Claregalway traffic solution?

Gwynston

The N17 thread prompted me to open this up for discussion:

As it doesn't look like Claregalway is going to get a bypass anytime soon, what cheap near-term solution might help partly alleviate the atrocious queues of cars trying to get through the village?

Here are just some of my thoughts for discussion, in no particular order:

- Traffic lights at the T junction
The lights at Carnmore cross seem to have helped to an extent, so might improve things in Claregalway. It would certainly help the traffic coming from Carnmore direction, but I doubt it would much help the N17 through traffic.

- Roundabout at the T junction
Again, this would definitely help traffic getting out from the N18, but not so much for the rest. But this would probably be less hindrance to the N17 than traffic lights. A possible problem is that the junction has limited space and small roundabouts are less effective. Best solution would be for double entry lanes in all directions, if space permitted.

- All turnings off the main road should have a central turning lane. People coming from Loughgeorge way trying to turn into Spar or the road to get to Centra cause a blockage. There should be enough road width to do this.

- There should be a left-turn lane at the T junction for traffic coming from Carnmore. There is enough space for one, and cars do often sneak up the hard shoulder there from a long way back, only to find the pavement juts out at the end and they either get stuck or have to drive up the kerb!

- Pedestrain footbridge to replace the light-controlled crossing at Hughes'
This might help some of the backlog that the lights seem to generate at non-peak times of the day, which ought to be avoidable. Don't think the pedestrians would like it though and it wouldn't help at rush hour(s) anyway.

- Sensible planning practices
Why do large scale developments like the business park and housing estates keep get given the go-ahead when the road infrastructure already can't cope with traffic volumes?

Any thoughts or other ideas?

awhir

great post i fell that getting rid of the lights will help the amount of cars passing but claregalway really needs a bypass.i have been told that it is the 2nd most pressured road in ireland.

toughts ?

ScumLord

There is one quick and easy solution to the problem and that's to put guards there during peak hours directing traffic. That should be done anyway along with adding lanes so cars that do need to turn off can cue up and be ready to do so.

I don't think the current lights are really the problem, it's cars trying to turn off out the airport road.

biko

Even reserve guards, with a little training, should be able to route traffic easy.

galwayrush

A proper new road,4 lanes starting at Loughgeorge. do it properly, plan for a long way into the future.
Saw the plans for a proposed by-pass, 4 roundabouts in phase 1:eek: more like a service road to more developement than a solution.

Gwynston

galwayrush wrote:

A proper new road,4 lanes starting at Loughgeorge. do it properly, plan for a long way into the future.

I'm not sure if you mean widening the current N17 to four lanes? I guess not, as there's not enough room in the village for that. But if you're talking about a 4-lane bypass road, then forget it - it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Hence me starting this discussion. What cheap, near-term change can be made to at least reduce the traffic chaos? I can't help thinking that something could be done to improve the flow better than it is at the moment.

galwayrush

Gwynston wrote:

I'm not sure if you mean widening the current N17 to four lanes? I guess not, as there's not enough room in the village for that. But if you're talking about a 4-lane bypass road, then forget it - it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Hence me starting this discussion. What cheap, near-term change can be made to at least reduce the traffic chaos? I can't help thinking that something could be done to improve the flow better than it is at the moment.

it would have to be a new road, but of course it will never happen.
The simple solution, a relief road runnning behind the hotel / Hughes supermarket side. It is bog land, so cheap tp buy, and then put traffic lights at the junction of the N17 and the road from the Oranmore road through to to the new relief road,

Gwynston

Yeah, that would make some sense, although the bypass plans I saw a few years ago were for it to go round the south of the village. If I remember right, I think it started at Loughgeorge, met the N18 somewhere around where the business park is being built, and rejoined the N17 a mile or two out.

Of course that would mean 3 roundabouts, and inevitably the encapsulated area would then get swallowed up by development, especially with the business park there now... :rolleyes:

Your idea to use the waste ground to the north would be better.

galwayrush

Gwynston wrote:

Yeah, that would make some sense, although the bypass plans I saw a few years ago were for it to go round the south of the village. If I remember right, I think it started at Loughgeorge, met the N18 somewhere around where the business park is being built, and rejoined the N17 a mile or two out.

