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Worst designed town in Ireland?

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    #92
    alwaysadub
    Registered Users Posts: 11,554 ✭✭✭✭alwaysadub


    Emerie Melted Typhoon wrote: »
    "Bless your heart" is right.. I LOVE Galway, one of my fav places in the world but whenever I think of it I think 'traffic nightmare'.

    Thing with Galway is, you can never get truly lost. There's so many roundabouts you're bound to end up back where you started at some stage. Whether you want to or not:pac:


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    #93
    Sonnenblumen
    Registered Users Posts: 5,834 ✭✭✭Sonnenblumen


    Diabhal Beag wrote: »
    Galway is a nightmare for traffic. Two roads going towards Connemara from Barna and one of them is a ****e bog-road.

    Last time I was there, there were 3 options, and 2 of them were very good. Are you saying the Barna-Moycullen is a bog road?

    BTW, why would anyone travelling from Galway to Connemara go through Barna (unless a taxi)? :D


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    #94
    HavingCrack
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,847 ✭✭✭HavingCrack


    This is just turning into a 'which town has worse traffic congestion' thread. In fairness I love the way Washington DC is laid out but it's an absolute nightmare to drive in.


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    #95
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 91,143 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Diabhal Beag wrote: »
    Galway is a nightmare for traffic. Two roads going towards Connemara from Barna and one of them is a ****e bog-road.
    Take the N59 to Moycullen and then the back road into Spiddal

    simples


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    #96
    RolandIRL
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,924 ✭✭✭✭RolandIRL


    So many roundabouts in Galway. every time my dad goes there, he gets beeped at for going too slow and being in the wrong lane.
    He was getting so pissed off at this one car, that he purposely went slow on a single lane road after the last roundabout onto the N17, with the car behind him most of the way to Claregalway cos of loads of oncoming traffic :D


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    #97
    Mr McBoatface
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,579 ✭✭✭Mr McBoatface


    There is some god awful planning all around the country, just about every town can provide an example on how not to do things.

    One of the most recent example of poor planning decisions I can think of is the previous mentioned Athy. The narrow main street and 40-60 minute tailbacks could have been so easily by-passed when constructing the new N78 which links to the M9. Despite numerous objections to the plan the planners for some reason decided to construct the link road to the North of the town rather than to the South which would have been the sensible thing.

    To be honest the decision that was made was such a bad one and so obviously flawed it would not surprise me if it was revealed at some future stage brown envelopes where passed around.


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    #98
    maninasia
    Registered Users Posts: 4,616 ✭✭✭maninasia


    THFC wrote: »
    Galway is terribly designed, so is Westport, but the worst planned town I've come across is by and far Sligo. Take one wrong turn and it could be another half an hour before you're back on track with all the stupid fcuking one way streets.

    Depends what you mean. If you mean for driving I agree Galway is awful due to the number of roundabouts , one way streets and main roads into the city. But some of that is due to it's historical nature, and Galway city itself is a great place to walk around. It should have some type of tram system or light rail.
    Westport was a planned town from colonial times, it's got a lot of charm too, wouldn't change it, just bypass the traffic around it.


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    #99
    maninasia
    Registered Users Posts: 4,616 ✭✭✭maninasia


    Wilson Odd Dove wrote: »
    The thing about Irish towns, and European towns, is that most weren't actually 'designed'. They're so bloody old that the streets were just formed by whatever way it was easiest to build on them with no conception of the 'irons horses' of the future
    Contrast that to 'new' towns like in the States and they have a grid system that's easy to drive around and easy to navigate. But often lacking in soul...

    I don't think that's entirely right, many of them were planned, walled cities. Others were market towns with wide central streets. They just weren't planned for cars and that is no surprise is it?


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    #100
    OutlawPete
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17,689 ✭✭✭✭OutlawPete


    Ratoath .. broken, twisted, mess of a town, if ever there was one.


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    #101
    Rebelheart
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,077 ✭✭✭Rebelheart


    OutlawPete wrote: »
    Ratoath .. broken, twisted, mess of a town, if ever there was one.

    It completely lacks a heart. It's just thousands of houses around a village when anybody with something between the ears could have thought for a minute: "We're giving planning permission for thousands of houses so maybe we should zone the land immediately next to Ratoath village for structured commercial development to make a sustainable community." No: not a chance. And as a result Blanch gets more cluttered from yet another village of people driving there for their weekly shopping. Thus an opportunity to create a thriving business community, and thus consolidate a local community identity, supported by local people was wasted and the centre of the community becomes a place 10km away. (All of this happened in the past 10 years, by the way).


