Roundabouts [or] lights?

extraice

which do you want ..... roundabouts r lights
sould the city drive have a say are the say off the City Council only ?

joeKel73

ful wrds r txt spk?

Full words please.

ciano1

i prefr trffic lites coz dey mke t ezier t crss da road.

softmee

Lights, lights, lights! Roundabouts are nightmare for learner driver. Chaotic unpredictable and scary, also for pedestrains and bicycles!
The one near GMIT, i have no idea how all students cross this street to get to bus. This is just crazy, how there can be no lights near school where so many people have to cross???

pleasant Co.

Rainbows plz

snubbleste

Monorail

galwegians

softmee wrote: »

Lights, lights, lights! Roundabouts are nightmare for learner driver. Chaotic unpredictable and scary, also for pedestrains and bicycles!
The one near GMIT, i have no idea how all students cross this street to get to bus. This is just crazy, how there can be no lights near school where so many people have to cross???

roundabouts if we get lights it will slow traffic down even more,
and if a learner driver cant handle a roundabout he/she should not be on the road,
and their are pedestrian crossings at all the roundabouts for pedestrians/and cyclists.
and as for the GMIT roundabout their is a perfectly good pedestrian crossing at dawn dairies for the students to cross, instead of running across in front of traffic like headless chickens.

cooperguy

Everything is scary for a learner at the beginning, if they are still scared after plenty of practice then they shouldnt be driving

Lights will ruin this city. They have already ruined on Junction!

Mr. Presentable

Even scarier if you can't read the question.

happyoutscan

Roundabouts as I have absolutely no faith in the muppets who will design and plan the new intersections. I'd also suggest putting up cameras at every roundabout in the city and fine every clown who:
- Doesn't indicate
- Doesn't use the correct lane
- Takes up 2 lanes
- Doesn't move when they have a chance

Our national debt would be wiped out in 2 weeks.





I can only dream....

aido76

Roundabouts for now until they build the outer bypass (when ever that will be):rolleyes:. Much less traffic using these roundabouts then, so should be safer for everyone. Moneenageisha hasn't really worked on traffic flow so don't have much confidence in getting anymore right. I think something needs to be done about the "Magic Roundabout" though!

yer man!

Lights will not work as there is simply far too many cars and too few approach roads actually coming into Galway. I think the council could do a lot better by improving the roundabouts and installing turning lanes etc.

[Embedded Image Removed]http://www.rorise.com/blog/2010/09/turbo-roundabouts/ also these could work as they would force people to use the correct lanes, increase capacity, reduce time, and cheap to introduce.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMYib3IR43I

softmee

galwegians wrote: »

and if a learner driver cant handle a roundabout he/she should not be on the road,

and as for the GMIT roundabout their is a perfectly good pedestrian crossing at dawn dairies for the students to cross, instead of running across in front of traffic like headless chickens.

I know many experienced drivers who hate them and irish law is not my idea -according to it you can be on the road even when you cant start a car.
-and if something scares me a bit it doesnt mean i cant handle it.

-and yes, i can already see all the student crossing Dublin Road near Dawn Daries to get to bus... in your dreams :cool:

Wompa1

snubbleste wrote: »

Monorail

...I hear those things are awfully loud...

Mrs OBumble

galwegians wrote: »

and their are pedestrian crossings at all the roundabouts for pedestrians/and cyclists.

You must be smoking something impressive if you can see pedestrian crossings at the majority of Galway's roundabouts.

Yes, there a lights controlled crossings on the magic-roundabout.

But I can absolutely assure you that there aren't any on the Morris, Tuam Rd, or Briar Hill ones (though the latter does have a pedestrian underpass). Not 100% sure about the rest, but I don't think they have crossings.

emt16

roundabouts is the best way to keep trafic flowing.
Although the Irish have a major problem with being able to negotiate roundabouts safely and efficently

Also lights controled roundabouts or crossings slow down the flow and defeat the purpose of having a roundabout in the first place. if the junction, lead up and exit are planned properly, there is no need for lights

Iwannahurl

No question: roundabouts should be replaced with signalised junctions that maximise the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

According to An Garda Siochana, 25% of collisions in Galway City occur on roundabouts. That is reason alone to remove or radically redesign them.

Traffic flow is not superior to safety as a reason for keeping roundabouts.

The City Council's own research has shown that roundabouts are seriously problematic for many vulnerable road users. This has been validated by AGS and even by independent agencies such as Failte Ireland.

yer man!

Iwannahurl wrote: »

No question: roundabouts should be replaced with signalised junctions that maximise the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

According to An Garda Siochana, 25% of collisions in Galway City occur on roundabouts. That is reason alone to remove or radically redesign them.

Traffic flow is not superior to safety as a reason for keeping roundabouts.

The City Council's own research has shown that roundabouts are seriously problematic for many vulnerable road users. This has been validated by AGS and even by independent agencies such as Failte Ireland.