Of course that would mean 3 roundabouts, and inevitably the encapsulated area would then get swallowed up by development, especially with the business park there now... :rolleyes:

Your idea to use the waste ground to the north would be better.

Actually, the plan i saw for the South side involved 4 roundabouts alone for the piece between the N17 near the Castle and the N18.Perhaps they should do both North and South by-passes, lol. One covers future expansion, and the other gets us through the village with our sanity intact.

Shinto

Get people out of their cars. You can't run a society where everyone uses their own half ton vehicle to get about.

The best solution is to have frequent trains from Galway to Tuam stopping off a few places along the way (inc. Claregalway). They do it in Wales....each valley has train lines (DOUBLE TRACKS) and each station has FREE parking. So all the valley people commute to cardiff by train everyday. Its an excellent system. If Wales can do it, then surely we could build a smaller system for Galway, Tuam, Athenry, Moycullen.

Half the effers in cars nowadays are making un-necessary journeys. The average joe can't possibly conceive of travelling without a car. I see the fools everyday sitting in traffic jams (with 3 empty seats beside them) as i fly by on my bicycle.

Yes a motorway (with bus lane) would be great too. But public transport is the only way to go.

Jaden

Use the rat-runs to get around the traffic queues in Claregalway. There's one for each way/side.

galwayrush

Jaden wrote:

Use the rat-runs to get around the traffic queues in Claregalway. There's one for each way/side.

Garda will nail you if you drive on the Hard Shoulder though.Quite a few caught since the woman was killed while walking in the Hard Shoulder a few weeks ago.

Jaden

Why would you need to drive in the hard shoulder? That's just silly.

galwayrush

Jaden wrote:

Why would you need to drive in the hard shoulder? That's just silly.

of course it's silly, but i see people doing it every day ,overtaking on the inside just to get to the rat runs quicker,

Jaden

There's really no need. IF traffic into CG from the city is really, really bad, just take the4 first turn, if not, get round the bend to the second.

ScumLord

Shinto wrote:

The best solution is to have frequent trains from Galway to Tuam stopping off a few places along the way (inc. Claregalway). They do it in Wales....each valley has train lines (DOUBLE TRACKS) and each station has FREE parking.

Well of course it's free where else are the trains going to park?

Public tranport is the way to go but they do nothing to encourage people to use it. There should be more, cheeper buses.

AdamantApproach

This bus lane business is some joke.

serfboard

AdamantApproach wrote: »

This bus lane business is some joke.

Agreed, specially since the plan is for the village itself. Since the traffic jam can start on a bad day from out at the Mystical Rose, the bus is going to have to sit in the queue along with all the cars until then.

galwayrush

AdamantApproach wrote: »

This bus lane business is some joke.

Should be fun with some ignorant car drivers trying to use it, wait until someone uses it against the flow of traffic.

tred

Only solution is a bypass. Bypass needs to come from the Oranmore side of the village, as there is as much backed up there in the evening time as there is on the main N17. Planned and designed correctly, then it shouldnt be a problem to open up more land for development, as we shall then have a decent infratructure to take more buses and more cars out of the village. Cost shouldnt be an issue, and I totally agree thatt if they do open up the land, a development charge on each new house being built wouldnt take long to build up a good amount of money to pay for it. Problem here of course is greed. The land isnt Zoned for housing where the road is planning to go through so they are looking for big money for land that currently is agricultural. Problem is in galway we have a very poor and inferior planning authority so id be concerned if they got their paws on it.

ScumLord

Car pooling could be encouraged, although seeing as we don't have extra lanes for the pooling cars to use it probably wouldn't work here. Maybe even encouraging people from the satellite towns of Galway to organise there own mini buses.

There's allot of things they could try in fairness but won't ever cause the lazy ****ers don't give a ****.

galwayrush

A new road, preferably dual carriageway from Loughgeorge built somewhere betwen the Tuam road and Monivea road linking with the proposed Galway outer bypass would be perfect as it would also cater for some proper planning along the route. Of course that will never happen.

