€2.75 million on unneeded signposts

CrazyRabbit

Almost 3 million to help tourists who didn't bring a SatNav? What an insane waste of money. How the hell can it cost almost €690 to make & install each sign?

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0726/633298-wild-atlantic-way/

Just over €2.75m has been spent on sign posts for the Wild Atlantic Way.
Figures released to Nuacht reveal that the total cost of designing, manufacturing and installing the signage is €2,755,000.
Over 4,000 signs were installed along the route.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

Money wasted on signs: reminds me of a similar debacle back in 2001, when Seamus Brennan, the then minister for transport, had 500 brand new road signs taken down after the city traffic manager had them put up. Seems it was customary for traffic managers to generally run such things past the minister for transport. Makes sense I suppose.

No doubt that traffic manager is now sweeping out buses in some depot for that little faux pas.

Oh wait...

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/brennan-wins-battle-of-the-signs-26039308.html

Aubrey loves Joe

Sign of the times

jellyboy

The wild atlantic way is off the beaten track in most places and as such never hardly gets visitors in the villages that the signage points to

money well spent ,as my relatives can now find where i live and stop for a coffee along the way (there worth it)


Sat nav is useless in rural areas ,trees blocking satellite,not knowing what town land is etc etc
your more likely to get lost than found

now go back to bed and stop stressing about it

wendell borton

Having tourists, or any one else for that matter, blindly following sat navs isn't a good idea.

Arthur Beesley

Better than spending it on free travel for junkies I suppose.

El Weirdo

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Almost 3 million to help tourists who didn't bring a SatNav? What an insane waste of money. How the hell can it cost almost €690 to make & install each sign?

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0726/633298-wild-atlantic-way/

Wow, what an in-depth article RTÉ have there.

I actually thought you'd just quoted a small piece of it, but no. That's it.

expectationlost

wild atlantic way signposts, if actually in the atlantic you've gone too far

timetogo

I drove along the wild Atlantic way a few months ago.
A sat nav works fine on the route but it it doesn't tell you that youre on the tourist route.

I think the marketing for the route is a good thing and its bringing money into Ireland. I don't know how much but in the grand scheme of thing I'd imagine that 2.75 million will be more than worth it.

Speedsie

It has cost around €300,000 to set up Arthur's Way in Kildare. A journey of 25km.
I've seen a couple of sign posts, but not sure what the money has been spent on.
Certainly not marketing, as no one seems to have heard of it.

The Backwards Man

I've experienced the benefits of the WAW first hand. €2.5m is a bargain.

expectationlost

timetogo wrote: »

I drove along the wild Atlantic way a few months ago.
A sat nav works fine on the route but it it doesn't tell you that youre on the tourist route.

I think the marketing for the route is a good thing and its bringing money into Ireland. I don't know how much but in the grand scheme of thing I'd imagine that 2.75 million will be more than worth it.

why do you need to be told you are on a tourist route?

timetogo

expectationlost wrote: »

why do you need to be told you are on a tourist route?

Tourists generally like them ffs. Every country I've ever been to has them. Its handy if you're a tourist.

ch20

I think this is money well invested.Road signs in Ireland are generally poor,especially in rural areas where signs are moved around in the wrong
direction.last week I even saw signpost for some town still in miles.

No Pants

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller wrote: »

Seems it was customary for traffic managers to generally run such things past the minister for transport. Makes sense I suppose.

Seems like an unnecessary step in what should be a minor change process to me. As long as the same process and standards are followed, which probably didn't happen.

kneemos

Arthur Beesley wrote: »

Better than spending it on free travel for junkies I suppose.

Ohh he shoots,he scores.

kneemos

ch20 wrote: »

I think this is money well invested.Road signs in Ireland are generally poor,especially in rural areas where signs are moved around in the wrong
direction.last week I even saw signpost for some town still in miles.

That's if they're not hidden behind trees and bush's.

kippy

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Almost 3 million to help tourists who didn't bring a SatNav? What an insane waste of money. How the hell can it cost almost €690 to make & install each sign?

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0726/633298-wild-atlantic-way/

Its a lot of money but was most likely a tendered project so it was probably the cheapest on offer. As for the need for them in the first place.....its more coherent, accurate and useful signs this country needs so no complaints here.
As for GPS....not everyone has one, rental of a car means an added extra cost and those with smartphones mightnt realise the ins and outs involved.

An outside the box piece of thinking might be for the relevant bodies involved to come up with a gps unit pre progged with all the waypoints of interest on this route and indeed the country in general and have them available to visitors for a deposit. This service could be run out of tourist offices, airports, ports etc. Would be way too joined up and progressive thinking for it ever to happen.

