[BBC News] Longer road closures for TT race

[When Skies Are Grey]

If you U-Turn on a U-Turn is that a roundabout?

 

Oh god if its a roundabout we are all screwed!!!

[slinkydevil]

They won't look like assholes though. They've actually made the general public look like right idiots for believing them and there cock and bull story that they won't be shutting the roads any earlier.

 

It just shows you what lengths the Government will go to, just to calm the masses and quell public outrage though eh?

 

They announce road closures that nobody is happy with, (pro and anti TT suppporters).

They then say "oops" everyone is up in arms about these earlier road closures, lets's tell Joe Public that they aren't going to happen now and then a couple of weeks before the TT we'll hit the general public with the earlier road closures again, and there won't be anything they can do about it.

 

They've just made the people of the Island look like right numptys and they'll get away with it.

 

Ah well, let's hope it's all hearsay.........................

 

I don't understand your logic, how can their decisions make the people of the IOM look stupid? The public voiced their opinions and I'm sure they will again if true. I reckon it's hearsay - probably booked to play the Villa.

[DRIVER]

Heard the same thing (unofficially) tonight. How the Govt is going to backtrack without looking like assholes is beyond me.

 

They won't look like assholes though. They've actually made the general public look like right idiots for believing them and there cock and bull story that they won't be shutting the roads any earlier.

 

It just shows you what lengths the Government will go to, just to calm the masses and quell public outrage though eh?

 

They announce road closures that nobody is happy with, (pro and anti TT suppporters).

They then say "oops" everyone is up in arms about these earlier road closures, lets's tell Joe Public that they aren't going to happen now and then a couple of weeks before the TT we'll hit the general public with the earlier road closures again, and there won't be anything they can do about it.

 

They've just made the people of the Island look like right numptys and they'll get away with it.

 

Ah well, let's hope it's all hearsay.........................

 

 

They can close the roads at lunchtime but they will have no marshals or medical cover until 6pm so what would be the point, the DTL are another 100k down , but they can always take it from their 2010 budget if no one notices Ha !

[WTF]

i too was wondering how the marshalls and medics could suddenly make it on time?? and all for 8 people originally, atleast one of whom has not got the licence they need anyway!! i think rumour is all it could be at this time.

[StuartT]

Just think things like this highlight the sad dependence on cars.

 

and the lack of a viable public transport alternative....

 

From seeing old timetables, the IOMR could have a train in Peel 30 minutes after leaving Douglas.

 

And another one in Ramsey in around 70 minutes.

 

Doesn't it take 30 minutes for cars to get to QB sometimes?... & not necessarily in TT either.....

 

Surely the money for the cost of a decent rail network could be pruned from the cost of the highways budget....

 

Could even be electric to get more benefit from out new powerstation....

[pongo]

Just think things like this highlight the sad dependence on cars.

 

and the lack of a viable public transport alternative....

 

From seeing old timetables, the IOMR could have a train in Peel 30 minutes after leaving Douglas.

 

And another one in Ramsey in around 70 minutes.

 

Doesn't it take 30 minutes for cars to get to QB sometimes?... & not necessarily in TT either.....

 

Surely the money for the cost of a decent rail network could be pruned from the cost of the highways budget....

 

Could even be electric to get more benefit from out new powerstation....

 

It would cost too much to build a new railway. The entire thing would have to be built from scratch and it would be a white elephant.

 

So it is not going to happen.

 

And by the time the thing would be built the TT will be history anyhow - unless the IOM really starts concentrating on the technology side and gradually (quickly) winds down the old fashioned oily biker side of things. A good solution to this current problem would have been to scrap one of the traditional races in favor of giving extra resources to the electric / tech event. The new race has some possibility of a long term future. The oily side is history.

 

That the steam railway was ever closed is good evidence that our parents' and grandparents' generation were just as short sighted and stupid as we often are.

[StuartT]

Just think things like this highlight the sad dependence on cars.

 

and the lack of a viable public transport alternative....

 

From seeing old timetables, the IOMR could have a train in Peel 30 minutes after leaving Douglas.

 

And another one in Ramsey in around 70 minutes.

 

Doesn't it take 30 minutes for cars to get to QB sometimes?... & not necessarily in TT either.....

 

Surely the money for the cost of a decent rail network could be pruned from the cost of the highways budget....

 

Could even be electric to get more benefit from out new powerstation....

 

It would cost too much to build a new railway. The entire thing would have to be built from scratch and it would be a white elephant.

 

So it is not going to happen.

 

And by the time the thing would be built the TT will be history anyhow - unless the IOM really starts concentrating on the technology side and gradually (quickly) winds down the old fashioned oily biker side of things. A good solution to this current problem would have been to scrap one of the traditional races in favor of giving extra resources to the electric / tech event. The new race has some possibility of a long term future. The oily side is history.

 

That the steam railway was ever closed is good evidence that our parents' and grandparents' generation were just as short sighted and stupid as we often are.

 

 

I'm not convinced that it would cost too much in the long term to build a railway when you compare it to the amount that the government is prepared to spend on even just one roundabout. The major part of the infrastructure is already there (though definititely new bridgework, etc is necessary - obviously with a greater loading guage to allow more modern stock to be ran).

 

While the cost would be quite large in the short term, balanced off against the number of road improvements necessary to sustain the increase in road traffic it may not be that large. Indeed a pruning down of the road infrastructure could offer a two pronged benefit - firstly to divert funds to a rail infrastructure, and to act as a further discincentive against car use. Over the long term a system using the buses as a feeder would pay for itself.

[pongo]

The major part of the infrastructure is already there

 

No it isn't IMO.

