Urban toll for les Arcs

This season anyone wanting to visit les Arcs 1800 will, baring legal challenges, have to pass through a turnpike. Drivers staying for longer than 3 hours will have to pay a fee to leave. The resort has built a car-park for 70 cars at the entrance to the resort but this is aimed largely at season workers.

The “welcoming door” as the new Mayor calls it, has cost 900 000€. Despite being part of the new Mayor, Damien Perry’s election manifesto it has angered local residents who claim it is against their right of free movement. Although toll motorways are the norm in France public opinion is against taxing urban roads.

Owners will be able to buy a season pass for 100€ however those that only spend a couple of weeks a year in their property say they will be penalized. The Mayor thinks it is all a storm in a teacup and points out they could have put in place parking meters or even not bothered clearing the snow in certain areas to force drivers into car parks. He sees it as normal that tourists contribute towards the maintenance of the roads, a charge that has previously fallen on ratepayers. He also suggests that people, especially residents of Bourg St Maurice, use the monorail to Arc 1600. Locals have replied that the car park at Bourg will also be payable from this season. The 2500 members of the residents association are hoping to get the worked stopped by the Administrative Court in Grenoble. Far from the turnpike being a welcoming door they see it as yet another psychological barrier for financially pressed skiers to come to the resort.

Mayor Perry sees this as just a first step, with toll booths being installed at Arc 1600 and Arc 2000 and that will mean ski tourers may have to pay a fee for the traditional end of season route of Mont Pourri accessible from Arc 2000.

Posted by davidof on Friday, 14 November, 2008 at 02:37 PM

I’m trying to find out more info about this, but the local Tourist Office don’t seem to know much. I have my own parking space at Arc 1800 and I’m trying to work out whether this affects me.

Posted by on Friday, 14 November, 2008 at 05:45 PM

Blimey that’s a shame that they’re going to start charging at the funicular in BSM. Surely that will just add to the amount of ‘fly-parking’ on surrounding roads.

Isn’t Sunday free parking in the town anyway - so what’s to stop you parking in the town and walking to the funicular.

I guess the 70 spaces outside the resort for seasonaires explains the work I saw on the access road a couple of weeks ago, but 70 in itself doesn’t exactly sound a lot.

Is the same planned for Peisey-Vallandry? Or might people leave cars there for a week…

Posted by on Friday, 14 November, 2008 at 06:49 PM

I think its a cunning plan to force people to park in Peisey and boost numbers using the Vanoise Express ... !

It will be bad news if the Funiculaire car park in Bourg Saint Maurice is chargeable. It was busy last season, though some of this can be attributed to the Vanoise Express catastrophe. I wonder how the car park fee is to be paid? If its a toll booth at the entrance it will be chaos! .. equally Parking Ticket Dispensers will find it difficult to cope with 08:20 volume ... and copious amounts of chewing gum in the slots!

Posted by on Sunday, 16 November, 2008 at 10:30 AM

Given that holiday makers already pay a “tax de sejour” I wonder if yet another tax is justified. I can see they may want to discourage motorists as there is a good train+funicular service. It is true that the on street parking can become a bit of nightmare but it does seem very hard for people who already have their own parking space in resort and who already pay local taxes.

Posted by davidof on Monday, 17 November, 2008 at 01:21 PM

Just heard back from the Tourist Office which said that if I have a “paper or a badge” which proves I have a parking space I will not be required to pay a fee to enter the resort. Not quite sure what that badge or paper might be, so I’ve asked if a copy of my Tax d’Habitation which shows I have a parking space will be OK.

Posted by on Monday, 17 November, 2008 at 02:43 PM