AdamantApproach

Tred

That is one of the most spectacularly ill informed posts I have ever had the misfortune to stumble across on here.

tred

We need a bypass. why arent we getting a bypass?? logical. speak to the locals. youll get the answer. Planning for a hotel in the middle of the village. Great idea. wonderfull place. Drive from Tuam to galway Sunday at around lunch time, your backed up to rosscommon road. why? cars turning in for their dinner. cant get across the road, due to cars coming from galway. backing it up. Buslane. Cant work logically? where is the room for it?. Wasting money on that, when it could go towards the cost of bypass. Bypass is only solution. Loughrea got one very quickly Why? land is cheap. easier to buy.

finlma

Are the proposed plans for the bypass available online? I wouldn't mind getting my hands on them. The bypass is the only solution - anything less isn't acceptable.

Dellboy2007

I heard (off a taxi driver no less!! :rolleyes:) they were building the "new" N17 bypass to go out near Athenry. Surely this is ludicrous? What ever about Claregalway, Tuam is just as bad now. Although aren't they getting a new bypass or was thishttp://www.galway.ie/en/Services/RoadsTransportation/roadprojects/tuam_bypass/overall_scheme.pdf
ever confirmed

Dellboy2007

Dellboy2007 wrote: »

I heard (off a taxi driver no less!! :rolleyes:) they were building the "new" N17 bypass to go out near Athenry. Surely this is ludicrous? What ever about Claregalway, Tuam is just as bad now. Although aren't they getting a new bypass or was thishttp://www.galway.ie/en/Services/RoadsTransportation/roadprojects/tuam_bypass/overall_scheme.pdf
ever confirmed

You're right. About 10 years ago Galway coco / NRA published a document for public discussion with plans for replacing the N17. They identified 4 routes, two on either side of Claregalway, with a dual carriageway all the way to Tuam. They held public consultations on these.
I think they even got as far as having a preferred option on the Carnmore side of the village, linking into the N18 and the Roscommon road. As far as I can remember these would have been linked with ramps and flyovers, not a roundabout to be seen. This would have been the perfect option taking all traffic away from the village and ending at the outer city bypass.

Then nothing more was heard about this.

A while later the new M17
was announced going from the Rathmorrissy interchange to Tuam. Nowhere near Claregalway.

They even have to describe it as the M17 Galway (Rathmorrissy) to Tuam as it starts no where near Galway.

I have searched for that original document but I can't find it.

The only reasons I can think of this being preferable to a direct replacement of the N17 is that it avoids buying land in Galway / Castlegar / Claregalway which would be very expensive and that on a map of Ireland a single motorway up the west coast would look impressive. (an Atlantic corridor according the NDP)

The only suggestions now are for a small bypass with roundabouts, no firm plans

End rant.

galwayrush

Sadly, all true, the original Galway co.co prefered routes would all have worked well, but the NRA decided that Tuam to Athenry was the only route that was going to happen, without any explanation.:( It's a total farce, and will be so insignificant in reducing traffic volumes on the existing N17.:mad:

serfboard

galwayrush wrote: »

Sadly, all true, the original Galway co.co prefered routes would all have worked well, but the NRA decided that Tuam to Athenry was the only route that was going to happen, without any explanation.:( It's a total farce, and will be so insignificant in reducing traffic volumes on the existing N17.:mad:

I take your point about there possibly being better routes - but since it's now been decided on, do you really believe it will make no difference? As I'm always saying to people Claregalway handles traffic from Derry to Cork and all points in between. I mean, those who don't want to go near Galway will definitely use this route.

As for those who do want to go into Galway - do you not think that doing 120 km/h along this route and the M6 and the outer bypass will be better than doing 1.2 km/h crawling through Claregalway? (OK, I know the outer bypass part is probably a 2015 completion).

OK I have re-considered a bit. I looked at the map on galway.ie and the M17 will pick up a lot of the traffic from south Mayo, north and north-east Galway.

The N6 will bring them in almost to the same place, probably closer to where a lot of people work. (even passing through a bit of Claregalway, near the airport)

This will still leave a lot of people coming through the village.

There is a bypass marked on the development plan but this is indicative only.
Hopefully a by pass will be built despite the presence of a replacement road, like in Loughrea.

It doesn't have to be as fancy as the one originally proposed, something simple with a roundabout at either end, and one for the N18 junction. Maybe some re-aligning of the Roscommon and Corrandulla roads to tidy it up / link into the roundabout.

One interesting thing i note from the map of the city outer-bypass is that it doesn't have a link to the N17 at Twomileditch, only onto the Headford road at Ballindooley, this would probably force people who wanted to cross town coming from Tuam side to use the new road.