Traffic lights in Drogheda are a joke!

blingrhino

according to the D.i Today ,they are going to install another set of traffic lights at the boyne valley hotel area.
obviously this will be the one that gets them into the guinness book of records- i.e traffic lights per 3 mile radius:rolleyes:

Dingatron

blingrhino wrote: »

according to the D.i Today ,they are going to install another set of traffic lights at the boyne valley hotel area.
obviously this will be the one that gets them into the guinness book of records- i.e traffic lights per 3 mile radius:rolleyes:

In fairness it's a nightmare to get out of there.

gebbel

Yeah it's a farce alright....driving into Drogheda every night this week around 11pm and the lights at Southgate centre go red....to allow non-existent cars to exit. On my own yesterday with nobody around and obviously no danger to anybody...I just slowed down and drove right through them.

Lord TSC

I won't mind the Boyne valley ones if they are sensor based like up at Southgate...

furiousox

It appears the Southgate lights aren't sensor based anymore.
They seem to be on a timed sequence now and go red even when there's no traffic waiting to enter/exit Southgate.
Outbound traffic tailing back to Stameen again this morning. :mad:

Dingatron

I sat through two sets of light sequences with not one car coming out of Southgate this evening heading towards Drogheda. The tailback was onto the roundabout. I'll be in touch with Meath CC too.

kormak

I think it's time for this issue to be highlighted with some local journalists...
There's clearly something else at play. No way could they put this down to "a necesssary evil" or quite simply bad planning...
apart of the unnecessary location of some of these lights, the sequencing is simply ludicrous at certain junctions per time of day...

Yesterday evening at rush hour, trying to turn right from Fair St on to Georges St with several people stuck in the yellow box and the traffic backing up from the new lights at Patrick St....
I actually near had a Michael Douglas falling down moment!! :pac:

furiousox

Dingatron wrote: »

I sat through two sets of light sequences with not one car coming out of Southgate this evening heading towards Drogheda. The tailback was onto the roundabout. I'll be in touch with Meath CC too.

Phone number is 041 9880700 for anyone who needs it.

furiousox

Noticed Serco working on the lights at Southgate today.
Hopefully things will improve.

andrew1977

furiousox wrote: »

Noticed Serco working on the lights at Southgate today.
Hopefully things will improve.

Yes lets hope so, i was leaving Drogheda at 5.30am this morning, sat at red lights at southgate on red for a good while, 4 cars in the queue, not a sinner or sign of anyone coming out of southgate.:mad:

positron

I am skeptical of the entire road layout changes around South Gate. I don't think it's done for the benefit of the road users, but for the benefit of the shopping center rather. But there's no point going on about it, as it's only a gut feeling.

I don't understand how they can install new traffic lights at Boyne Valley hotel. I agree it's hard to come out of there, especially if you are turning into town, but how can you put another set of lights this close to the pedestrian crossing lights - it's just 20-30 meters away. May be they will merge these two somehow?

borderlinemeath

positron wrote: »

I am skeptical of the entire road layout changes around South Gate. I don't think it's done for the benefit of the road users, but for the benefit of the shopping center rather. But there's no point going on about it, as it's only a gut feeling.

I don't understand how they can install new traffic lights at Boyne Valley hotel. I agree it's hard to come out of there, especially if you are turning into town, but how can you put another set of lights this close to the pedestrian crossing lights - it's just 20-30 meters away. May be they will merge these two somehow?

It's the councils obsession with Traffic lights that really annoys me. There's so many junctions that have lights that would operate far better with roundabouts, (Duleek St/Platin Rd/Beamore Rd to name but one) and then there's junctions that need something that have nothing (Mell/Cement Rd junction)

We were coming out of Drogheda at about 11pm last week and approached the Southgate lights which were red and two cars sitting there waiting for nothing to come out of the closed shopping centre. OH went down the slip road into the car park and across and out through the filter on the other side. Ridiculous having to do it at all.

WindmillWarrior

Have they put a censor in the lights at the Dub rd/bryanstown cross junction? Used them a couple of times this week and they seemed to be behaving a lot better than usual!

kormak

spotted 2 SERCO engineers at the lights @ Southgate at Friday around lunchtime... they must 'ave heard the calls!

Dingatron

The lights appeared to be much better last night heading into Drogheda.

furiousox

No tailback this morning either.
Credit where credit's due, they seem to have sorted them out.

furiousox

So the road works have started at the Boyne Valley hotel entrance for (I presume) yet another set of traffic lights.
Temp lights are in place leading to traffic tailbacks in and out of town.
I wonder how long these works are going to take?
Also looking forward to the permanent tailbacks in and out of town when the traffic lights are installed and "working".
It makes perfect sense though, as there are lights at Scotch Hall, the train station, Bryanstown, Flogas and Southgate there's obviously not enough already! :mad:
Apparently they're being installed due to safety issues?
I'm not aware of any accidents there in the last year or two?
It's not that busy of a junction either, Wheaton Hall is probably busier.
Sure stick a set of lights there as well while you're at it! :rolleyes:

Lord TSC

Why would they put them at Stameen?