So instead of putting in a couple of pedestrian crossings around the place we should rip up roundabouts and replace it with a whole new junction..... they just need to be redesigned. They've had the same problem in Germany about people not using roundabouts correctly so they introduced the turbo roundabout in a few places to test if they work. They literally force you to use the roundabout correctly otherwise you mount a kerb and ruin your car. Also they put proper pedestrian crossings at every arm of the roundabout so the pedestrian has priority.

boreds11

The bypass is the only solution. I cant see lights making a lot of difference. Its really a mickey mouse job to waste a few million and block up the city while they build it. The only possible advantage to the lights is that they might help speed up the flow along the N6 to the detriment of the connecting roads.

someday2010

Iwannahurl wrote: »

No question: roundabouts should be replaced with signalised junctions that maximise the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

According to An Garda Siochana, 25% of collisions in Galway City occur on roundabouts. That is reason alone to remove or radically redesign them.

Traffic flow is not superior to safety as a reason for keeping roundabouts.

The City Council's own research has shown that roundabouts are seriously problematic for many vulnerable road users. This has been validated by AGS and even by independent agencies such as Failte Ireland.

Replacing the roundabouts with lights will be a disaster. The above mentioned do not pay any road tax so i dont see why the 60,000 plus people who travel through Galway every day should have more delay added to their journeys to benefit the cyclist who pays no road tax on their bike

c_man

galwegians wrote: »

and their are pedestrian crossings at all the roundabouts for pedestrians/and cyclists.

Must have missed that at the Quincentennial Bridge entrance to the Bodkin roundabout so...

schween

someday2010 wrote: »

Replacing the roundabouts with lights will be a disaster. The above mentioned do not pay any road tax so i dont see why the 60,000 plus people who travel through Galway every day should have more delay added to their journeys to benefit the cyclist who pays no road tax on their bike

What an idiotic argument!

The "above mentioned" pay VAT and possibly PAYE, PRSI and USC, along with other taxes. They have as much right to be on the road. Do you think that road tax alone pays for our roads?

Actually, we could save a fortune with this mindset! Every person on the dole now has less priority in our hospitals, schools etc etc!!

KevR

Lights are definitely better at peak times but they can be annoying off-peak when you get held up on a near empty road.

Galway drivers/people need to wake the f**k up though. The lights should be better than the roundabouts but they probably won't be because people take an age to move when the light goes green.

I was in a queue for the lights at the hospital on Saturday afternoon, traffic was heavy. A pedestrian presses the button but then decides to cross while the light was green for motor traffic. With it being Galway, two lanes of traffic decided to stop to let this person cross. Light goes red for motor traffic and green pedestrian light comes on (no pedestrians crossed during this time). The tailback should have been almost cleared by the green phase but it actually ended up being double in size! Imagine if the same thing happens a few phases in a row or at few sets of lights in the one area - a traffic jam quickly gets created because of ignorance, not because of traffic lights.

I'm not saying the cars should have run this person over but they shouldn't have stopped when he stepped onto the road. Slow down but keep moving so he is forced back onto the path, optional to beep at him.

Pressing the button and not waiting for the green pedestrian light is ignorant towards other pedestrians also. Someone coming along a short while later who actually wants to wait for the pedestrian light could well have to wait longer for the light because of it.


In terms of Galway's traffic problems being solved by raplacing roundabout with lights - it won't be. It's a really cheap attempt at a solution. The bypass is badly needed. If they bypass isn't going to happen then they need to look at flyover for the N6 (like what they are doing to the South Ring Road in Cork).

schween wrote: »

Do you think that road tax alone pays for our roads?

It does.

I remember figures being quoted a few years ago - over €7 Billion collected through motor tax, fuel duty....etc with only a little over €1 Billion being spent on roads in the same year. That gap has possibly even widened now because spending on roads has been cut and fuel duty + VAT on fuel has sky-rocketed..

dilallio

The 'green wave' works very well when the majority of traffic is coming from one direction. It doesn't work when you have equal amounts coming from 2 directions - if the next set of lights are synchronised with traffic coming from 1 direction into the preceding junction, then the other road of traffic coming into the preceding junction is guaranteed to hit 2 sets of red lights, causing further delays.

When they installed the lights at Moneenageisha, they tried to adapt the 'green wave' for traffic coming from college rd, but this caused traffic to build up onto the cemetery cross roundabout as well as chaos on the Wellpark rd, and they had to abandon the plan.

They will install the lights, and then keep adjusting the sequence to reduce the build up of traffic from all directions onto the junction. They will do the same at the next junction, without worrying that the lights are synchronised. Unfortunately without an outer bypass, the volume of traffic at peak times means that they will have no other option.

The bus service in Galway is a joke on certain routes, and the only option for many is to drive or cycle. Roundabouts are not cycle-friendly or pedestrian-friendly and need to be upgraded if the desire to get people away from cars, is to be realised. There is no way I would let any of my kids cycle to school on the galway roads, and it's unfair (and illegal) for them to take the safe option and cycle on the footpaths.

