Seamus Quirke roadworks merge

Leonard Hofstadter

According to the Advertiser's facebook page, this will be finished in "mid April". As one smart arse put it, April "what year":D?

Storm 10

I have never seen more confusing road markings than the new ones at the entrance/exit at the Westside Shopping centre, what are they, cycle lanes or what. Then you have a new bus stop across the road which is the start and finish for the new 404 bus with no bus shelter.

Robbo

Storm 10 wrote: »

I have never seen more confusing road markings than the new ones at the entrance/exit at the Westside Shopping centre, what are they, cycle lanes or what. Then you have a new bus stop across the road which is the start and finish for the new 404 bus with no bus shelter.

404, Shelter not found?

These new bus routes are a missed opportunity to kick it old skool. If they'd called them the 303, 808 and the 909, we could have got Roland aboard.

what_traffic

Storm 10 wrote: »

I have never seen more confusing road markings than the new ones at the entrance/exit at the Westside Shopping centre, what are they, cycle lanes or what. Then you have a new bus stop across the road which is the start and finish for the new 404 bus with no bus shelter.

Yes - they are unpainted/untarred cycle lanes.
Good point re shelter for the 404 - two shelters in Westside not being used at all now.

celty

snubbleste wrote: »

I don't agree with this. Look at the pedestrian crossing at Dunnes Terryland, there is no barrier on the median there yet that designated crossing point has seen a serious amount of pedestrian-motorist collisions resulting in deaths.

Another example is the pedestrian crossing at University Road. Nobody uses it. They go straight across the road, into the traffic, instead of walking 100m from the exit from the College.

Pedestrians take risks rather than go out of their way to designated crossings.

what_traffic

celty wrote: »

Another example is the pedestrian crossing at University Road. Nobody uses it. They go straight across the road, into the traffic, instead of walking 100m from the exit from the College.

Pedestrians take risks rather than go out of their way to designated crossings.

This is not an example of what snubbleste was saying, what you are illustrating here is that they placed the pedestrian crossing in the wrong place.

Sponge Bob

Hope nobody minds if I get back on topic

I don't see why Tansey cannot open part of this road before the builders holiday around april 7th. Equally I cannot see the entire job being completed any time in April, no chance José. It looks like they will complete and open the bottom 2 thirds of it wither by the 7th of April or else after the 20th of April.

Perhaps late May - Early June with some outages of fingers etc and hopefully in time for the Volvo.

http://www.galwaynews.ie/24758-seamus-quirke-road-opening-expected-april

SEAMUS QUIRKE ROAD OPENING EXPECTED IN APRIL

The Seamus Quirke road in the city is expected to open mid to late next month

The opening of the road has been delayed several times, the last target date given by the city council was this month.

what_traffic

from your last link Sponge Bob
"
Director of services for transportation at Galway city council is Joe Tansey.
"

Is this correct or has galwaynews.ie got a typo here?
From
http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/YourCouncil/ManagementTeam/
its Mr. Ciarán Hayes

Sponge Bob

Good spot, Galwaynews is wrong. Tansey is head of Transportation only.

Leonard Hofstadter

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Hope nobody minds if I get back on topic

I don't see why Tansey cannot open part of this road before the builders holiday around april 7th. Equally I cannot see the entire job being completed any time in April, no chance José. It looks like they will complete and open the bottom 2 thirds of it wither by the 7th of April or else after the 20th of April.

Perhaps late May - Early June with some outages of fingers etc and hopefully in time for the Volvo.

If they made an effort they could get the bit between the Topaz/Peugeot garage and Lidls done by next week, and they could easily have the bit between the Corrib Park (Browne) roundabout and Gleann Dara open by next week as well.

A lot has been going on between Gleann Dara and the Glenoaks over the past few days, a lot of rocks etc are going down and they are starting to prepare a surface for the new road there, that really should be done by the end of this month. That leaves between the Glenoaks and Fort Lorenzo, which still has a fair bit of work left.

snubbleste

Wall at Gleann Dara along the road restored and new saplings planted at precise intervals. Permanent traffic signals being erected.

Can't yis all feel the excitement yet? I think the road will need a renaming when it opens - The New SQR

Sponge Bob

I'll stick to my prediction 6 weeks back.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=76986610&postcount=583

I reckon they could even get the bottom of the scheme open as far as the Aldi turn by the end of March if they get the finger out and perhaps even to Gleann Dara if we are very very lucky.

The rest of it, nahh. After the builders holiday at easter some time.

