Westlink and Satnavs worst thing for Lucan and Clonee residents

Run_to_da_hills

The Westlink and the invention of satnavs must be the worst invention for Clonee and Lucan. I was traveling to Dublin on the Navin road with my Satnav, not having a clue of the area. I decided that I did not want to pay the rip off charge of e3.40 for my empty van crossing the southbound Westlink toll. I had pressed the toll road avoidance option on my sat nav, hey presto, I turned off the N3 and straight into Clonee and on through series of back winding roads on to Lucan, I couldn’t get over the amount of traffic, from cars, vans and trucks. I’m sure these all had sat navs.

These local residents must be Pis**ed off with this. They can only blame the rip Westlink toll charges and modern technology of Satnavs that is guiding traffic this way.

Steve

Don't think it was toll avoidance - Lucan / Strawberry beds has always been a rat run.

TBH, you probably didn't lose out much if it was rush hour.

In the states, they're not allowed toll a road unless there is an alternative parallel route. The reason for the tolled road is you get the benefit of no delays / no traffic lights - i.e. some value for the toll.

The M50 is still the cheapest car park in Dublin:pac:

Run_to_da_hills

stevec wrote: »

Don't think it was toll avoidance - Lucan / Strawberry beds has always been a rat run.

I didn't know about it until I got a satnav

Cionád

Yeah those roads have been busy for years, long before the SatNav era.

ninty9er

Slightly OT but I had brutal satellite reception out in Liffey Valley and Ballyfermot this week, even with clear skies. Surprised I made it back to my hotel at all!!

Steve

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I didn't know about it until I got a satnav

Dublin traffic is a like a highly tuned engine - everyone finds their own little rat run and eventually gets to know how long it'll take them to get to & from work. It also takes very little to throw a spanner in the works and grind everything to a halt.

Prime example is the run up to christmas time when all the templemore noobs come and stand at junctions and banjax the whole lot.

You could be on to something with the satnav though - did you notice any lost Americans in hire cars in the queues?:D

Run_to_da_hills

You also get every foreign national that wishes to dodge the toll finding their way through the strawberry beds rat run when the press the avoidance button on their Garmin even if they are only in the country a few days.

colm_mcm

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

You also get every foreign national that wishes to dodge the toll finding their way through the strawberry beds rat run when the press the avoidance button on their Garmin even if they are only in the country a few days.

Well if this is the route that their Garmin sends them on....

How is this relevant?

Run_to_da_hills

colm_mcm wrote: »

Well if this is the route that their Garmin sends them on....

How is this relevant?

I was replying to a previous post. i.e. and its not just foreign nationals, its any tourist or business person travelling down from the north with a sat nav.

Cionád wrote: »

Yeah those roads have been busy for years, long before the SatNav era.

Esel

'Foreign nationals' can read maps too. Probably better than 'nationals' can.

Run_to_da_hills

esel wrote: »

'Foreign nationals' can read maps too. Probably better than 'nationals' can.

I would give it a few years and it will be difficult to find a map at a service station. Road maps are stupid, old fashioned and cumbersome, you have to pull in and stop every time you want to check if you are going in the right direction unless you are stupid enough to be reading it while you are driving, they are worse in cities,

Did you ever try using Londons A to Z, it would drive you nuts flicking over page after page. The days of tourist fumbling through a map with the window half down asking for directions is numbered. “Ver is’t Doolin” is something you will hear less and less of. (Even backpackers and will have their satnavs built into their mobile phones).

hi5

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I would give it a few years and it will be difficult to find a map at a service station. Road maps are stupid, old fashioned and cumbersome, you have to pull in and stop every time you want to check if you are going in the right direction unless you are stupid enough to be reading it while you are driving, they are worse in cities,

Did you ever try using Londons A to Z, it would drive you nuts flicking over page after page. The days of tourist fumbling through a map with the window half down asking for directions is numbered. “Ver is’t Doolin” is something you will hear less and less of. (Even backpackers and will have their satnavs built into their mobile phones).

I used the A-Z when I lived in London before sat nats were invented and they didnt drive me nuts at all,in fact I was very grateful for it,someday sat navs will be obsolete too and the misguided butt of some joke.

Hagar

Arghhh... I absolutely abhor the term rat run. It's a derogatory term used by the media and the government to demonize the long suffering motorist yet again.

