one way system for kilkenny

Threadhead

My two cents is that it's definitely not working at the moment (for the vast majority) but I think it needs a bit of reworking rather than making any knee jerk reactions and do away with the idea entirely. Yes, it needs a trial but no, the current system isn't worth a damn so I think some middle ground should be looked for. I work in the city centre and while it is a right pain in the arse, I'm seeing a lot more of the usual people fanning the flames of discontent than I am heavy traffic to be honest. Listening to KCLR this morning, Cllr Andrew McGuinness was taking the view that most traders are against it because of recession. So in 2008 there wouldn't have been a problem with this? If that is true, then it's definitely knee jerk. This current system would have been a balls up recession or no recession, it's ridiculous to blame traffic congestion on the economic climate.

If the one way system is continued, and if in the future it gets changed again or scrapped, you can bet the same people complaining about it now will be defending it then. Change is a bitch. Especially when you're too lazy to adapt.

Threadhead

Actually, one thing I'd like to ask people, has anyone had problems with taxi drivers ie. increased fares?

McGuinness claims that people were getting screwed for cash by taxi drivers because of the new route. Yet, in the KK People 2 weeks ago, a spokesman for the taxi drivers said that they wouldn't be overcharging people and would try and stay in the same price range regardless of the new routes.

Can anyone shed light on this?

Captain Havoc

LMAO. I personally think they should pedestrianise it from Friary St. to Kieran St. which would make it more shopper friendly, who actually used High St. in their car for shopping? There's definately sense in the argument that High St. shouldn't be used as a short cut, a lot of money and time (I think the Romans first drew up the plan) has been spent on the (not-so) ring road. I definately agree with your knee-jerk comment. As for Taxis, there's two companies which charge a set rate in town, one €5 and the other €6. To be fair, head of the taxis can't speak for all his taxis. I'm sure if you jumped into a taxi and said before he starts driving you'd give him €6 or whatever it was before, he'd take it.

fabbydabby

Got a cab from the waterford to road john street the other night, a fiver standing charge and the meter was clocking away good-o en route. We would have had to do a 3km lap of honour to get to john street from where we were with the meter still clocking up so I elected to alight at the parade and complete my journey on foot.

This exact problem affects all of the following:
Bennetsbridge road, Loughboy enviorns, Waterford Road, Kells Road, Callan Road, College road... right down to the Ballycallan, Tullaroan, Granges and Freshford roads and surrounding areas.

That whole side of town is forced to use greens bridge to access John street and because of the no-right-turn down towards Padmore must go all the way out to the Castlecomer road to get back into the centre via john street.

For example the shortest route from the parade to Langtons by foot is 290 Metres straight up John Street. By car it is 4.3Km by the ring road and 3km by the Comer road.

I was looking at this today out the window of my car, (in vacant or in pensive mood, for the season that's in it), and I have come to the conclusion that the only viable solution to the problem without doing a complete U turn (pardon pun) would be to build another bridge between Green's and John's, going from the Dunnes car park area straight through the library, knock down a few houses and come out at greenwood furniture.

Not gonna happen, but it would make the thing work.

Postscript: I too am very much in favour of pedestrianising high street. I think this would do a lot more to alleviate congestion than then current system.

Cabaal

Captain Havoc wrote: »

LMAO. I personally think they should pedestrianise it from Friary St. to Kieran St. which would make it more shopper friendly,

I'd agree, would benefit the shops alright

who actually used High St. in their car for shopping?

Crazy people but more importantly very very lazy people who won't park elsewhere and walk and instead choose to double park or park in loading bays/disabled spots with hazards on :rolleyes:

zootroid

Threadhead wrote: »

Actually, one thing I'd like to ask people, has anyone had problems with taxi drivers ie. increased fares?

McGuinness claims that people were getting screwed for cash by taxi drivers because of the new route. Yet, in the KK People 2 weeks ago, a spokesman for the taxi drivers said that they wouldn't be overcharging people and would try and stay in the same price range regardless of the new routes.

Can anyone shed light on this?

McGuinness in populist rubbish shocker :rolleyes:

I've taken a couple of taxis since its introduction, and although the trips had taken different routes than normal, the overall cost was the same.

JoseJones

fabbydabby wrote: »

For example the shortest route from the parade to Langtons by foot is 290 Metres straight up John Street. By car it is 4.3Km by the ring road and 3km by the Comer road.

That begs the question why can't people just walk it as you did? The laziness of the vast majority of people is amazing.

fabbydabby

I can walk, and I am happy to.... In the summer, when it is not raining, or when I don't have to carry things or go further than what I would consider reasonable walking distance.

Well anyway they've now done a U-turn on John Street and parked the idea of having it as one way, which is nice. Hopefully the wheels will be put in motion now to resolve the rest of the issues.