Leonard Hofstadter

Looking at how slowly things have been going over the past few days, I'd say mid April is starting to look a bit optimistic now.

As far as I can see, the only thing they've managed to do in the past week is to lay a few footpaths, erect a new bus stop and install traffic lights at the junction for Westside Dunnes:rolleyes:.

Sponge Bob

If they don't close the Aldi turn soon, ideally this friday evening, and then work 24 hours solid for a few days on the new junction around there I'd say nothing can now open until well after easter.

Looking like late April from Corrib Park to c.Gleann Dara and late May or early June for the rest of it up top.

Leonard Hofstadter

I wonder will it be opened in sections, or will they just wait until the whole thing is done before they bother to open it?

slideshow bob

The cycle and footpaths on this road are lethal. Unbelievably there is a step up of about 7cm between the cycle path and footpath which is a perfect height to trip over a bike. I have heard of this happening to two people in the last three weeks, and it happened to me last weekend.

In my case I was approaching the hospital roundabout. A woman with a double buggy was waiting to cross the road - the buggy was big enough to take most of the cycle path whilst she was standing on the pedestrian path. I braked, but knew I wouldn't stop in time. There were two ways to avoid smacking into the buggy. 1 onto the road and into the cars which were flying by. 2 onto the footpath and behind the woman. I tried 2, but it was impossible to get the bike over the step-up and onto the footpath at that angle and I ended up on my ares.

At best this is thoughtless design, poor engineering or sloppy workmanship. It looks like that lip/step-up is most of the way along that road. It's present but much smaller on the quicentenial bridge and has never cause me bother.

Anybody know who, if anybody, I can contact in City Hall about trying to get the problem rectified?

snubbleste

Knock-out images
Yeah I empathise, I use that area all the time and most of the current SQR cycle path is dangerous, no question. I just bear in mind that it is a work in progress and keep below the 35kph speed limit...
However, whenever that roundabout is removed and the buslanes are open, then it should be easier to use.
You can contact roads @ galwaycity.ie
Also mention that red&white concrete block plonked on the bike path west of the BótharLeChéile junction.

Storm 10

The whole road as far as I can see is lethal, I have never seen cycle lanes like them any where on "the road and off the road", the amount of times I have had near misses with cyclists is frightning. Even the cycle lanes coming out of the Westside Shopping Centre are crazy if going left you pull across a bike on the inside, I forget its there and I know I am wrong if it was coloured it would make life easier.

They have even put a terminal bus stop opposite the Westside Tavern with no place for the bus which waits there for around ten minutes to pull into and no bus shelter, its a joke.

Sponge Bob

I'd go see your councillor too Bob.

However if 7cm is in the plans they will do nothing until Coffeys have gone away ( June maybe September) as they will be utterly afraid of any more cost overruns. If the paths are not supposed to be 7cm higher they would chase Coffey to fix the problem.

I take your point that they will have to 'bench' or create a small continual upramp along the areas where peds WILL suddenly cross that cycle path, eg at the myriad Bus Stops to allow cyclists to suddenly veer left without catching their wheels and spilling.

Storm 10

In relation to the height of the footpaths are all the holes at the bottom of the path edges for water run off because if the are they are not at road level, so maybe there is another coat of tarmacadam to go on the road to raise it.

Mrs OBumble

slideshow bob wrote: »

In my case I was approaching the hospital roundabout. A woman with a double buggy was waiting to cross the road - the buggy was big enough to take most of the cycle path whilst she was standing on the pedestrian path. I braked, but knew I wouldn't stop in time. There were two ways to avoid smacking into the buggy. 1 onto the road and into the cars which were flying by. 2 onto the footpath and behind the woman. I tried 2, but it was impossible to get the bike over the step-up and onto the footpath at that angle and I ended up on my ares.

At best this is thoughtless design, poor engineering or sloppy workmanship.

Is it normal practise internationally for cycle paths to be on a level with footpaths? I've not looked that hard, but am pretty sure when I've seen 'em in our countries they've been level with the road.

My sympathies for your spill, slidehshow bob, but in my eyes it was 100% caused by dumb-mum (and I'm toning my language down in saying that) who put her children out in the traffic while she waited to cross. And if there was a bigger difference between the footpath the cycle-lane part of the road, not a smaller one.

Iwannahurl

JustMary wrote: »

Is it normal practise internationally for cycle paths to be on a level with footpaths? I've not looked that hard, but am pretty sure when I've seen 'em in our countries they've been level with the road.