It's as if there was something fundamentally anti-social, criminal, underhanded or just plain wrong with using a different public road to get from A to B.

Can someone tell me exactly what is wrong with taking an alternate route to avoid traffic?
If we didn't do it many roads would be totally empty and others would just grind to a permanent halt.

God be with the days when the concept of avoiding a busy road was simply called taking a short cut and carried no social stigma.

Run_to_da_hills

hi5 wrote: »

I used the A-Z when I lived in London before sat nats were invented and they didnt drive me nuts at all,in fact I was very grateful for it,someday sat navs will be obsolete too and the misguided butt of some joke.

Thats because you had no choice and thats all you had, In those days you also had to Q out side a phone box for half an hour if you wanted to make call home to mammy.

Victor

Hagar wrote: »

Arghhh... I absolutely abhor the term rat run. It's a derogatory term used by the media and the government to demonize the long suffering motorist yet again.

Streets used to be where children played, not where people stored transport equipment or drove said equipment at speed.

Hagar

If they weren't kicked in the head by a run-away dray horse...:D

Streets were always for travel and transport, the modes of transport have just changed over time.

Victor

So, rat runs can be restricted to animal and human power, no MPVs. Happy?

Hagar

Shakes heads and walks away.

Run_to_da_hills

Victor wrote: »

Streets used to be where children played, not where people stored transport equipment or drove said equipment at speed.

Its bad enough having joggers on our streets without having kids playing on them, that is what public parks are for. PS2's and Nintendo WII's are also designed to keep kids off our streets.

Del2005

Hagar wrote: »

Arghhh... I absolutely abhor the term rat run. It's a derogatory term used by the media and the government to demonize the long suffering motorist yet again.

It's as if there was something fundamentally anti-social, criminal, underhanded or just plain wrong with using a different public road to get from A to B.

Can someone tell me exactly what is wrong with taking an alternate route to avoid traffic?
If we didn't do it many roads would be totally empty and others would just grind to a permanent halt.

God be with the days when the concept of avoiding a busy road was simply called taking a short cut and carried no social stigma.

+1. And then you have the residents out blocking said roads and nothing gets done about people obstructing a public thoroughfare. But if you park your car on the road they'll ticket/clamp/tow you for obstruction.

Victor wrote: »

Streets used to be where children played, not where people stored transport equipment or drove said equipment at speed.

Streets where always for traffic, not children. Parks and green areas are where chidlren should play, why intentionally let them play in a place where they can be injured or worst

Victor

Del2005 wrote: »

why intentionally let them play in a place where they can be injured or worst

Why let dangerous transport equipment is a place where children could be?

Del2005

Victor wrote: »

Why let dangerous transport equipment is a place where children could be?

Because that is the place that was designed for them to be. Parks and green areas are for play, and roads are for transport. If the roads where for childrent to play they'd be made from that soft rubber stuff not asphalt or concrete.

What would you say if people decided they could drive where ever they wanted? I could come over and drive through you house if I wanted by your thinking.

astraboy

Victor wrote: »

Why let dangerous transport equipment is a place where children could be?

TROLL! Its a street, a road, and guess what, it was designed for cars! Cars that drive at 'speed' whatever your classification of that is, probably anything faster then you cycle.:rolleyes:

There should be more open spaces for kids though, but playing on the street is not one of them in busy areas. Times change, get over it.

culabula88

Strawberry beds was useful except it wrecks my head now that they have put speed bumps all over the road. Same thing in parts of the phoneix park

Steve

Hagar wrote: »

Arghhh... I absolutely abhor the term rat run. It's a derogatory term used by the media and the government to demonize the long suffering motorist yet again.

It's as if there was something fundamentally anti-social, criminal, underhanded or just plain wrong with using a different public road to get from A to B.

I can only imagine 'rat run' was coined because of the fact that you (a motorist) gets a reward for finding your way through a maze. The reward being you get to work on time.

Good point about the residents blocking off 'shortcuts' - we pay for the roads, why shouldn't we be entitled to use them.

I am in favour of the American model for road planning, most cities are laid out in a grid - if one route south is blocked then you take the next one.

It's like an hourglass with many smaller holes for the sand to fall thruogh rather than one bottleneck that every grain must pass through - i.e. the Irish way.