How about a 'sponsor our motorways' initiative?

Chris_5339762

Heres a random idea I had the other day while seeing all the weeds and rubbish on the M8 that I thought I'd throw out there.

At the Cobh junction on the N25, I noticed that a local company keeps the two dumbell roundabouts in fantastic condition and have a little sign on each that says "Upkeep of this roundabout performed by xxxx". Its well kept and is a far cry from all the weeds infesting others.

So why not have a "sponsor our motorways" scheme? How about looking for interest from local companies that would plant and keep tidy say, 20km of the motorway each? Allow them to put up a medium size billboard every 5km. They get some advertising and we get well kept motorways. This would just be for verges etc, not for potholes/retarring/etc. Just for planting, mowing, weeding, tidying and keeping it looking good.

It would also stop them parking old lorries in fields with ads on them.

Crazy idea or does it have a bit of merit?

Amtmann

Merit. I think this was suggested in the Programme for Government. Really, all it requires is a monthly strim. The (steep) embankments on the M18 Ennis Bypass are always maintained, so it can't be that hard.

Danno

Good idea, however I'd rather see it done on approach roads to towns and use the time the county councils spend on these approach roads to be re-focused on the motorways.

Alkers

Could end up having 'the tesco ring road' instead of the m50 like the way stadiums have gone!

Cookie_Monster

or they could just get the councils and NRA to do their feckin jobs instead of bleating "no money no money" the whole time

Pete_Cavan

Cavan County Council have been running their adopt a road scheme for a while now. I dont think it would work on motorways though, it would be too dangerous to have vans, etc. parked and people working on the side of the motorway with the fast moving traffic.

L1011

Kilkenny BC have all their roundabouts on the ring road sponsored I believe

jack presley

It works quite well in the States were local businesses sponsor a couple of km of road and get their sign put up.

runway16

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

Cavan County Council have been running their adopt a road scheme for a while now. I dont think it would work on motorways though, it would be too dangerous to have vans, etc. parked and people working on the side of the motorway with the fast moving traffic.

But that's exactly what happens now, it is just that council contractors do it.

The idea would be that a "sponsored" scheme would simply mean it got done far more often.

It's a great idea and one I think they will look at. It was indicated in the programme for government. Equally, it will hopefully give the councils time to maintain approaches to villages, town etc... but i'm not going to put any money on it!

munchkin_utd

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

Cavan County Council have been running their adopt a road scheme for a while now. I dont think it would work on motorways though, it would be too dangerous to have vans, etc. parked and people working on the side of the motorway with the fast moving traffic.

If you have the proper van its safe.
You need one of those motorway maintenance yokes with the massive flashy lights that you see from miles off.
The van or lorry "shields" the people in front of it picking up the litter.

OR...
Have that big flashy panel mounted instead on a trailer and then the companies sponsoring the road can "convert" their own truck or van into a motorway maintenance truck by towing the high vis trailer.

On the brenner trans-alpine motorway there are loads of works happening on the hard shoulder with bridge inspection teams (as an awful lot of the motorway is built on stilts plus the bridges across the valleys) and they have such protective measures in place both before and at the actual place they are working.

ClareVisitor

This thread just makes me think of Kramer looking after a stretch of highway in Seinfeld.

Bards

Hey Chris - Looks like IBAL nicked your idea

http://www.examiner.ie/business/group-urges-firms-to-adopt-a-road-and-fight-litter-153511.html


ANTI-LITTER campaigners have called on the Government to launch an initiative to get major companies to sponsor the clean-up of the national road network.

The Irish Business Against Litter group has proposed a national "Adopt a Road" scheme whereby businesses would finance the cleaning of stretches of national routes in return for getting their name on road signage.

IBAL chairman Tom Cavanagh said such a scheme was necessary to ensure the country was kept clean because of cutbacks in public spending on many areas, including roads.

Dr Cavanagh said more than 70% of towns were now considered "litter free" compared to just two towns when the annual IBAL Anti-Litter League began in 2002. However, he was concerned that approach roads and key routes outside of urban centres are highly likely to be littered.

He claimed "Adopt a Road" schemes had proven successful in other countries, such as in the US, where they have operated for over 20 years.

He said that Ballymaloe Country Relish, a member of IBAL, is already financing the clean-up of stretches of the N25 near Midleton, Co Cork.

He recommended that one of the areas to benefit from such a scheme would be approach roads to airports, such as Dublin Airport from which 39 tonnes of litter were removed in a clean-up last year.

Announcing details of the 2011 Anti-Litter League in Dublin, which was launched by Environment Minister Phil Hogan yesterday, Dr Cavanagh said the latest annual survey will see a greater emphasis placed on neglected city areas.

The 2011 league will rank 53 towns and cities according to their litter levels. New entrants in this year’s litter survey will be Dublin Airport, Dublin’s north inner city and the Cork suburb of Knocknaheeny.

Dr Cavanagh said there needed to be a focus on areas of social disadvantage as they tend to have higher litter levels than city centres.

He recalled that a recent study of Knocknaheeny by Barnardos had highlighted how litter was the issue most local people disliked about their locality.

Other new towns included in this year’s IBAL league are: Gorey, Co Wexford; Maynooth, Co Kildare; and Tipperary town.

Areas that will not be included are Blanchardstown and Lucan, Co Dublin; Newbridge, Co Kildare; Enniscorthy, Co Wexford and Midleton, Co Cork.

Carlow will be hoping to hold on to its 2010 title as Ireland’s cleanest town.

IBAL has encouraged people to email photos of litter blackspots as part of a "litter twitter" campaign to alert local authorities about problem areas. Photos can be emailed to litterspotter.2010@twitpic.com.


Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/business/group-urges-firms-to-adopt-a-road-and-fight-litter-153511.html#ixzz1LU0Sj3Lk

veryangryman

I wonder if i could get a collection going of (say) 1000 people to sponsor a tenner each to rename the M6 as "The Butthead Memorial Expressway"

AA roadwatch would be such a laugh....

L1011

Bards wrote: »

Other new towns included in this year’s IBAL league are: Gorey, Co Wexford; Maynooth, Co Kildare; and Tipperary town.

Maynooth's been in it before??