Rat Runs-How to Avoid the City and the Tolls!

dr.fuzzenstein

I can't afford to take the tunnel every day, let alone both ways.
In the olden days (before the tunnel) I would have gone via Woodcock Hill through Moyross and snake the back way to get out near the Parkway Roundabout, or in the summer go home (near Ennis) via O'Briensbridge and Broadford, etc...
Anyone know any good rat runs?

TestTransmission

Where u going to and where from?

dr.fuzzenstein

From Ennis to Anacotty.

kilburn

Dont forget the residents of your rat run, thanks to the likes of you we have stupid speed blocks and ramps everywhere. Just go the main road with out the tunnel the old n7

Grumpypants

I would think come in the new road, take the left to go to the city rather than to the tunnel, then come all the way in to the dock road, back out the dock road onto the main link road again missing the tolls and then its straight out to annacotty.

phog

Coming from Ennis and heading to Annacotty, how much do you save by avoiding the toll? Take into account, time spent waiting at lights, wear and tear of car going over speed ramps, etc. I'm not sure that they'd be a huge saving in time or monetary terms.

Unless you do as grumpypants recommends above and do the direct route arond the tunnel.

dr.fuzzenstein

phog wrote: »

Coming from Ennis and heading to Annacotty, how much do you save by avoiding the toll? Take into account, time spent waiting at lights, wear and tear of car going over speed ramps, etc. I'm not sure that they'd be a huge saving in time or monetary terms.

Unless you do as grumpypants recommends above and do the direct route arond the tunnel.

There is no way on smegging Earth you will spend an extra E18/week on fuel by taking the city.
In fact the difference is negligible.
By taking the tunnel I'd be paying an extra E72 a month, money I don't have and can do better with than to stop and throw it out the window, which is exactly what you're doing at the toll plaza.
I actually do use it, but only about twice a week and only one way.
You can have a road to alleviate traffic through the city or you can have a toll road to make money. You can't have it both ways.
Put up a toll and people will avoid it.
In fact when i come up to the Caherdavin exit from the Shannon direction, more than 95% of cars divert straight off the dual carriageway (including trucks) and they mostly go straight through the city.
You can't go via Clare Street anymore since that got ruined with stupid traffic lights, but at this time (7:30 am) you can still go up Williams Street or (as above) Dock Road and back onto the Motorway.
But new suggestions always welcome.:)

Clareman

I work in Raheen and take the tunnel every day, I reckon in the long term I'm saving money. Petrol wise the tunnel takes roughly 7km's off each way for me, taking into account the fact that I can keep going without stopping and starting the whole time, not to mention the increased chances of getting caught speeding/crashed into/crashing into as well as increased wear and tear on breaks/tyres I think the tunnel is well worth it

thats not gone well

When I’m heading to castletroy in the mornings,
I go over Shannon Bridge,
Left down the quays behind Henry street GS,
First right cross Henry Street, up past the GPO,
Right onto O’Connell street,
Left then either at the lights or up towards taits,
Then onto upper mallow street, over to Careys road/upper Careys road,
Right onto the roxborough road, up past the GS and left onto the Childers road.
Depending on traffic at the Tipperary roundabout then you can either
1. Go out the ballysimon road and left at the B&Q roundabout (second exit)
Or
2. Continue on the Childers road towards the parkway.

phog

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

There is no way on smegging Earth you will spend an extra E18/week on fuel by taking the city.
In fact the difference is negligible.
By taking the tunnel I'd be paying an extra E72 a month, money I don't have and can do better with than to stop and throw it out the window, which is exactly what you're doing at the toll plaza.
I actually do use it, but only about twice a week and only one way.
You can have a road to alleviate traffic through the city or you can have a toll road to make money. You can't have it both ways.
Put up a toll and people will avoid it.
In fact when i come up to the Caherdavin exit from the Shannon direction, more than 95% of cars divert straight off the dual carriageway (including trucks) and they mostly go straight through the city.
You can't go via Clare Street anymore since that got ruined with stupid traffic lights, but at this time (7:30 am) you can still go up Williams Street or (as above) Dock Road and back onto the Motorway.
But new suggestions always welcome.:)

Hey man, it's your time, car and money, you're best to decide if diverting off the dual carriageway and going over gallows hill and meandering around or through the city is your best option. I was mearly pointing out it's not just fuel, I've found that going over speed ramps every day has increased the times I've had to change shocks in my cars. You're almost agreeing with me about time saving by using the toll by saying the traffic is backlogging on the city roads.

phog

thats not gone well wrote: »

When I’m heading to castletroy in the mornings,
I go over Shannon Bridge,
Left down the quays behind Henry street GS,
First right cross Henry Street, up past the GPO,
Right onto O’Connell street,
Left then either at the lights or up towards taits,
Then onto upper mallow street, over to Careys road/upper Careys road,
Right onto the roxborough road, up past the GS and left onto the Childers road.
Depending on traffic at the Tipperary roundabout then you can either
1. Go out the ballysimon road and left at the B&Q roundabout (second exit)
Or
2. Continue on the Childers road towards the parkway.

