tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.comments2009-12-04T15:32:17.971+00:00scrap the tollUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-64242805458172532872009-12-04T14:01:15.097+00:002009-12-04T14:01:15.097+00:00Dave
1. because it's a vital and pratically un...Dave<br />1. because it's a vital and pratically unavoidable part of the local county transport network<br />2. because we haven't got that kind of cash, and because it's not just an Eynsham bridge, it's an Oxfordshire bridge (see point 1 above)<br />3. If you'd read my blog, you'll see it's not the 5p people object to. No one gives a shit about 5p. It's the hours of wasted time.<br /><br />I'm over it, mate; over and out.Jane Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06320661268856831052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-52144423726222482232009-12-04T13:52:12.121+00:002009-12-04T13:52:12.121+00:00Gah! Obviously I KNOW the bridge is privately owne...Gah! Obviously I KNOW the bridge is privately owned and we've no 'right' to use it. But you've missed the point! It should be publicly owned, just like 99.9% of all other bridges, roads, highways and viaducts.Jane Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06320661268856831052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-1429141159440749852009-12-04T13:46:12.125+00:002009-12-04T13:46:12.125+00:00Yes, Anonymous, the 5p toll is NOT the real proble...Yes, Anonymous, the 5p toll is NOT the real problem - it's the time bridge users waste queuing up to pay it. If you read my blog you'll see that I'm not asking for a private owner to let everyone get across free. What I'm saying is that the bridge should not be privately owned in the first place, it should be publically owned by the County Council, just like practically every other highway and bridge in the country.Jane Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06320661268856831052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-80049681019983002412009-12-04T09:35:57.210+00:002009-12-04T09:35:57.210+00:00I can understand getting fed up with the delays cr...I can understand getting fed up with the delays crossing the bridge ect but the charge is not that much is it? I seen toll charges of £0.70p a car £1.00 for lorries and there is waiting there also. If the toll charge was to be dropped how would the bridge be maintained and who would pay for it? Why should the owner let everyone travel over free and then pay out of his pocket to repair it? <br /><br />The problem is more the time taken to cross and pay, not the charge it's self.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-32439299439723595982009-12-04T08:31:28.400+00:002009-12-04T08:31:28.400+00:00This is wrong on so many levels. It is private pro...This is wrong on so many levels. It is private property and no one has the right to use it. There is a toll road in Dulwich which is a popular short cut and charges considerably more than 5p but no one protests. Thats life, if you dont like it go another way. people living near the bridge cant have been surprised about the tolls, so it should be factored into the house price. Why should the rest of the county bail you out??<br /><br />If the local residents feel so strongly why didnt they club together and buy the bridge themselves and then do away with the tolls?? Could it be because they would then be reaponsible for maintaining it just as the current owners are??<br /><br />The local purchasers could even have paid tax volutarily if they wanted but when you consider the bridge as a business then I doubt it is profit making after loans to buy it and reserves to repair it etc and VAT is a two way thing. If they pay it they would charge it and the cost of crossing would go up.<br /><br />All in all its best left privately owne rather than becoming a public liabilityAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-9972032968281143262009-12-04T08:23:16.417+00:002009-12-04T08:23:16.417+00:00Its not only in England there are plenty of toll b...Its not only in England there are plenty of toll bridges in France tooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-82938992032424133602009-12-03T22:13:03.706+00:002009-12-03T22:13:03.706+00:00Why should the taxpayers of Oxfordshire pay? If t...Why should the taxpayers of Oxfordshire pay? If the people of Eynsham want it so much why didn't you bid for it? It's 5p. Get over it.Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-28404164369033490172009-12-03T21:53:34.692+00:002009-12-03T21:53:34.692+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-3258477941746838302009-12-03T20:50:03.145+00:002009-12-03T20:50:03.145+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-37958087378351002842009-12-03T19:30:52.825+00:002009-12-03T19:30:52.825+00:00Quite.Quite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-64709684313512039722009-12-03T19:00:12.517+00:002009-12-03T19:00:12.517+00:00Hi Rob - I'm so sorry you have to suffer tolls...Hi Rob - I'm so sorry you have to suffer tolls, too. I bet your tolls don't go to a private owner, tax-free. <br /><br />Thankfully, I don't pay and I don't queue, I ride a motorbike, bought specifically to avoid tolls and traffic jams. I hope thousands of other local people do the same.Jane Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06320661268856831052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-57653634787978906882009-12-03T18:46:20.897+00:002009-12-03T18:46:20.897+00:00A.J.Bessant says'