Iwannahurl

someday2010 wrote: »

Replacing the roundabouts with lights will be a disaster. The above mentioned do not pay any road tax so i dont see why the 60,000 plus people who travel through Galway every day should have more delay added to their journeys to benefit the cyclist who pays no road tax on their bike

That's a crock, as they politely say in the States.

Can you provide a link to some official information on the "road tax" you mention?

I am not aware of such a tax, nor am I aware of any special privileges associated with paying it.

Iwannahurl

yer man! wrote: »

So instead of putting in a couple of pedestrian crossings around the place we should rip up roundabouts and replace it with a whole new junction..... they just need to be redesigned. They've had the same problem in Germany about people not using roundabouts correctly so they introduced the turbo roundabout in a few places to test if they work. They literally force you to use the roundabout correctly otherwise you mount a kerb and ruin your car. Also they put proper pedestrian crossings at every arm of the roundabout so the pedestrian has priority.

Safety first. The welfare of vulnerable road users must not be compromised so that larger volumes of single-occupant cars can circulate with maximum convenience.

The Dutch have good roundabout designs too. They keep cyclists safely separated, though I'm not sure about pedestrians in the example below.

McTigs

someday2010 wrote: »

Replacing the roundabouts with lights will be a disaster. The above mentioned do not pay any road tax so i dont see why the 60,000 plus people who travel through Galway every day should have more delay added to their journeys to benefit the cyclist who pays no road tax on their bike

This is wrong on so many levels.


1. Many people on bikes own a car as well so they do pay motor tax.
2. Even if they don't, they probably pay many other forms of tax, which entitle them to the national facilities as much as anyone else.
3. Even if motor tax collected did go directly towards the roads (which it doesn't) why should cyclists pay it when they are not catered for by means of cycle lane or even permitted to cycle on motorways?
4. And just to be pedantic, it's motor tax not road tax. Bicycles have no motor.

Are there any particular roundabouts that will benefit from being converted to traffic lights?

The exit from Boston Scientific or Cemetery Cross?

Cemetery Cross is very small - would lights stop people driving onto the roundabout without being able to exit it going towards Moneenageisha?
Also as there is a school on the corner it would probably be safer for other road users.

Iwannahurl

KevR wrote: »

It does.

I remember figures being quoted a few years ago - over €7 Billion collected through motor tax, fuel duty....etc with only a little over €1 Billion being spent on roads in the same year. That gap has possibly even widened now because spending on roads has been cut and fuel duty + VAT on fuel has sky-rocketed..

I'd like to see some direct, comprehensive and authoritative evidence that motor tax pays for the entire costs of constructing and maintaining our road network, along with the other costs associated with car use (eg government administration, road casualties, public health, policing, CO2 emissions, land use efficiency etc).

For example, the economist Peter Bacon estimated over ten years ago that the total cost of road accidents in 1989 was £795 million (punts). Road casualties have decreased since then, but costs generally have greatly increased. Walking and cycling don't cause death and injury the way cars do, and active commuters have higher levels of health and lower levels of absenteeism overall than car commuters.

Here are links to just a few publications outlining the economic and societal benefits of cycling and walking:

National Cycle Policy Framework
The Economic Significance of Cycling
Cycling and Economics
The Benefits of Walking and Cycling
The Economic Value of Walkability
Health and Environmental Benefits of Walking and Bicycling





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yer man!

One thing I noticed today at the moneen traffic light junction is the fact that only one arm is given the green light in any one cycle. This is pure crap. the dublin road in front of huntsman should be green to go straight on or left while the road coming from the tuam road roundabout on the top of the hill is given the green light to go straight ahead and left and do away with the right turn towards college road as is not used a huge amount. I think it really could make a difference to this junction. It would take fewer cycles for the college road arm to get a green light. Don't see why the council don't at least experiment with the sequencing. this whole self learning junction is seriously dumb....

KevR

yer man! wrote: »

One thing I noticed today at the moneen traffic light junction is the fact that only one arm is given the green light in any one cycle. This is pure crap. the dublin road in front of huntsman should be green to go straight on or left while the road coming from the tuam road roundabout on the top of the hill is given the green light to go straight ahead and left and do away with the right turn towards college road as is not used a huge amount. I think it really could make a difference to this junction. It would take fewer cycles for the college road arm to get a green light. Don't see why the council don't at least experiment with the sequencing. this whole self learning junction is seriously dumb....

+1

It's not necessary to allow all four arms of the junction to turn right.

They should get rid of Cemetary Cross --> College Road and Dublin Road inbound --> Wellpark Road.

I think it would greatly improve traffic flow at peak times and it would only cause a little inconvenience to a small minority in the process of doing so. It would also reduce wait times off-peak. The Quincentennary Bridge/Newcastle Road junction works very well - the layout is very similar to Moneen but there are no right turns at all.