GLUAS for Galway

Mrs OBumble

pointofnoreturn wrote: »

Just want to say a note about the discussion here;

the reason their is so much negative feedback is people are not thinking solutions! you just talking about the problems we face,

We can do with thinking solutions! and not getting bothered about the problems, their is an answer for everything

What absolute rubbish: the world is littered with "solutions" that people spent money on, but which failed because people didn't understand the problem that their "solution" was supposed to solve.

The glass needs to be made neither half-empty nor half-full, but just the right size. To do that, we need to understand what that size needs to be!

Mars Bar

Victor wrote: »

That sounds like something from Fairyland. It is for the proponent of something to back it up. Give me the solutions that you have.



Bus or bike?

Bus? Still stuck in that horrible traffic in Claregalway, that's what we are trying to avoid.

Bike? From Tuam? Jaysus, I'd die! And I'm awful on bikes, I'd be given non-existant penalty points for dangerous cycling to myself!

Victor

But they are building a motorway to Tuam.

pointofnoreturn

JustMary wrote: »

What absolute rubbish: the world is littered with "solutions" that people spent money on, but which failed because people didn't understand the problem that their "solution" was supposed to solve.

The glass needs to be made neither half-empty nor half-full, but just the right size. To do that, we need to understand what that size needs to be!

Ok, maybe a bit far fetched, it's needed, i don't live in Galway anymore, but when i did and when i had a car i HATED having to drive, just silly having a car just to get to A to B when in most cases you could cycle and get their faster! had no bus options either.

Have a look at this [from wikipedia]
this is the map of rail roads in ireland in 1906,
Larger Image

very easily CIE could run a train from Tuam to Athenry, and from Loughrea to Attymon, then change to Galway, Oranmore, etc..

in the Centre their is still some of the resemblances of the clifden line the goes thru NUIG, which could like Students in NUIG, Hospital in Newcastle, the all the way out to knocknaacarra, barna,

Victor But they are building a motorway to Tuam.

We want to eliminate the use of the car as much as possible, it's not the US, we are not a country that is big enough to have motorways everywhere!

If you look at the history of London underground, it's existence actually motivated development, people would start to build near to various stations as they new they could live km's from the centre and live outside the city with out the need of a car.
Ok it's London but this is like 80 to a 100's ago, but in general, this could be planned right and in turn really benefit the city and county

galwayrush

Victor wrote: »

But they are building a motorway to Tuam.

That Motorway is going to Athenty, not Galway.:mad:

pointofnoreturn

pointofnoreturn wrote: »

If you look at the history of London underground, it's existence actually motivated development, people would start to build near to various stations as they new they could live km's from the centre and live outside the city with out the need of a car.
Ok it's London but this is like 80 to a 100's ago, but in general, this could be planned right and in turn really benefit the city and county

London 80 to 100 years ago was bigger than London today, and only rich people had cars. A lot of peoples commutes involved making it from the attic to the basement without your employer seeing you.

Also the rail line towards Connemara doesn't go anywhere useful. It turns north and goes through the bogs to Clifden rather than following the coast going by Salthill, Bearna, An Spidéal etc. It would also involve building a big bridge and making the tunnel under Prospect Hill useable again.

pointofnoreturn

Deleted User wrote: »

Also the rail line towards Connemara doesn't go anywhere useful. It turns north and goes through the bogs to Clifden rather than following the coast going by Salthill, Bearna, An Spidéal etc. It would also involve building a big bridge and making the tunnel under Prospect Hill useable again.

We are looking towards more inside the city and city subards, build a bridge to support light rail wouldn't cost that much seeing that foundations are their.
Also the station is moving out towards Renmore [don't know why!] so the old existing station can also serve as the hub for various trams and light rail,

all in all it means knocking buildings in the centre etc.. but like allot of a builds in galway could be knocked for estectic reasons,

Of course we have lots of challenges and problems to over come, but it could really build Galway as a strong sustainable European class city, and in this economic downturn we need to think sustainability in any aspect. Their is allot of motivation and if it makes enough noise the media will hit it, as long as their is good research and really examples in europe, [which their is, allot of!] it could make a big enought impact to make vivaible sence to happen in a 10 year window.

Mars Bar

Victor wrote: »

But they are building a motorway to Tuam.