My sympathies for your spill, slidehshow bob, but in my eyes it was 100% caused by dumb-mum (and I'm toning my language down in saying that) who put her children out in the traffic while she waited to cross. And if there was a bigger difference between the footpath the cycle-lane part of the road, not a smaller one.

I'm away currently, so out of touch with SQR situation.

A couple of general points.

1. If I was approaching that roundabout I would be on the road. Either that or I would just take a different route altogether.

2. As a parent of two kids under five I still need to use a buggy. I'm not aware of any sensible means of crossing the road without pushing the buggy out first. The problem here, as I see it, is Galway City Council's obnoxious roundabouts. Unfortunately the SQR modifications begin and end at roundabouts, and therefore these inherently problematic junctions are not up for discussion in this context.

slideshow bob

JustMary wrote: »

... in my eyes it was 100% caused by dumb-mum ... who put her children out in the traffic while she waited to cross.

Actually that woman had few (no?) choices - if you want to cross there when there's any traffic you either wear your go-faster runners and take a flier between cars, or you wait on a motorist to stop and let you pass. Ussain Bolt might succeed with the flier pushing a buggy, but not your average parent. If you want a motorist to stop, you've got to hang onto the edge of the road and look increasingly distressed until somebody finally stops. That's not going to happen if you wait on the footpath, you've got to be right on the kerbside.

For what it's worth Martin McElliot is the city engineer with responsibility for the SQR works. I'm waiting on a callback. Feels a bit like waiting at one of those roundabouts for a safe time to cross...

Sponge Bob

There will be proper pedestrian crossing there by christmas once they do the Corrib Park roundabout ...but that is not scheduled to start until around October.

what_traffic

Sponge Bob wrote: »

There will be proper pedestrian crossing there by christmas once they do the Corrib Park roundabout ...but that is not scheduled to start until around October.

Providing the Cllr's vote for it - can't see them stopping now.

what_traffic

Storm 10 wrote: »

The whole road as far as I can see is lethal, I have never seen cycle lanes like them any where on"the road and off the road", the amount of times I have had near misses with cyclists is frightning.Even the cycle lanes coming out of the Westside Shopping Centre are crazy if going left you pull across a bike on the inside, I forget its there and I know I am wrong if it was coloured it would make life easier.

Your observation was flagged by the Galway Cycling Campaign well in advance.
See (from 2010)
http://www.galwaycycling.org/city-council-to-spend-e6-million-to-slow-down-city-buses/
and 2008
http://www.galwaycycling.org/seamus-quirke-road-selection-tendering-process-currently-underway/

slideshow bob

Although there's lots of good stuff in it, I'm not sure the specific engineering/build issue with the step between the cycle path and pedestrian path is mentioned in the GCC campaign article you cite.

Got callback from an admin in the City Council Transport office yesterday. Feargal McGreal is the city's resident engineer on the project and evidently his view is that as Coffey have responsibility for the site they tell me they have asked Coffey's site safety officer to contact me. They were unable to give me his name. I'll wait and see.

what_traffic

slideshow bob wrote: »

Although there's lots of good stuff in it, I'm not sure the specific engineering/build issue with the step between the cycle path and pedestrian path is mentioned in the GCC campaign article you cite.

Got callback from an admin in the City Council Transport office yesterday. Feargal McGreal is the city's resident engineer on the project and evidently his view is that as Coffey have responsibility for the site they tell me they have asked Coffey's site safety officer to contact me. They were unable to give me his name. I'll wait and see.

Your right but would you have this issue if the cycle path/lane was fully incorporated into the bus lane in the first place? Nope. I would guess nearly half of the time a cyclist will be on road(in the bus lane AND left filter lane) going through the junctions so fail to see the logic of putting them up on the paths between junctions. Keep giving the city council hassle - they have oversight over the scheme as they are the ones paying for it(i.e taxpayers money).

snubbleste

I hit a pedestrian today with my shiny bicycle near BótharLeChéile.
He stepped off the footpath onto the cycle path about to cross the road, looking out for motorists only and I just slammed gently into him.
Poor guy was a bit scattered but no injuries, I have some bruises.

Paddyfield

Slightly off topic but very relevant.

A few weeks ago, newly constructed junction was opened where Devon Park meets Dr Mannix Road. It took about two months to complete.

Today, the were removing some of it up to widen the the junction and remove the sharpness of the angle which drivers need to take.

I can't understand how an engineer would spend so long studying and then make a mess of a simple task like this.

It would seem that there are going to be a lot of mistakes on the SQR and the workers will be back fixing these 'oversights' during the summer.