Here is my suggestion for y...A.J.Bessant says' <br />Here is my suggestion for you. Do not pay. Just drive by.Everyone who uses it. I am not certain but i feel that taking each person to court would be so expensive that it would never happen. Possibly they would try to victimize some regular users but this would soon be taken up by human Rights legislation. etc .If the bridge is closed by the owner to prevent this happening, i am almost certain that they would be obstructing the Queens Highway. The traffic jams would become instantly unacceptable to the whole county. The first day would see an end to it. So ignore the man drive on by. Who on earth is going to go to the county court at 30.00 a time for a five pence toll. <br />If however it was a criminal offence then i would never suggest that anyone broke the criminal law.<br />If the county can put speed limits / speed bumps or lights on the bridge then it is queens highway. As such we have a right to travel down it unhindered anyway.<br />As far as being a lovely little tradition. This is how the Norman Lords still rule this land and claim ownership of everything anyway taxing every man heavily whenever the land is used for homes. This is just another example of putting the Jackals in charge of the chickens. They are never kind to we fowl.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-86305178445177720002009-12-03T18:41:37.760+00:002009-12-03T18:41:37.760+00:00petition the council, local govt to build a modern...petition the council, local govt to build a modern bridge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-32927133187733006322009-12-03T17:15:53.486+00:002009-12-03T17:15:53.486+00:00I live near the Tyne Tunnel, and that costs me £1....I live near the Tyne Tunnel, and that costs me £1.20 a trip, as well as huge delays sitting in traffic. If I don't want to pay then I find another route. You should do the same!Rob Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-6997725812606534372009-12-03T17:07:56.741+00:002009-12-03T17:07:56.741+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-76506937082818547092009-12-03T16:48:13.518+00:002009-12-03T16:48:13.518+00:00What happens if you refuse to pay?
When the Skye...What happens if you refuse to pay? <br /><br />When the Skye Bridge opened, people there officially offered a refusal when asked to pay when they crossed, and were given summons to court. These all had to be waived in the end as the over 900 summonses would have ground the local courts to a halt. The Skye Bridge is now free as a result.mgavedhttp://www.open.ac.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-48645304081575627162009-11-19T08:43:45.923+00:002009-11-19T08:43:45.923+00:00Hi TP
I know I can't 'win' but in a se...Hi TP<br />I know I can't 'win' but in a sense I already have. <br /><br />My greatest desire was for OCC to buy it and for it to be integrated into the local transport system. That ain't going to happen any time soon.<br /><br />I got round the whole thing by getting my motorcycle. No toll, no queue, no delay, no problem.<br /><br />So why to I keep going? For the other poor sods in the queue. I was once one of them. And because I hate unfairness.Jane Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06320661268856831052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-82834844522290546902009-11-19T00:13:58.814+00:002009-11-19T00:13:58.814+00:00Ah, I'm getting a much more cogent objection n...Ah, I'm getting a much more cogent objection now. I was blinded by all the hyperbole about "tax dodgers", and "bread-heads" (so 60's, head-in-sand passée). You do yourself a huge disfavour concentrating on that. People hate negative whining attitudes.<br /><br />Yes, I can sympathise with the congestion. In less than twenty years I've seen England south of York clag up with traffic and blue haze (largely, it seems, with mothers ferrying "little people" in 4x4's).<br /><br />It's not precisely analagous, but I live in a village which for forty years campaigned for a bypass. The road four feet from my door was stationary with traffic every weekday morning and evening. It moved too slowly to harm children, old folk, and pets which wandered into the road.<br /><br />Then the bypass went through. We were delighted. Now traffic in our 30mph road passes at 40mph and even faster. We now have industrial sites because the 'communications' are better, and the traffic is increasing towards its former levels. It always will increase, until the oil dries up or you tax it until people bleed.<br /><br />It's counter-productive leading a negative campaign to repeal the Act or abolish the toll. You'll create lots of enmity and it won't fix anything - the traffic will indeed increase. You need to campaign for a new bridge, without the two mile limit of the Act. (Developers will even help you.) If it's toll free it will drain traffic from Swinford bridge and your village, and you'll be free of the congestion and pollution. The bridge and curtilege will fall into disrepair because of lack of funds and the state will be forced into purchase.