Badly Drunk Boy

kippy wrote: »

An outside the box piece of thinking might be for the relevant bodies involved to come up with a gps unit pre progged with all the waypoints of interest on this route and indeed the country in general and have them available to visitors for a deposit. This service could be run out of tourist offices, airports, ports etc. Would be way too joined up and progressive thinking for it ever to happen.

Or a phone app for this shouldn't be too hard to make.

Drakares

And this was a bad idea... why?

tomwaterford

Drakares wrote: »

And this was a bad idea... why?

not a bad idea.....but at e690 a sign....someone somewhere is fiddling money.....or else the government is getting fleeced and doesn't know it



this being Ireland and its general capacity for corruption...il let you make up your own mind on what is most probable:rolleyes:

muddypaws

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller wrote: »

No doubt that traffic manager is now sweeping out buses in some depot for that little faux pas.

Oh wait...

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/brennan-wins-battle-of-the-signs-26039308.html

I'm beginning to think you protest too much

No Pants

tomwaterford wrote: »

at e690 a sign....someone somewhere is fiddling money.....or else the government is getting fleeced and doesn't know it

How much should it cost to design, manufacture, distribute and install a roadsign?

Harry Palmr

Everyone knows that anything as provided by tender to the public sector/state comes with a 100% tariff!

tomwaterford

No Pants wrote: »

How much should it cost to design, manufacture, distribute and install a roadsign?

a lot less than e690 a piece :pac::pac::pac:


sure I bought an 8*4 sheet of the stuff for making signs off a crowd that makes signs for e40 (I did get it at around cost alright...know the manager;))
to put on top of an old workbench at home here


that would make at least 2 signs.....where is the other e670 going.....it stinks of corruption to me

runawaybishop

jellyboy wrote: »

The wild atlantic way is off the beaten track in most places and as such never hardly gets visitors in the villages that the signage points to

money well spent ,as my relatives can now find where i live and stop for a coffee along the way (there worth it)


Sat nav is useless in rural areas ,trees blocking satellite,not knowing what town land is etc etc
your more likely to get lost than found

now go back to bed and stop stressing about it

They'll need to spend another 2.75 million putting up signs that explain what the fook these signs are supposed to be.

No Pants

tomwaterford wrote: »

a lot less than e690 a piece :pac::pac::pac:


sure I bought an 8*4 sheet of the stuff for making signs off a crowd that makes signs for e40 (I did get it at around cost alright...know the manager;))
to put on top of an old workbench at home here


that would make at least 2 signs.....where is the other e670 going.....it stinks of corruption to me

I didn't realise it was that simple. So, to recap, you simply buy some sheet metal and it decides for itself what to write on itself, makes itself, transports itself to the correct location, digs itself a wee hole, installs a pole, adds some concrete and then pops itself on top.

Where can I get some of this magical metal?

kippy

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

Or a phone app for this shouldn't be too hard to make.

Phone apps are all well and good so long as they work offline.

tomwaterford

No Pants wrote: »

I didn't realise it was that simple. So, to recap, you simply buy some sheet metal and it decides for itself what to write on itself, makes itself, transports itself to the correct location, digs itself a wee hole, installs a pole, adds some concrete and then pops itself on top.

Where can I get some of this magical metal?

well you get the metal at any steel distrubtors:rolleyes::rolleyes:

if you honesty think its good value the government are after getting and it has no level/hint of corruption...:pac::pac:
its like this...if it couldn't be done for at least half (and still plenty profit) ...I would be shocked...someone is codding someone.;)


the signs themselves are a good idea...its just the likes of this excessive fleecing really sticks in my troat

SEPT 23 1989

I'm sure they are paying over the odds as usual but the signs are manufactured here. remember manufacturing we used to be very good at that ,giving real jobs to people paying tax rates suppliers etc not just some company name on a door in the IFSC using the country as a tax stroke

No Pants

tomwaterford wrote: »

well you get the metal at any steel distrubtors:rolleyes::rolleyes:

if you honesty think its good value the government are after getting and it has no level/hint of corruption...:pac::pac:
its like this...if it couldn't be done for at least half (and still plenty profit) ...I would be shocked...someone is codding someone.;)


the signs themselves are a good idea...its just the likes of this excessive fleecing really sticks in my troat

So, you get this magical metal at any sheet distributors and it doesn't need any working at all, yet it costs the same as regular metal. Why would anyone buy the regular stuff?

I don't know if it is good value or not. You think it isn't, based on you buying one sheet of metal and using it as a workbench top. I'd like a bit more detail on how you reached that conclusion.

monflat

Also I hope they spend their money " wisely " and get the spelling correct. I've seen some signs with terrible spelling of a village or town.

kneemos

No Pants wrote: »

I didn't realise it was that simple. So, to recap, you simply buy some sheet metal and it decides for itself what to write on itself, makes itself, transports itself to the correct location, digs itself a wee hole, installs a pole, adds some concrete and then pops itself on top.

