Another Daft Idea!

[FredPuli43]

Local TV news reports that the A14, a major, mostly dual carriageway , road from Felixstowe and the East Coast ports to the Midlands, is set to be a toll road, but the fee will only be £2. The snag is that there is no alternative route; it would be necessary to take single lane by-roads. The proposed low fee is in recognition of this fact. The road is a notorious traffic block, especially north of Cambridge.

Something tells me that this is another means of taxing the motorist. What do you think?

[Zacs-Master]

I think your right.

[New Judge]

Yes Fred I know the stretch between Cambridge and Huntingdon quite well. It is, as you say, always congested.

Quite what justification there is to make any road a toll road in the UK defies belief. But this plan in particular is outrageous.

[Barmaid]

It's really irritating and yes it is another tax because there is no realistic alternative. I avoid it by using Chatteris, Ely, Newmarket on the a142, but that is a pretty annoying route too. Still, at least I am moving.

I suspect the reason it will be a toll road is that Cambridge City Council have declined to make a contribution.

[pixie373]

So motorists stopping to pay £2 each, will help the traffic flow, will it?

[FredPuli43]

Well, NJ, having toll roads doesn't seem a bad idea, necessarily. All the big motorways in France are, because that is how the contractors and operators get paid. But there is always a Route Nationale to take instead. The one we have is an alternative to another road which is really just as good but busier, so that may be excused. This proposal makes no sense at all

[ELVIS68]

Daylight robbery!

Most sat navs have the option to "Avoid Tolls" so I guess most people will take the scenic route

[New Judge]

Quite agree about France, Fred. But the big difference is that private vehicle owners in France pay no road tax.