I could understand if thats what the works at The Boyne Valley were; moving the lights that are just by them going into town down to that entrance/exit would at least make some level of sense. But Stameen? Really?

furiousox

Sorry my mistake, I meant the Boyne Valley hotel entrance!

Shano81

furiousox wrote: »

Sorry my mistake, I meant the Boyne Valley hotel entrance!

I would assume they will be getting rid of the lights at Beaubec now? Weren’t they only put in when the post office opened in the black bull?

positron

^^^ yeah, it would make sense to remove the flogas/Beaubec lights if they have lights at Boyne Valley hotel entrance.

Years ago someone told me there was plan to put lights for Wheaton Hall, but it doesn't really make sense with the larger junction just meters away. But I think they should make the yellow painted area larger and more visible so that more cars heading out of Wheaton Hall towards town will have some chance to get on the road on busy hours. And I personally feel they could have done without the lights at Southgate, by making sure all traffic to Southgate takes the other entrance.

borderlinemeath

positron wrote: »

^^^ yeah, it would make sense to remove the flogas/Beaubec lights if they have lights at Boyne Valley hotel entrance.

Years ago someone told me there was plan to put lights for Wheaton Hall, but it doesn't really make sense with the larger junction just meters away. But I think they should make the yellow painted area larger and more visible so that more cars heading out of Wheaton Hall towards town will have some chance to get on the road on busy hours. And I personally feel they could have done without the lights at Southgate, by making sure all traffic to Southgate takes the other entrance.

Impossible given the planning and layout of the carpark. A possibility would have been a restriction on cars turning right (towards Drogheda) and making them go left down to the roundabout and turning there. The pavillions in Swords have a system like that and no need for lights.

Shano81

positron wrote: »

Years ago someone told me there was plan to put lights for Wheaton Hall, but it doesn't really make sense with the larger junction just meters away.

Long before that bryanstown road existed, there was talk of putting lights at wheaton hall. I think the residents may have objected to it! I’d say they’re sorry now as it’s a nightmare coming out of there turning right!

The new lights are only a few metres from the flogas lights – I very much doubt the flogas ones will be kept

kormak

At each traffic light on the Dublin Road... there should be a little teaser signs saying...
"Have you used the toll yet??" then... "Go on... use the toll, what's the point driving through ALL these traffic lights....", etc...

gipi

Shano81 wrote: »

Long before that bryanstown road existed, there was talk of putting lights at wheaton hall. I think the residents may have objected to it! I’d say they’re sorry now as it’s a nightmare coming out of there turning right!

Traffic lights for the Wheaton Hall junction was an election promise.....which was (funnily enough :rolleyes:) never fulfilled! Residents weren't asked whether we wanted them or not.

Once the Bryanstown lights went in, we were never going to get them!

Lord TSC

They may have been discussed before but the lights at Lidl (or is it Aldi) between the Bus Station and Argos drive me nuts. My recent routine has me driving from Marley's Lane down towards John's Shop/St. Mary's.

Coming down that road in the direction of the bus station, there's a right turn right at the Lidl. The road splits into two lanes, one to go straight and one to turn right. There's traffic lights to accommodate as well cause it's a busy enough junction. Only the lights never actually go green for the right turn. They just go the general green.

I know the rules here; that means I can go if there's no traffic approaching from the opposite direction. I pull up a bit, signal right and wait for the gap. But again I say, it's a busy junction, and there's been times where there is no gap. A car may sneak through once the lights have gone red again, and I've seen many cars just go because they are trapped in a no-mans land and it can be dangerous NOT to push through the red light. But I've also seen many a car stuck waiting for the green arrow to turn right that never appears, and it slows down traffic no end there.

positron

borderlinemeath wrote: »

[/B]
Impossible given the planning and layout of the carpark. A possibility would have been a restriction on cars turning right (towards Drogheda) and making them go left down to the roundabout and turning there. The pavillions in Swords have a system like that and no need for lights.

That sounds like a good idea. They could have done it better in many ways - I think slowing down everyone with that double roundabout and then lights are all for the benefit of the shopping center imho - capitalism over common sense etc.

Shano81

Lights now working at boyne valley. There is no pedestrian lights so would that indicate they’ll keep the ones at flo gas? Absolutely ridiculous.

The last 2 days, 4 cars have gone right through the pedestrian lights when red as I have crossed because of the lights at boyne valley ahead I presume. I’m going to start taking their number plates and reporting them to the guards and would encourage other to do the same if this keeps happening – very dangerous with pleanty of kids crossing at those lights

kormak

Not in any way condoning breaking red lights but people (drivers) are getting royally pissed off with more and more traffic lights in Drogheda. People are getting inpatient and rightly so... It's beyond a joke at this stage?!
A cute hoor move to push people out to the toll which is also being increased in the new year!
What I think is required is a collective message to Drogheda corporation to review the entire trafficlight situation in the town

positron

Yep, if the council intent to keep FloGas crossing as well as the new Boyne Valley signal, there would be work for some sort of vigilante vandals.. I am just saying!

Or may be they will work in sync - like they go red together and green together etc? Also I wonder if there's an issue with pedestrian crossing at Boyne valley signal as anyone walking across the road there would be hidden from the view of a southbound motorist because of the slight hill and slope of the road there.