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    #102
    Birdnuts
    Registered Users Posts: 9,701 ✭✭✭Birdnuts


    The sad thing about Naas is the fact that its magnificient and well preserved castle is now totally overshadowed by that huge ugly empty new shopping centre(white elephant!!) just to its east - the massive new tesco out in monread will also futher impoverish the main street:(


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    #103
    Aglomerado
    Registered Users Posts: 5,763 ✭✭✭Aglomerado


    twowheelsonly wrote: »
    In fairness to the gang that submitted the original plans they wanted a direct slip road onto the ring road. The geniuses further up the line blew that one out though.

    That would have made too much sense! What a pack of muppets!


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    #104
    Big Nasty
    Registered Users Posts: 22,080 ✭✭✭✭Big Nasty


    Ballina, Co. Mayo

    /thread


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    #105
    Bill2673
    Closed Accounts Posts: 749 ✭✭✭Bill2673


    Rebelheart wrote: »
    It completely lacks a heart. It's just thousands of houses around a village when anybody with something between the ears could have thought for a minute: "We're giving planning permission for thousands of houses so maybe we should zone the land immediately next to Ratoath village for structured commercial development to make a sustainable community." No: not a chance. And as a result Blanch gets more cluttered from yet another village of people driving there for their weekly shopping. Thus an opportunity to create a thriving business community, and thus consolidate a local community identity, supported by local people was wasted and the centre of the community becomes a place 10km away. (All of this happened in the past 10 years, by the way).

    Having grown up close to Ashbourne and Ratoath, I'd have always thought Ratoath a much nicer, prettier village than Ashbourne, and would still think that.

    They are both to be fair just straight road villages, that had the good or bad luck to be located on busy roads, and have had humungous housing estates attached.

    And that, multiplied by a thousand different examples, is the town planning for the entire country I would suspect.

    Both Ashbourne and Ratoath would have had a population of maybe 500 people or less in the 1960s. Now they have a population of 7000 or so each.

    In the 1950s, Meath's population was around 50,000. Now it is 160,000. There are no new towns in Meath. Only little villages that have had massive housing estates attached, plus Navan, Kells and Trim.


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    #106
    Conor Bourke
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 17,424 ✭✭✭✭Conor Bourke


    Milltown, Co. Galway- the only town/village I know of that centres on an S-Bend!


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    #107
    fontanalis
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,619 ✭✭✭fontanalis


    Rebelheart wrote: »
    It completely lacks a heart. It's just thousands of houses around a village when anybody with something between the ears could have thought for a minute: "We're giving planning permission for thousands of houses so maybe we should zone the land immediately next to Ratoath village for structured commercial development to make a sustainable community." No: not a chance. And as a result Blanch gets more cluttered from yet another village of people driving there for their weekly shopping. Thus an opportunity to create a thriving business community, and thus consolidate a local community identity, supported by local people was wasted and the centre of the community becomes a place 10km away. (All of this happened in the past 10 years, by the way).


    No, that would be too sensible and probably would involve peopel doing their job!


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    #108
    AAAAAAAHHH
    Closed Accounts Posts: 377 ✭✭AAAAAAAHHH


    df1985 wrote: »
    shannon, adamstown etc are all "planned" towns, but theyve ended up completely soul-less.

    I disagree

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6alvr6XpBx8


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    #109
    Mal-Adjusted
    Registered Users Posts: 3,583 ✭✭✭Mal-Adjusted


    irelandrover wrote: »
    I'd have to say Shannon. Was a town that was actually designed. Doesn't have a main street. Just one big housing estate really.
    it might be soul-less like was already said, but it's extreamly easy to get around with wide roads, clear road signs and clear residential/industrial/retail areas. it's very well designed IMO
    biko wrote: »
    Gort, streets look like the US have been practising Shock and Awe there.
    yes
    biko wrote: »
    Bless your heart Galway, but congestion is your middle name.
    O, christ yes! :mad:


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    #110
    Mars Bar
    Registered Users Posts: 31,840 ✭✭✭✭Mars Bar


    Alaskimo-cake wrote: »
    Milltown, Co. Galway- the only town/village I know of that centres on an S-Bend!

    My and my sister had a near death experience there. Fúcking lethal so it is.


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