Madam, – Christian Morris (June 8th) posed the question: “Can anyone give any credible reason for why our motorways have no service stations?” Motorways are a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland. When European Union funding became available, central government and many local councils decided that a motorway system between major cities was vital to relieve the bottlenecks. These newly constructed motorways would be cleverly designed to bypass villages, thus saving valuable travel time.
However, when the small village merchants realised the consequences of the bypass system they complained that the motorways would divert a great deal of business away from them. So government decided in order to accede to the demands of these merchants (aka: voters) it would deny permission for motorway service areas, thus forcing the travellers to exit the motorway and trek miles to the nearest village for their requirements and in doing so clog the small village streets and delay the motorist’s journey.
It’s a textbook example of an Irish solution to an Irish problem. – Yours, etc,