John Street is sorted thank the Lord. High street can be left one-way for the time being to see how it pans out, because easy routing alternatives exist and it is not a vital artery anyhow. They might even pedestrianise it for the summer, or maybe just for a trial period say over the Cat Laughs weekend or Arts Week. That would be deadly. I think most people would be in favour of that, except for those steamers in their buzzing civics but nobody with a valid opinion gives a toss about them anyway.

Next we need to build a gallows on the parade and publicly hang the league of dolts responsible for designing it, and entomb their remains for all eternity in a tacky sarcophagus fashioned entirely from polished stainless steel bollards.

The kiosk could serve nicely as a burial vault and a monument to the legacy of their crusade against taste and considerate design.

ergonomics

JoseJones wrote: »

That begs the question why can't people just walk it as you did? The laziness of the vast majority of people is amazing.

One person who berated me over the one way system told me that people with asthma can't walk into town, or even from the outskirts. They need to park as near to the shop as possible so they don't have an asthma attack. I told her I had asthma and I never had a problem walking anywhere and she had no response.

Walking into town isn't the same as running a marathon. I bet loads of people have walked from MacDonagh Junction to High Street since it opened but now that there's a one way system and they have to walk that distance they suddenly can't anymore.

JoseJones

I have to say, a pedestrianised high street would be fantastic. As somebody has already said, I don't think anybody drives up high street to use the shops.

linny

it's apity it was knocked before they got to change bits and peices of it, i thought it was great, i too would like to see high street pedestrianised, it would be great no need for cars on high street, but cant see them doing that now, i thought the one wat would of worked if traffic came in the other direction on the high street and keep rose inn street one way flowing from the parade to xtra vision, keep john street two way at least that way johns bridge could be used fully and road in front of dunnes would take more traffic.

swifty73

the whole idea of the system was to get people out of there cars but lazy thick people will not do that,maybe when fuel gets so pricey they may walk, passing all the closed shops that they once drove past.free the city streets for the people john st rose inn st and high st.

fabbydabby

Negatory. It was done to improve traffic flow, not dissuade people from driving.

I paid my VRT, motor tax, fuel duty and associated taxes replete with that bullsh1t carbon levy. What if I don't feel like walking three kilometres carrying a slab of Bavaria and 2 bags of kettle chips? Or paying 15 Euro for a taxi?

Captain Havoc

fabbydabby wrote: »

What if I don't feel like walking three kilometres carrying a slab of Bavaria and 2 bags of kettle chips? Or paying 15 Euro for a taxi?

Bicycle

swifty73

fabbydabby wrote: »

Negatory. It was done to improve traffic flow, not dissuade people from driving.

I paid my VRT, motor tax, fuel duty and associated taxes replete with that bullsh1t carbon levy. What if I don't feel like walking three kilometres carrying a slab of Bavaria and 2 bags of kettle chips? Or paying 15 Euro for a taxi?

negatory to you.
was done to change how people travel in an urban area for the good of everyone. bikes ,skate boards, feet an any other way to make a short journey but some effort into it .Know body wants to take your car.just do u allways have to drive to the shop door and then not except a traffic jam.

Cabaal

fabbydabby wrote: »

Negatory. It was done to improve traffic flow, not dissuade people from driving.

I paid my VRT, motor tax, fuel duty and associated taxes replete with that bullsh1t carbon levy. What if I don't feel like walking three kilometres carrying a slab of Bavaria and 2 bags of kettle chips? Or paying 15 Euro for a taxi?

Your missing the point, all these changes are to ultimately encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport options and to stop polluting...this isn't just in Kilkenny this is in the likes of Dublin to.

If you think driving a petrol or diesel car is going to get cheaper in this country your sadly very mistaken

DerryRed

Cabaal wrote: »

Your missing the point, all these changes are to ultimately encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport options and to stop polluting...this isn't just in Kilkenny this is in the likes of Dublin to.

While I completely agree with you on all points, I'm afraid to say that public transport in Kilkenny is a joke. If they had put a decent park and ride system in place, or even a proper bus service, then the one-way system would have stood a better chance.

Cabaal

DerryRed wrote: »

While I completely agree with you on all points, I'm afraid to say that public transport in Kilkenny is a joke. If they had put a decent park and ride system in place, or even a proper bus service, then the one-way system would have stood a better chance.