Where can I get some of this magical metal?

Plus wages,insurance on workers and vans,the van itself,somewhere to manufacture the signs and all the overheads that brings,a profit also needs to be made.

No Pants

kneemos wrote: »

Plus wages,insurance on workers and vans,the van itself,somewhere to manufacture the signs and all the overheads that brings,a profit also needs to be made.

Sssh, you're spoiling it now.

timetogo

tomwaterford will know better next time. He can submit his quote for the tendering process. A lot of them are open to pretty much every company. At his rates he could submit €200 per sign and be rolling in it.

Annasopra

How can the cost of a couple of sheets of metal be seriously compared?

No Pants

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

How can the cost of a couple of sheets of metal be seriously compared?

Because magic.

Annasopra

No seriously I buy a sheet of metal for €50 and I compare that to

Cutting a sheet, designing the roadsign, adding the pole, transporting it to the person who will fit it, installing the road signs along the route.

Yeah right.

El Weirdo

runawaybishop wrote: »

They'll need to spend another 2.75 million putting up signs that explain what the fook these signs are supposed to be.

I doubt they need to spend that much. I can't see there being too many people who are unable to understand a sign that reads "Wild Atlantic Way" along with either "North" or "South".

Annasopra

timetogo wrote: »

tomwaterford will know better next time. He can submit his quote for the tendering process. A lot of them are open to pretty much every company. At his rates he could submit €200 per sign and be rolling in it.

And all the government would get would be sheets of metal to pick up themselves!

No Pants

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

No seriously I buy a sheet of metal for €50 and I compare that to

Cutting a sheet, designing the roadsign, adding the pole, transporting it to the person who will fit it, installing the road signs along the route.

Yeah right.

Indeed. It's comparing apples and oranges. To be more precise, it's like comparing apples on display in your local fruit and veg shop with a box of orange tree seed sitting in a small shed in Brazil.

Cee-Jay-Cee

jellyboy wrote: »

The wild atlantic way is off the beaten track in most places and as such never hardly gets visitors in the villages that the signage points to

money well spent ,as my relatives can now find where i live and stop for a coffee along the way (there worth it)


Sat nav is useless in rural areas ,trees blocking satellite,not knowing what town land is etc etc
your more likely to get lost than found

now go back to bed and stop stressing about it

Where is this place that the tree cover is so intense that it blocks gps signals for so long that people get lost? Are you sure your not thinking in the Black Forest?

Knowing the names of town lands is irrelevant in finding your way about in Ireland.

timetogo

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

And all the government would get would be sheets of metal to pick up themselves!

I was being sarcastic.

CrazyRabbit

No Pants wrote: »

I didn't realise it was that simple. So, to recap, you simply buy some sheet metal and it decides for itself what to write on itself, makes itself, transports itself to the correct location, digs itself a wee hole, installs a pole, adds some concrete and then pops itself on top.

Where can I get some of this magical metal?

Granted that there is a cost for all this. But €690 per sign seems excessive. That's my main issue with all this...not the actual signs being made/installed.

Barely There

€2.75m will get you about 1.5km of new single carriageway road if you allow for land acquisition and design and planning costs. It's feck all in the context of infrastructural spend and IMO represents good value for what the Wild Atlantic Way can potentially bring into the country wrt increased tourist dollars.

kneemos

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Granted that there is a cost for all this. But €690 per sign seems excessive. That's my main issue with all this...not the actual signs being made/installed.

The signs themselves might be the cheapest cost,it's the cost of production and installation that adds to the price.

Tigger

all the waw signs i've see are on existing poles
to buy and have installed a similar sign for ones own business to add to an existing co co pole is approx €200

expectationlost

timetogo wrote: »

Tourists generally like them ffs. Every country I've ever been to has them. Its handy if you're a tourist.

tourists need to be told they are tourists?

efb

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller wrote: »

Money wasted on signs: reminds me of a similar debacle back in 2001, when Seamus Brennan, the then minister for transport, had 500 brand new road signs taken down after the city traffic manager had them put up. Seems it was customary for traffic managers to generally run such things past the minister for transport. Makes sense I suppose.

No doubt that traffic manager is now sweeping out buses in some depot for that little faux pas.

Oh wait...

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/brennan-wins-battle-of-the-signs-26039308.html

The original signs were awful and not very usable tbf

sleepytrees

Unneeded are ya mad? Have you ever driven around Ireland? They just expect you to be a mind reading and magically know where you are going.......!!! I've had to do the "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" most of the time!

ErnieBert

It's money well spent when compared to the out-of-date iodine tablets
in my bathroom cabinet.