Balally Luas Station/VHI Clinic - Traffic lights turned off

VERYinterested

Does anyone know if the traffic lights turned off at the junction with Wyckham Way/Overend Avenue is a permanent measure? There are orange covers on the traffic lights and have been that way for a while. The whole place seems a mess. There is supposed to be a 'set down' area for people to drop punters off for the Luas, but they seem to be used as long term parking for the Luas and nobody seems to get a ticket. As a result, cars dropping off Luas punters block the pedestrian crossing because there is nowhere else to pull in. Some times you get lorries delivering beer to the Rockfield Lounge and they park bang across the crossing, and it can be quite dangerous crossing the road at this point as you have to go out on the busy main road. I saw kids being displaced like this last week and it opened my eyes to the problem, I didn't take much heed of it before.

At the reverse side of the junction, as a result of the lights being turned off, cars have to bully their way back out on to Wyckham Way and when queuing, they regularly leave insufficient space for pedestrians or people with buggys or bikes to cross safely at the designated crossing area. Add to that, if you think about it, if a motorist is looking for a gap in the traffic, their natural instinct is to look to their right, but pedestrians emerge from their left concealed by overgrown shrubbery, someone will end up on a bonnet one of these busy mornings.

If the lights are turned off permanently, surely a permanent crossing situation should be installed or at the very least, have a zebra crossing installed with a slight ramp, so people know it's a crossing. I have some lovely pics to demonstrate what I'm talking about, but not sure how to upload them here.

I use this crossing as a cyclist, but am also a motorist and pedestrian so I can see all sides of the argument and I'm not pointing the finger at motorists, the junction is a potential hazard if the traffic lights are left permanently turned off.

spank_inferno

I used to live beside there a little over 3 years ago and the junction lights werent functioning correctly even then.

They would work from time to time but nearly always break down soon after,
It seems for the past years now they have been on "hiatus".
And I do agree the junction is a mess because of it.

We can only specualate as to why they havent been fixed, but after living in the area I've learned the incompetence of the local authorities there knows no bounds.

markpb

Try contacting the local authority at transportation@dlrcoco.ie and see what they say.

Victor

Also mention it to the garda in Dundrum, the pub manager and Luas. Its an offence to park with 15m of the approach side of a pedestrain crossing or 5m on the far side.

Is there a concierge or manager in the buildings over the Luas stop?

ardmacha

However if the traffic lights are covered, is this officially any longer a pedestrian crossing?

VERYinterested

Victor wrote: »

Also mention it to the garda in Dundrum, the pub manager and Luas. Its an offence to park with 15m of the approach side of a pedestrain crossing or 5m on the far side.

Is there a concierge or manager in the buildings over the Luas stop?

If you park anywhere beyond the Set Down and Bus Stop areas there are signs up saying that you will be clamped and the Security Guard in the VHI Clinic is very swift to report any offenders. I have reported it to the Gardai in Dundrum, they said they'd send up a car, but the same offences are still being committed each day. Not sure I'd like to go in to the Pub, no doubt he'll say it's not his fault.

I'll try the Luas people but the pull in is on public property, it's really DLR Co Co and the Gardai's problem. I know there is a Security Guard based in the complex, I'll knock in there tomorrow. If one of Dundrum Village's Car Parking enforcement officers was to visit a couple of times a day, the long term parking would stop. But they need to make some sort of provision for crossing as there is none. I also mailed a couple of the local papers and Eamon Ryan as a local TD. This is the sort of thing Seamus Brennan (RIP) would have revelled in, maybe I'll try George Lee.

VERYinterested

ardmacha wrote: »

However if the traffic lights are covered, is this officially any longer a pedestrian crossing?

One set has orange covers at one side of the crossing and the lights are just turned off at the other. You're right a malaise is being created by the fact the lights are out of commission, is it technically a crossing anymore? I don't know but they should put in a black and white crossing now if the lights are to be left off permanently.

It's a very busy area at peak times with lots of heavy traffic and pedestrians and many kids, it is one of those situations that has been allowed to develop, hopefully now a good few people in the Council, Gardai and RSA have been informed it will be looked at with a permanent solution put in place. I won't hold my breath, as Spank Inferno says, it's been like this a few years.

ardmacha

If this is where I think it is, then there are traffic lights on either side of it. So there is no need for a zebra crossing as people can cross at either of these lights, depending on which direction they are going.

VERYinterested

There are traffic lights, but they are turned off

Tarabuses

VERYinterested wrote: »

If you park anywhere beyond the Set Down and Bus Stop areas there are signs up saying that you will be clamped and the Security Guard in the VHI Clinic is very swift to report any offenders. I have reported it to the Gardai in Dundrum, they said they'd send up a car, but the same offences are still being committed each day. Not sure I'd like to go in to the Pub, no doubt he'll say it's not his fault.

I'll try the Luas people but the pull in is on public property, it's really DLR Co Co and the Gardai's problem. I know there is a Security Guard based in the complex, I'll knock in there tomorrow. If one of Dundrum Village's Car Parking enforcement officers was to visit a couple of times a day, the long term parking would stop. But they need to make some sort of provision for crossing as there is none. I also mailed a couple of the local papers and Eamon Ryan as a local TD. This is the sort of thing Seamus Brennan (RIP) would have revelled in, maybe I'll try George Lee.

Try Olivia Mitchell, she has responded to me before about traffic issues in this area.

HonalD

VERYinterested wrote: »

There are traffic lights, but they are turned off

Once traffic signals are switched on, then the junction is a traffic signalled controlled junction.

Until the layout of the junction is changed i.e. stop signs erected or priority signs erected (even on a temporary basis) then the junction works as a PRIORITY junction until the signals are either removed or fixed.

If there are crossings with tactile paving then it would be in the interests of the County Counci to either block the crossings off with barriers or switch the lights to a pedestrian mode. THis is because a blind or partially sighted person doesn't know there are yellow bags over the signal heads and may wander across after waiting a long time for the beeper to sound.

Hope this helps!