Park and ride would be good, but in fairness if you look at Kilkenny its not a massive city so outside of park and ride does it need a complex public transport system?

swifty73

DerryRed wrote: »

While I completely agree with you on all points, I'm afraid to say that public transport in Kilkenny is a joke. If they had put a decent park and ride system in place, or even a proper bus service, then the one-way system would have stood a better chance.

the joke is the one way system covered as much ground as O,Connell st in dublin. do people all drive there .no.

gunner11

Cabaal wrote: »

Park and ride would be good, but in fairness if you look at Kilkenny its not a massive city so outside of park and ride does it need a complex public transport system?

if galway demands a gluas - can we have a kluas!

in all seriousness, the problem we have with a sustainable public transport system is the lack of critical mass of population in towns. much more people live in the countryside than urban areas, which is historically the case (the rights or wrongs of this, im not getting into). unless u severely tighten rules on new housing locations, it'll be very hard to implement what needs to be done for towns such as kk to provide a non-car based transport model.

catbear

A very good point gunner11.

DerryRed

gunner11 wrote: »

in all seriousness, the problem we have with a sustainable public transport system is the lack of critical mass of population in towns. much more people live in the countryside than urban areas, which is historically the case (the rights or wrongs of this, im not getting into). unless u severely tighten rules on new housing locations, it'll be very hard to implement what needs to be done for towns such as kk to provide a non-car based transport model.

I take your point about the lack of a critical mass of population. However I still think that a well run park and ride system would have made the one-way system work much better.

Then again maybe it's wishful thinking that the anti-walking/cycling brigade would still give up their cars, if there was a well run park and ride system.

gunner11

a park & ride facility on its own would not solve the problem of traffic congestion in the city centre. it would likely be part of a range of measures.

I actually thought the one-way system, as proposed, was premature anyways and seems to have been rushed through this year in order to get extra marks for the governments smarter travel competition which kk is shortlisted on. and as i said in an earlier post - i was of the belief that any such one-way system was intrisically linked to the inner relief road due to the lack of river crossings.

right now, i think the whole thing should be scapped, bar pedestrianing high street, and going back to the drawing board.

The public consultation seemed to have failed, as very little people knew what was happening till the last few days.

Like the first thing to do here is establish whats the goal for traffic management in the city. then you provide a list of options and there always more than one option.

Healium

http://img.skitch.com/20100413-k2mp77sbhr5jrc1225g2t3kiaq.jpg :rolleyes:

Captain Havoc

Healium wrote: »

http://img.skitch.com/20100413-k2mp77sbhr5jrc1225g2t3kiaq.jpg :rolleyes:

He'll probably get a slap on the wrist for that one, but fair play to him, so many other politians (not thinking of one in particular) speak PRish instead of saying what they think.

eaglelegal

I lived about a ten min drive from KK city.So to get into town I HAVE to drive!
There is zero buses coming my way!

It is causing a lot of problems for people, what was once a 1 min drive to get from John st to high st,is now taking up to ten!

Its total congestion from john st over the bridge,and god help anyone trying to get out into the line of traffic by tynans.

We want people to come into town,regardless of them using cars/vans/taxis/buses. Its a bad time to implement this system.

To be honest the thought of getting through the traffic is putting me off going into town.

swifty73

eaglelegal wrote: »

I lived about a ten min drive from KK city.So to get into town I HAVE to drive!
There is zero buses coming my way!

It is causing a lot of problems for people, what was once a 1 min drive to get from John st to high st,is now taking up to ten!

Its total congestion from john st over the bridge,and god help anyone trying to get out into the line of traffic by tynans.

We want people to come into town,regardless of them using cars/vans/taxis/buses. Its a bad time to implement this system.

To be honest the thought of getting through the traffic is putting me off going into town.

you could get a bike or motorbike if u cant take the stress.make the town comfortable for everyone and the shops will do well out of it.

catbear

Knobheads?
Pot - kettle - black.
NAMA
Thanks greens for supporting the biggest banking bailout in global financial history, it will take decades to pay off the debts of gamblers when really the lenders are the ones who should take the hit.
Noonan you nonce, I hope you are reading this.
The greens have bent over and said thank you for screwing us bankers.
The Irish greens have through their sell out set back green initiatives to where they were twenty years ago, nowhere.
NO ONE TRUSTS YOU ANYMORE, creeps.

But then again been anti Lisbon in opposition but pro Lisbon in government was warning enough that you're all a shower of KNOBHEADS.

If i get banned from boards for this, then fine. It's the truth and the truth is always there, no matter how hard you ignore it.

You sold out Noonan, you bent over and lubed up for what?

swifty73

Healium wrote: »

http://img.skitch.com/20100413-k2mp77sbhr5jrc1225g2t3kiaq.jpg :rolleyes:

well done malcolm. we are part of europe, or did we just get into for the money?
free the streets for the people not cars.

eaglelegal

swifty73 wrote: »

you could get a bike or motorbike if u cant take the stress.make the town comfortable for everyone and the shops will do well out of it.

Bit hard with a couple of kids in tow We dont live in India