 1 person driving it!

I don't drive into London often but when I did the other day I got lost and ended up in a zone - not in my landie either - why should I have to pay £5 cos I got lost?

~Simple solution - I did an amazing U turn across 8 lanes to avoid the charge - worked a treat!

bogib · 22 July 2004, 23:27

What an interested discussion on roads, traffic and congestion charge.

Our highways (motorways) is single lane each direction with speed limit of 90 kph (53 mph) although we tend to drive upto 120 kph.

Jonny Fuller · 24 July 2004, 22:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by bogib

limit of 90 kph (53 mph)

55.89mph actually! am I being picky?

Nick Hearne · 24 July 2004, 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny Fuller

55.89mph actually! am I being picky?

Picky you said it

Richard B · 24 July 2004, 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny Fuller

55.89mph actually! am I being picky?

If you're going to be picky, get it right... 55.92mph!

bogib · 24 July 2004, 23:09

Woooooooooooow ............................
Sorry guys if I have offended and hurt your imperial measurements heritage as I multiplied with 1,67 and rounded to next whole digit, in the future I shall be more accurate to the very nearest inch

Richard B · 24 July 2004, 23:18

Bogi, next time you come on Blue Ice, I shall make sure the depth sounder is displaying in fathoms and we have a few bushels of coca-cola on ice!!

Jonny Fuller · 24 July 2004, 23:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

If you're going to be picky, get it right... 55.92mph!

Now if you're REALLY gonna get picky, 55.923399 mph. I stand corrected!

Richard B · 24 July 2004, 23:27

bogib · 24 July 2004, 23:28

What an offer going back thirty years when I had my first depthsounder SEAFARER MKII which only showed depth in fathoms and had only two buttons on/off and gain that was great instrument at that time.
Thanks for your offer and I look forward to that and will bring my Pepsi along, there is a picture of me on this forum holding a bottle of Coke, we put those pictures on our companies inner net and I have had lot of jokes about this

CJL · 03 August 2004, 10:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whiteshoes

The mayor's office and transport for London will produce all kinds of statistics that show how bloody clever they are to have brought in this brilliant scheme. Horseshit.

It may have had some impact upon shoppers in the West End who now choose to take public transport or who now shop in Kensington instead but the City of London is as busy as ever and they have just moved the problem around.

It has had a highly inflationary effect on the cost of doing business in London and when coupled with the draconian behaviour of the mindless morons that are employed indirectly by westminster, K & C and camden councils as parking enforcement officers, it becomes prohibitive in the extreme.

I know of a small painting & decorating firm that used to refurbish a lot of schools in central London. Efficient, well run, sensible prices, decent job. What more do you want. The firm just won't touch it now. Too much grief all round. And they are not unique, there are many small firms like them who have voted with their feet.

So, what is the outcome. The local LEA's are spending hugely more for probably an inferior job and the taxpayer is footing the bill. Marvellous.

During 2003, those 3 councils extracted £ 198,000,000 from motorists in London from penalty charge notices. On one occasion, we managed to collect a parking fine when our driver nipped into the shop to buy the bloody congestion charge. How galling is that !

TNT are currently in negotiation with these authorities to see if some sensible solution can be found to their parking fines which amount to £ 300 K per annum. The law actually states that as a commercial vehicle, you can legally stop on a double yellow line for a period of up to 20 minutes to allow continuous loading or unloading to take place, providing that there are no other restrictions in force. On this basis, we have successfully appealed against a significant number of PCN's over the years.

I insist that we pay Bastard Ken's Tax by cash at a shop every day, as that incurs the most cost for transport for london and that way they retain the least of our money. In addition, on the face of every £5 note that we hand over, I write "Livingstone's a bastard".

Illegal I know, but how else can you make your objection heard. Have a look in your wallet and see if you have a £5 note with "Livingstone's a bastard" on it.

And if you don't have one of these collector's items, why don't you write "Livingstone's a bastard" on your Lady Godivas anyway, regardless of where you live.

JK. If you get charged with incitement to deface the Queen's property, I publicly agree to pay the fine for you................with defaced fivers of course.