N2-N3 link road

The Maverick

I used it yesterday, there were a few others on it but I found the road markings on some roundabouts very strange.

On the approach to a roundabout, the road splits into 3 lanes. I assume this is meant to be left lane for turning left, middle for going straight and right for turning right but the left and middle lanes are very narrow. The middle lane especially seems to be completely pointless as you can only fit one car in it.

Some of the bigger roundabouts have 3 lanes going around them but the inner most one is laid out very strange. Half of its length was just a normal driving lane but the other half had hatch markings on it so you couldn't drive around the full length in one lane. Now it's possible that this layout does make sense because I didn't get a lot of time to look at it fully so I'll have to drive it again.

Aard

Will this road be redesignated as the R121? Seems like it would make sense given its interchange with the M2.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

ThisRegard

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The lanes are pretty well defined and marked out, the problem is not with the roundabouts but with the people driving around them. I had similar happen myself yesterday, the driver alongside believed there was no requirement to stay within the freshly painted lanes but it was of vital importance for them to get from one side of the roundabout to the other as quick as possible by taking the most direct line, straight, and who cares if anyone is beside them. They done the same thing at the next one too.

The Maverick

ThisRegard wrote: »

The lanes are pretty well defined and marked out, the problem is not with the roundabouts but with the people driving around them. I had similar happen myself yesterday, the driver alongside believed there was no requirement to stay within the freshly painted lanes but it was of vital importance for them to get from one side of the roundabout to the other as quick as possible by taking the most direct line, straight, and who cares if anyone is beside them. They done the same thing at the next one too.

I think they've gone for complete overkill on the lanes painted on the actual roundabout. There's a lot of lanes crossing over each other which looks very confusing. As was said above, if they had of labelled the approach lanes with arrows it might be easier. At the moment it looks like I'm meant to use the middle lane if going straight ahead through a roundabout, yet this leads me into the inside lane on the far side which goes against everything I've been thought.

mackerski

Aard wrote: »

Will this road be redesignated as the R121? Seems like it would make sense given its interchange with the M2.

That would seem to make absolute sense, but the signs so far don't indicate that this has happened. Before the opening, I saw a painted out sign pointing towards the M2 from the Ratoath Road junction with the Tyrellstown Link. I could see R121 named under the paint. The sign now displayed at that location does not number the new road. More interestingly, despite most signs referring to the section from that same roundabout towards Ratoath as the L3180, there is one single sign on the roundabout itself calling it the R121 (with no brackets).

So more sloppy signage, I fear, and the more major road number is still signposted along a much poorer road.

The finished scheme is now mapped on OpenStreetMap.

RichardoKhan

This scheme needs more roundabouts.............

Aard

I imagine it's to service potential development lands in the area. Better have them in now rather than retrofitting them later.

Quickelles

mackerski wrote: »

So more sloppy signage, I fear, and the more major road number is still signposted along a much poorer road.

They "de-trunked" the N11 (past Mount Merrion Avenue), N3 and N4 (past the M50) a year and a half ago, yet the old signs remain and RTE keep referring to sections of regional road as the N3, N4 and N11.

mackerski

Quickelles wrote: »

They "de-trunked" the N11 (past Mount Merrion Avenue), N3 and N4 (past the M50) a year and a half ago, yet the old signs remain and RTE keep referring to sections of regional road as the N3, N4 and N11.

This particular sign is brand new. The section of road it points down has never been the R121 nor would it be with any sane routing involving the new scheme. So it's not even a sin of omission

spacetweek

mackerski wrote: »

So more sloppy signage, I fear, and the more major road number is still signposted along a much poorer road.

This is likely due to a slow order to renumber from the council.
The construction company can only put up signs that they're legally allowed to. If the council fail to get the finger out, they're forced to sign the road with the old numbers. Then they have to be changed later.
It's unlikely to be due to a failure to notice that this would make a better R121.

mackerski

spacetweek wrote: »

This is likely due to a slow order to renumber from the council.
The construction company can only put up signs that they're legally allowed to. If the council fail to get the finger out, they're forced to sign the road with the old numbers. Then they have to be changed later.
It's unlikely to be due to a failure to notice that this would make a better R121.

Once again - the sign I'm referring to points down a road that has never been the R121 nor ever will be.

bigar

Looking at this on a map it resembles as it is assembled with fixed length roads that have to be connected with a roundabout, a bit like a Meccano construction. A lot of Irish drivers typically do not have a clue what to do at roundabouts so for them it must be a hellish experience.

Quickelles

bigar wrote: »

A lot of Irish drivers typically do not have a clue what to do at roundabouts so for them it must be a hellish experience.