It's a BYPASS they are building so the traffic can avoid Tuam, which does be blocked up from Cloonmore bridge right into the traffic lights in the town. Not a motorway to Tuam...that'd be disastrous!!

pointofnoreturn

pointofnoreturn wrote: »

We are looking towards more inside the city and city subards, build a bridge to support light rail wouldn't cost that much seeing that foundations are their.
Also the station is moving out towards Renmore [don't know why!] so the old existing station can also serve as the hub for various trams and light rail,

all in all it means knocking buildings in the centre etc.. but like allot of a builds in galway could be knocked for estectic reasons,

Of course we have lots of challenges and problems to over come, but it could really build Galway as a strong sustainable European class city, and in this economic downturn we need to think sustainability in any aspect. Their is allot of motivation and if it makes enough noise the media will hit it, as long as their is good research and really examples in europe, [which their is, allot of!] it could make a big enought impact to make vivaible sence to happen in a 10 year window.

It is just the beer barrels and train sheds that are moving to Renmore, CIE have big plans for the area vacated, including building over the entrance to the tunnel at the station (if you go to the end of the platform you can see it on the other side of the turntable, there is a lot of interesting industrial architecture around there)
cie.ie
36 page .pdf
Galway is a European city, just a significantly wetter one. I personally believe that building up a proper bus system is the place to start. It is simple, scaleable and uses existing infrastructure. I don't think most people realise how cheap a monthly ticket can be. There is a lot that can be done to expand and improve the service.
Talk about knocking buildings shows how unrealistic this is and any bridge which is going to carry more than pedestrians will cost a lot of money.

GerardKeating

Deleted User wrote: »

Also the rail line towards Connemara doesn't go anywhere useful. It turns north and goes through the bogs to Clifden rather than following the coast going by Salthill, Bearna, An Spidéal etc. It would also involve building a big bridge and making the tunnel under Prospect Hill useable again.

There was an article a month or so ago in the Advertiser that two routes very origionall considered for this line, the eventual route, and a coastal alternative. via Bearna, An Spidéal, Indreabhán, Baile na hAbhann, Castla and then towards Maam Cross Cliften.

This would have made a more viable line.

GerardKeating

GerardKeating wrote: »

There was an article a month or so ago in the Advertiser that two routes very origionall considered for this line, the eventual route, and a coastal alternative. via Bearna, An Spidéal, Indreabhán, Baile na hAbhann, Castla and then towards Maam Cross Cliften.

This would have made a more viable line.

Yes, much more viable. I think the overland route was picked over the coastal one as a form of public works / poor relief.

pointofnoreturn

Anyone see this?
Looks like some of the member of the GLUAS project are from NUIG, sounds good
http://www.nuigalway.ie/civileng/news/gluas.html

Deleted User ...CIE have big plans for the area vacated, including building over the entrance to the tunnel at the station (if you go to the end of the platform you can see it on the other side of the turntable, there is a lot of interesting industrial architecture around there)
cie.ie
36 page .pdf
Galway is a European city, just a significantly wetter one. I personally believe that building up a proper bus system is the place to start. It is simple, scaleable and uses existing infrastructure. I don't think most people realise how cheap a monthly ticket can be. There is a lot that can be done to expand and improve the service.
Talk about knocking buildings shows how unrealistic this is and any bridge which is going to carry more than pedestrians will cost a lot of money.

I wonder has their been any collaboration between CIE's Transport 21 to join forces in this?

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

I personally believe that building up a proper bus system is the place to start. It is simple, scaleable and uses existing infrastructure. I don't think most people realise how cheap a monthly ticket can be.

+1

... monthly tickets are 50-e ... travel to/from work each day for this, and effectively ride for free on the weekend. Excellent value.

This also removes the need to build park-and-ride stations, ie big car parks, which don't really benefit the environment, because all the people still have cars, they just drive them for slightly less distance.

IMHO, to make it work does need some more infrastructure: 1) more bus-lanes, and 2) two-way radios in all buses, so that when there's a problem the dispatcher can readily direct drivers around it.

Pretty essential would be better ticketing systems: at very least an all-day ticket and transfer tickets (buy one, and you can get on any bus in the next N minutes) - so that people can string journeys together to get places where no single bus-route runs.

Nice to have also would be GPS and locators in all buses, and time-'til-next-bus locators at all bus-stops. I believe (but can only quite anecdotes, not evidence) that this makes a big different in terms of making the system attractive- the randomness is what people hate most.