 

While the cost would be quite large in the short term, balanced off against the number of road improvements necessary to sustain the increase in road traffic it may not be that large. Indeed a pruning down of the road infrastructure could offer a two pronged benefit - firstly to divert funds to a rail infrastructure, and to act as a further discincentive against car use. Over the long term a system using the buses as a feeder would pay for itself.

 

I guess you would need to come up with some real € numbers but I'm skeptical. As much as I love railways. The fact that a narrow gauge tourist railway once existed along that route in the days when there were tourists would have to be the only reason that anyone would even imagine the idea of building a new railway along that route. Though it would effectively be a new route.

 

Apart from that you might as well argue in favor of building a railway between any two places along any busy route anywhere in the world. And IOM roads are not busy even during TT compared with most cities.

 

Personally I would far rather see the old railway lines tarmaced for bicycles.

[tarroo.ushtey]

One week a year and every other day at that, you bunch of selfish bastards. The IOM will be still be here when you take your ill gotten gains back to england or whatever shit hole you come from. Put up with it, you can walk to work or even get a bus. How about, when 'work' is over, you actually watch some racing or practice?

How long should we put up with your constant whining about a 100 yr old, what has become an, institution?

If you don't like it, fuck off. And while you're about it take your oxygen thieving kids/partner with you.

You will not stop the TT. It's the Manx TT and not a sub-section of anycounty TT from Sauston. It's written in upper case because that's the respect it holds on the island.

[When Skies Are Grey]

Oh dear.....

 

alcohol+MF=bell end

[rodders]

It's written in upper case because that's the respect it holds on the island.

 

It's written in upper case because they are the initials of tourist and trophy.

[StuartT]

The major part of the infrastructure is already there

 

No it isn't IMO.

 

While the cost would be quite large in the short term, balanced off against the number of road improvements necessary to sustain the increase in road traffic it may not be that large. Indeed a pruning down of the road infrastructure could offer a two pronged benefit - firstly to divert funds to a rail infrastructure, and to act as a further discincentive against car use. Over the long term a system using the buses as a feeder would pay for itself.

 

I guess you would need to come up with some real € numbers but I'm skeptical. As much as I love railways. The fact that a narrow gauge tourist railway once existed along that route in the days when there were tourists would have to be the only reason that anyone would even imagine the idea of building a new railway along that route. Though it would effectively be a new route.

 

Apart from that you might as well argue in favor of building a railway between any two places along any busy route anywhere in the world. And IOM roads are not busy even during TT compared with most cities.

 

Personally I would far rather see the old railway lines tarmaced for bicycles.

 

 

Now hang on a minute - you say you love railways but you appear to have a lack of knowledge of the history of the IOM railway. Were you more informed you would know that money had to be brought in from outside to build the railway. Several schemes prior to this fell through due to a lack of viability. Yet pay eventually the railway did - so much so that at one stage it earned far more revenue than the bus companies (which were bought out by IOM railways).

 

So let me see - it was possible to sustain an operation which relied on seasonal traffic of tourists. I would hazard a guess (anyone got access to the stats?) that there are probably more people resident in the IOM now than there would be tourists in one year even in the Islands heyday.

 

At the moment with the current car obsession it wouldn't be viable. But with a proper concerted effort to get people out of cars, diversion of funds away from road improvements, and as many measures to make car use as inconvenient as possible there woudl come a point when public transport usage would be far more preferable to the general public than their cars.

 

As for viable passenger carrying narrow guage railways are you familiar with the minishinkansen of Japan? Only a mere 6 inches wider than our own 3ft gauge & the same gauge as the trams which run up Snaefell.

[Frances]

So let me see - it was possible to sustain an operation which relied on seasonal traffic of tourists. I would hazard a guess (anyone got access to the stats?) that there are probably more people resident in the IOM now than there would be tourists in one year even in the Islands heyday.

The IoM population was static at around 55,000 for many years but declined heading down towards 40,000 in the 1960's - today around 90,000 - tourist numbers peaked just before ww1with some 660,000 visitors/year - most of whom would be in the short 10 week season (remember TT & MGP were deliberately pushed to extend this season at each end) - the few years post WW2 approached the 1913 figure but then went into a tail spin as cheap Spanish holidays became the norm. Thus for the season there were probably as many or more tourists on the Island as locals - out of season the railway became essential to move goods cheaply until motor transport became effective in the 1920's. The Railways took over the bus companies as a self defence mechanism.

[Evil Goblin]

One week a year and every other day at that, you bunch of selfish bastards. The IOM will be still be here when you take your ill gotten gains back to england or whatever shit hole you come from. Put up with it, you can walk to work or even get a bus. How about, when 'work' is over, you actually watch some racing or practice?

How long should we put up with your constant whining about a 100 yr old, what has become an, institution?

If you don't like it, fuck off. And while you're about it take your oxygen thieving kids/partner with you.

You will not stop the TT. It's the Manx TT and not a sub-section of anycounty TT from Sauston. It's written in upper case because that's the respect it holds on the island.

Seems about the normal level of intelligent response from the petrolheads to anything remotely critical of the "leaden-headed old anachronism", the tt (lower case to shopw the degree of respect I have for it).

[Slim]

Stuart: I agree with you, but I don't think any sort of forward thinking plan will actually happen. It'll change when petrol becomes too expensive.

 

Seems about the normal level of intelligent response from the petrolheads to anything remotely critical of the "leaden-headed old anachronism", the tt (lower case to shopw the degree of respect I have for it).

 

Interesting that they're (the TT fan club) picketing the likes of tesco's now to drum up support. If the TT's so universally loved by the manx, why do they need to do that?

 

Last gasps of the dying I reckon.