Even more hellish for those of us who have to avoid the clowns!

spacetweek

bigar wrote: »

Looking at this on a map it resembles as it is assembled with fixed length roads that have to be connected with a roundabout, a bit like a Meccano construction.

Didn't follow that?

Quickelles

I think it means the bits between the roundabouts are all the same length.

Carawaystick

This is unbelievably badly marked, lanes on roundabouts appearing and disappearing, crossing and slip lanes which are leading to nowhere,
Roundabouts with only 2 roads leading from them

The airport is signed to take the n2/m50/m1, with no thought given to non-motorway traffic, or even advance notice that the route will be motorway

Irish and Proud

Carawaystick wrote: »

This is unbelievably badly marked, lanes on roundabouts appearing and disappearing, crossing and slip lanes which are leading to nowhere,
Roundabouts with only 2 roads leading from them

The airport is signed to take the n2/m50/m1, with no thought given to non-motorway traffic, or even advance notice that the route will be motorway

I would certainly agree with you regarding the marking of the roundabouts, not to mention how narrow some of the circulatory lanes are...

Quickelles

And it's not as if they didn't take their time to get it right........

Anyway - I'm sure bad design at the roundabouts can easily be fixed with a few cheap 30kph signs!

spacetweek

Carawaystick wrote: »

This is unbelievably badly marked, lanes on roundabouts appearing and disappearing, crossing and slip lanes which are leading to nowhere,
Roundabouts with only 2 roads leading from them

None of that sounds like a big deal, the missing roads will be filled in later. People like you would be moaning if they didn't provide the ghost slips and had to rebuild the roundabouts.

RobertFoster

It is a bit strange though. What's the need for three narrow lanes on the roundabouts when they're only fed from two?

I hope any cyclist who fancies using the cycle track knows how to bunny hop; there doesn't appear to be any dished kerb at the Cherryhound end heading towards Tyrrelstown. I didn't notice how it ends heading in the opposite direction at the M2 junction.

The Maverick

spacetweek wrote: »

None of that sounds like a big deal, the missing roads will be filled in later. People like you would be moaning if they didn't provide the ghost slips and had to rebuild the roundabouts.

The roundabouts being laid out to cater for future development is a good idea imo but the road markings on them are terrible. 3 narrow lanes when 2 would do, markings all over the place. It just seems like it was completely over thought.

wardie101

If heading out the M2 can you take a left at the Ward/cherryhound junction and go towards tyrrelstown ? I assume you can but the openstreetmap just has a road coming onto the M2 from there

jack presley

wardie101 wrote: »

If heading out the M2 can you take a left at the Ward/cherryhound junction and go towards tyrrelstown ? I assume you can but the openstreetmap just has a road coming onto the M2 from there

Yeah you can do that

mackerski

wardie101 wrote: »

If heading out the M2 can you take a left at the Ward/cherryhound junction and go towards tyrrelstown ? I assume you can but the openstreetmap just has a road coming onto the M2 from there

Are you sure you zoomed in enough? All the movements are present on OSM (put them there myself...).

wardie101

mackerski wrote: »

Are you sure you zoomed in enough? All the movements are present on OSM (put them there myself...).

They are indeed, I glanced and just saw the blue road without zooming in...Cheers

spacetweek

Note that OSM takes some time to render details at all zoom levels. Sometimes a newly added feature is only visible at the zoom level the programmer was at. Only later will it be visible on other zooms. Presumably they batch the creation of other zoom levels.

mackerski

spacetweek wrote: »

Note that OSM takes some time to render details at all zoom levels. Sometimes a newly added feature is only visible at the zoom level the programmer was at. Only later will it be visible on other zooms. Presumably they batch the creation of other zoom levels.

It's not related to any aspect of the mapper's own configuration. Zoom levels can differ for two reasons:

1. Browser cache - if your browser has an old copy of that map "tile" (which is specific to one zoom level) it may not request it again without being forced
2. Rendering logic - when your brower actually does request a tile, the OSM server will decide whether to serve whatever it has already rendered or whether there are new data that would require a re-render. In exceptional cases, such as a busy rendering server, it might take longer than the usual 2 minutes or so for that re-rendering to actually take place.

RoverZT

Any construction work being done on the green sites?

Pallas Foods are suppose to be building a new distribution center there with a 100 jobs up for grabs.

Suppose to be building it now with completion in 2014

http://www.kierandennison.com/2013/05/new-link-road-brings-multi-million-euro.html

Anyone seen or heard anything?

spacetweek

Google Imagery has been updated in this area. Great detail of the new road. Surprisingly, they put left-turn slips on many of the big roundabouts. Many of these lead nowhere for now.