<br /><br />The cost will be speeding traffic, any retail business you have in the area (including pubs, post offices, and corner shops), and concrete across enormous swathes of neighbouring Thames water meadows. Attendant upon this will be increased pollution, congestion, and greenhouse emissions from the construction.<br /><br />You can't win. You can only campaign for the manner in which you lose.<br /><br />TP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-32550508588160859672009-11-18T10:03:59.686+00:002009-11-18T10:03:59.686+00:00Bearing in mind that the bridge is almost single l...Bearing in mind that the bridge is almost single lane then without the toll it would have to have traffic lights which woul still cause queuing. The real problem is the totally inadequate A40Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-59685811509796193952009-11-18T10:01:55.953+00:002009-11-18T10:01:55.953+00:00As a cyclist that uses this route everyday then I ...As a cyclist that uses this route everyday then I would campaign not to scrap the toll. This is a _B_ road (I'll say that again _B_ road) and as such shouldn;t be used as a rat run cut through. The real solution is to properly upgrade the A40 so that all the driving commuters go that way into Oxford. I would hope also that the good people of Farmoor are also aginst scrapping the toll since the next stepo from that is turning the road into another A40 size trunk road.<br />Scrapping the toll would just massively increase the traffic along the route which is nicely regulated at the moment making it possible to cycle along. I would suggest to those that get caught up in queues etc that it is quite possible (maybe even pleasant) to cycle from Eynsham or just move the time you go into work. If we do drive and leave at 8:15 the queue is tiny, just about getting to the roundabout. I would suggest that the county council has alot more things to worry about than wasting £1.25MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-21621795352403503812009-11-18T09:11:52.994+00:002009-11-18T09:11:52.994+00:00Well full marks for keeping up with your campaign ...Well full marks for keeping up with your campaign Jane but if you get rid of the toll, the traffic levels will probably increase. Although you are quite right, this will avoid a lot of parked cars spewing out gases but will there not be an even greater chance of accidents and blockages?<br /><br />Leave your car at home and get the bus? Is that too simple? Probably is. Not enough buses and too expensive. I don't know what the answer is, but its an attractive investment for somebody. Wish I had the money.<br /><br />Adam Hingley from EynshamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-27827820944412789882009-11-18T09:03:23.139+00:002009-11-18T09:03:23.139+00:00Nope, you're not getting it. The 5p is virtual...Nope, you're not getting it. The 5p is virtually irrelevant. The money is laughable (except when it falls in to a tax dodger's lap). Its the TIME WASTED in queues that bothers me and my fellow bridge users the most, and for me the ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT is a pretty compelling horror. All thos idling engines create a pall of smog on still humid days...Jane Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06320661268856831052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-91093744942047484662009-11-18T01:47:11.985+00:002009-11-18T01:47:11.985+00:00I don't quite understand why you vilify the br...I don't quite understand why you vilify the bridge so. Do you object as strongly to the Severn Bridges? Indeed, there are several privately owned bridges in Britain, and Swinford is the cheapest of both state-owned and private. 5p seems like a bargain to me. A daily return trip by car makes an annual cost of less than £37, by my reckoning. And this is more of a rip off than £125 road tax, an inequitable tax which is not used to maintain the road system?<br /><br />In 1964 people objected to the Swinford toll on the basis that it was five times the road tax (http://tinyurl.com/yd4tnfn). Of course, road tax has exceeded inflation. But if the toll had kept track with the RPI since 1964 it should now be 25p for a car, five times what it actually is (http://tinyurl.com/yhzde67).<br /><br />Everyone makes money out of us all the time. Just as we make money out of them. I wish it weren't so, but it is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-83923944270529743422009-11-17T19:36:11.781+00:002009-11-17T19:36:11.781+00:00WHOA THERE, ANONYMOUS! NO NEED TO SHOUT!
As it hap...WHOA THERE, ANONYMOUS! NO NEED TO SHOUT!<br />As it happens, I think you're right. A local buy-out would be spectacular. Our beautiful local bridge, owned by and for our benefit, not some absentee tax-dodging highway robber. <br /><br />In my dreams, a local charity would own and run it.Jane Tomlinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06320661268856831052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801128074150611507.post-37953716789868956082009-11-17T18:50:33.248+00:002009-11-17T18:50:33.248+00:00WELL IF YOUR ALL SO WORRIED WHY DONT YOU ALL GET T...WELL IF YOUR ALL SO WORRIED WHY DONT YOU ALL GET TOGETHER AND BUY THE BRIDGE AND HOUSE YOURSELVES. <br />YOU CAN RENT THE HOUSE OUT, PUT IN YOUR OWN TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES, AND REAP YOUR OWN REWARDS WITH THE INCOME FROM THE HOUSE AND THE LAND...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com