Roughly at what time do you make this trip? Why not go up infront of Henry St GS rather than behind it? What's traffic on Carey's rd like?

Clareman

I forgot the mention the 20 minutes in saves each way, my time is well worth 9c a minute, especially if those minutes mean I can get home earlier/leave later

thats not gone well

phog wrote: »

Roughly at what time do you make this trip? Why not go up infront of Henry St GS rather than behind it? What's traffic on Carey's rd like?

About 8 ish but I did it today at half 1 and it took ~15 minutes.
Going on the quays means not having to go up the hill and then back down or contend with the early drop offs from laurel hill or tutorial that are heading down Henry street into town.
Carey’s road is fairly quiet, rarely more than 5 cars at the lights at the junction of roxborough road.

highlydebased

Taking such a roundabout route from Ennis to Annacotty is without a doubt, madness. You'd use the 3.60 in petrol easily arsing around town when you could be steadily motoring out the motorway...!

phog

thats not gone well wrote: »

About 8 ish but I did it today at half 1 and it took ~15 minutes.
Going on the quays means not having to go up the hill and then back down or contend with the early drop offs from laurel hill or tutorial that are heading down Henry street into town.
Carey’s road is fairly quiet, rarely more than 5 cars at the lights at the junction of roxborough road.

I was st Watchouse Cross this morning at 8.08, came via Killeey, out onto Sexton St North at Johnsey's Shop, went thru' the new lights at Thomondgate, around by the castle, thru' the lights at St. Mary's Church, past the Absolute, turned right at the new lights at Lock Quay, left up Broad St and up thru' Garryowen and was the roundabout near B&Q at 8.23.

The backlog on Broad street coming against was chronic :eek:

dr.fuzzenstein

phog wrote: »

Hey man, it's your time, car and money, you're best to decide if diverting off the dual carriageway and going over gallows hill and meandering around or through the city is your best option. I was mearly pointing out it's not just fuel, I've found that going over speed ramps every day has increased the times I've had to change shocks in my cars. You're almost agreeing with me about time saving by using the toll by saying the traffic is backlogging on the city roads.

Speed bumps? I have tried several routes through the city and none of them have any speed bumps.
Since I have to be at work at 8 I usually hit the city around 7:30, time saved when taking the tunnel: 10 minutes, maybe a little more but only if I floor it all the way round the bypass.
Fuel consumption: 50 mpg either way.
So to recap, the tunnel saves me 10 minutes maybe and has very little impact on consumption.
Since losing my old job and starting this one I now earn less and instead of a company car have to run my own, so whilst my income is down my expenses are WAY up and my mortgage (fixed rate from tracker, grrr) will go up next year.
And I say it a third time:
You can have a toll (putting people off using it) or you can have a bypass to alleviate traffic, but you can't have both.

clint_eastman

Each to there own and all that but if anyone is interested I've worked out the following "ballpark" figures for my own trip, Raheen to Shannon.

Taking the tunnel via cement factory roundabout instead of the dock rd saves approx 40miles per week, so at 50mpg it prob saves about a fiver a week on diesel. It also saves about about 1.5 hours a week in the car (6 mins morning 12 evening). We know it costs €18 for 5 return trips so based on this I'm fairly happy to use it everyday both ways. 1.5hours back is costing me €13. Or €11.20 if I had a toll tag.

In saying this I can understand the reasons offered for not using it, I'm just giving my own experience.

padma

if you want to avoid the city and the tolls, the only thing to do in order to get out to Annacotty in good time is turn right at Jury's, out the dock road on to the motorway towards Finnegans and in to Annacotty. End of story, the only part of the city you may get held up at is the Lights on the Dock Road.

Kess73

clint_eastman wrote: »

Each to there own and all that but if anyone is interested I've worked out the following "ballpark" figures for my own trip, Raheen to Shannon.

Taking the tunnel via cement factory roundabout instead of the dock rd saves approx 40miles per week, so at 50mpg it prob saves about a fiver a week on diesel. It also saves about about 1.5 hours a week in the car (6 mins morning 12 evening). We know it costs €18 for 5 return trips so based on this I'm fairly happy to use it everyday both ways. 1.5hours back is costing me €13. Or €11.20 if I had a toll tag.

In saying this I can understand the reasons offered for not using it, I'm just giving my own experience.

I think for those that use the tunnel during peak hours, and whose routes would more direct using it, that the biggest saving will always be time.

The fuel saving is not worth mentioning really as the tolls wipe out any fuel saving at least twice over each week.


But I have friends from Ennis that love the tunnel as they used to come into Limerick to shop from time to time and normally they would have come to Limerick around 9am so that they could get breakfast in town, go shopping, get lunch, shop some more and head home, so they would have been caught in the tailbacks that were on the Condell or Ennis roads depending on which way they went to get into the town centre. Now they use the tunnel to bypass Limerick city and use the saved time towards driving to Cork instead for clothes shopping and the like.

So for people that make big savings on time getting to and from work, or for people who now have the option of bypassing Limerick city totally to get to Cork, Dublin, Galway, Crescent Shopping centre etc the tunnel is a massive boon.

Might not be so good for the service stations and shops that would once have caught the passing trade from the 15,000 or so tunnel using vehicles a day that would have come through Limerick beforehand.

Red Silurian

If you feel the toll on the tunnel costs too much then may i direct you to the trip card webpage? http://www.limericktunnel.com/Download/TripCardRegistration.pdf
It offers a 10% discount on travel costs, useful if using the tunnel every day/once every few days

dr.fuzzenstein

colmtheperson wrote: »

If you feel the toll on the tunnel costs too much then may i direct you to the trip card webpage? http://www.limericktunnel.com/Download/TripCardRegistration.pdf
It offers a 10% discount on travel costs, useful if using the tunnel every day/once every few days

Sounds intriguing, every little helps.
Since I start work at 8 traffic is not so much of an issue, but sometimes the tunnel is a lifesaver when I'm 10 minutes late.:)
Says on it they only accept bank drafts, postal orders or cash.
So well, for I may save a hogshead or two of petroleum for my automotive vehicular contraption, therefore I shall implore my knave to loosen the belt of my purse for I shall deposit the correct coinage in doubloons forthwith or maybe I just pay cash until their banking has caught up with the 20th century...:D

thesimpsons

the tripcard works out at 1.60 per trip but getting the card is like something out of the ark in these days of technology. You can post in application with cheque or bank draft and you eventually get the card in the post. Its like a swipe card but it sometimes doesn't work at all and the operator will swipe and swipe until he finally gives up and lets you thru :D. It slows you up at the booth while they are swiping it and other downside is that it also can't tell you the balance left on the card. To top it up when you've used all your credit, you have to send another cheque or bank draft. They can't handle credit/laser transactions over the phone. Alternatively, you can go to the offices of Direct Route up in Coonagh, hand over your cash/cheque/whatever, and they'll handle it there for you.

However despite the above, I'll still use mine and enjoy my discounted rate

Kess73

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Sounds intriguing, every little helps.
Since I start work at 8 traffic is not so much of an issue, but sometimes the tunnel is a lifesaver when I'm 10 minutes late.:)
Says on it they only accept bank drafts, postal orders or cash.
So well, for I may save a hogshead or two of petroleum for my automotive vehicular contraption, therefore I shall implore my knave to loosen the belt of my purse for I shall deposit the correct coinage in doubloons forthwith or maybe I just pay cash until their banking has caught up with the 20th century...:D

Or maybe even the 21st century.

dr.fuzzenstein

Kess73 wrote: »

Or maybe even the 21st century.

One step at a time, they might get a heart attack if they have to skip an entire century.:D

Raiser

colmtheperson wrote: »

If you feel the toll on the tunnel costs too much then may i direct you to the trip card webpage? http://www.limericktunnel.com/Download/TripCardRegistration.pdf
It offers a 10% discount on travel costs, useful if using the tunnel every day/once every few days

thesimpsons wrote: »

the tripcard works out at 1.60 per trip but getting the card is like something out of the ark in these days of technology. You can post in application with cheque or bank draft and you eventually get the card in the post. Its like a swipe card but it sometimes doesn't work at all and the operator will swipe and swipe until he finally gives up and lets you thru :D. It slows you up at the booth while they are swiping it and other downside is that it also can't tell you the balance left on the card. To top it up when you've used all your credit, you have to send another cheque or bank draft. They can't handle credit/laser transactions over the phone. Alternatively, you can go to the offices of Direct Route up in Coonagh, hand over your cash/cheque/whatever, and they'll handle it there for you.

However despite the above, I'll still use mine and enjoy my discounted rate

Saves you €18 every 10 weeks if you use it both ways for work......

- Do you have to go to the Offices for each top-up?

Pity the cheap Bastárds couldn't manage to discount the eToll Windscreen contraption, maybe cause it doesn't work????

dr.fuzzenstein

Raiser wrote: »

Pity the cheap Bastárds couldn't manage to discount the eToll Windscreen contraption, maybe cause it doesn't work????

Hear nothing good about them.
Costs the same plus rental and admin fee, so might even be more expensive.
But this is Ireland where the normal market forces that apply everywhere else on the planet do not work.
Any other country, planet, galaxy, dimension, you'd save a bit of money with those things, to reward repeat custom and frequent usage, here you get punished for wearing out their tunnel and remote reader.

zuroph

I havent had trouble with the tag for a good while now, although I have lowered my speed on approach more lately.