Bodkin / Headford Road roundabout replacement [Lights are on!]

topcat77

just seen this: http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/021013_01.html

It'll be carnage!!!!! I'd take Monday the 7th off!

spurscormac

topcat77 wrote: »

just seen this: http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/021013_01.html

It'll be carnage!!!!! I'd take Monday the 7th off!

It's not the Monday I'd be worried about - 7pm start of the changes.
Its the following day Tuesday when they still haven't finished by 7am that could be utter madness on the roads.

Perform u-turn at *some other roundabout*

Lights are being put on the poles at various points.

Edit: For those on phones and the like - it looks like they will be allowing left turns only and down to one lane (except coming from Sean Mulvoy where it is left or over the bridge but still only one lane)

spurscormac

Deleted User wrote: »

Perform u-turn at *some other roundabout*

Lights are being put on the poles at various points.

The classic one is coming from town past Omniplex, to get out the Headford Rd you have to go over the bridge as far as the roundabout at the back of the hospital, just short of westside, then come back over the bridge to take the left out towards Headford.

Absolutely crazy - surely they could stagger the work at each point of traffic light placement & figure out some contraflows to allow a smoother flow.

antoobrien

topcat77 wrote: »

just seen this: http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/021013_01.html

It'll be carnage!!!!! I'd take Monday the 7th off!

Considering the notice says 7pm to 7am, anybody not working night should be okay.

spurscormac

spurscormac wrote: »

Absolutely crazy - surely they could stagger the work at each point of traffic light placement & figure out some contraflows to allow a smoother flow.

I guess if they are going to have to break the roundy bit of a roundabout they might as well do it all at the same time.

antoobrien

When I was passing earlier it looked as if the pedestrian island on the bridge side was closed off to (foot) traffic. Beware when attempting to cross, you may have to go the whole way around the RAB.

Iwannahurl

In my view their facilitation of pedestrians during the works has been pretty poor.

Last time I looked I also saw that for some strange reason only one footpath is provided for pedestrians entering Galway Shopping Centre via the new entrance from Sean Mulvoy Road. That single footway then quickly peters out into nothingness. Yet their billboard proclaims "improved access".

snubbleste

That is hilarious!
Have you noticed the height of the new footpath at SeanMulvoy? It is a mini cliff, I thought the road surface had sunk, when I stepped off!
We'll just have to wait until it is finished and be awe-inspired at the new creation

El_Dangeroso

snubbleste wrote: »

That is hilarious!
Have you noticed the height of the new footpath at SeanMulvoy? It is a mini cliff, I thought the road surface had sunk, when I stepped off!
We'll just have to wait until it is finished and be awe-inspired at the new creation

I think they are raising the road for sure, they have a mini tarmac ramp there currently. Also the roundabout paved area is about a foot above the road at the moment.

antoobrien

snubbleste wrote: »

That is hilarious!
Have you noticed the height of the new footpath at SeanMulvoy? It is a mini cliff, I thought the road surface had sunk, when I stepped off!
We'll just have to wait until it is finished and be awe-inspired at the new creation

Should be in line with the new surface on the interior of roundabout, as this looks higher than the current road surfaces in the area.

They did the same thing with most of the other RABs.

at1withmyself

Anyone know when its all supposed to be completed. From reading above am I right to say the junctions will begin operating on Tuesday morning? However its the completed date I'm interested in?

Thanks...

ger vallely

I don't have a link to hand but it was in The Advertiser a couple of weeks back that work is expected to be completed in time for the Christmas rush.So I'd say we'd be sorted by Halloween 2014!!

Sniipe

I came across this on Reddit today - I thought it was interesting... these yanks are doing the opposite to us.

“since the 1990s, Carmel, Indiana has been replacing all signaled intersections with roundabouts. Benefits include gas savings of 24k gallons/year per roundabout; construction costs $125,000 less per intersection; injury accidents dropped by 80 percent and total accidents dropped by 40 percent.” (carmel.in.gov)

I'm going to have to guess that they may have less people on foot and perhaps a wider city area.

Iwannahurl

Sniipe wrote: »

I came across this on Reddit today - I thought it was interesting... these yanks are doing the opposite to us.

“since the 1990s, Carmel, Indiana has been replacing all signaled intersections with roundabouts. Benefits include gas savings of 24k gallons/year per roundabout; construction costs $125,000 less per intersection; injury accidents dropped by 80 percent and total accidents dropped by 40 percent.” (carmel.in.gov)

I'm going to have to guess that they may have less people on foot and perhaps a wider city area.

In the US roundabouts may have crosswalks on all arms, and motorists are required to yield to pedestrians on both entry and exit. Compliance is less than 100%, though, and pedestrian accessibility issues have been identified.

In Ireland, and perhaps especially in Galway City, motorised traffic has continuous priority on roundabouts, which is why this junction type is so hostile to pedestrians and cyclists. Signalised junctions may increase the potential for collisions, but in my view the answer to that is strict control of motorists' speed.

antoobrien

Iwannahurl wrote: »

In the US roundabouts may have crosswalks on all arms, and motorists are required to yield to pedestrians on both entry and exit. Compliance is less than 100%, though, and pedestrian accessibility issues have been identified.

In Ireland, and perhaps especially in Galway City, motorised traffic has continuous priority on roundabouts, which is why this junction type is so hostile to pedestrians and cyclists. Signalised junctions may increase the potential for collisions, but in my view the answer to that is strict control of motorists' speed.

How many deaths have there been at RABs vs signallised junctions in Galway?

I can't remember any at/on roundabouts but there have been deaths at lights.

Iwannahurl

antoobrien wrote: »

How many deaths have there been at RABs vs signallised junctions in Galway?

I can't remember any at/on roundabouts but there have been deaths at lights.

I don't know. The pedestrians at the Bodkin were good sprinters, mind you.

what_traffic

New update from galwaycity website

http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/041013_01.html
"
Bodkin Junction Upgrade Enters Final Phase of Traffic Management Plan from Tuesday 8th October
04 October 2013
"

and map

http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/041013_01.PDF

what_traffic

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I don't know. The pedestrians at the Bodkin were good sprinters, mind you.

Even a better example from yourself Iwannahurl.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=86480422&postcount=43

More sprinting - sure it' great fun altogether. Now imagine a 10 year or a 70 year old trying to do the same.

galah

I'd say you could even control deaths at junctions further by not only controlling speed (I think the junctions further up a really bad for that - you come off a 100 kmh dual carriageway towards a light-controlled junction - and the 50-sign comes way too late, so a lot of people just floor it, with potentially fatal result...), but also that very annoying habit of drivers and pedestrians here to ignore red lights altogether...

if you get that under control, junctions should be a lot safer...

galwaycyclist

antoobrien wrote: »

How many deaths have there been at RABs vs signallised junctions in Galway?

I can't remember any at/on roundabouts but there have been deaths at lights.

The issue is wider than the number of deaths on the roads. Just because there are no deaths it does not mean a junction or road is "safe".

The issue is the total number of avoidable deaths. We are currently facing an epidemic of obesity among young people which will translate into avoidable premature deaths due to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke etc etc. These are related directly to peoples ability to engage in exercise such as active travel - walking and cycling etc.

Using junctions such as roundabouts that are so dangerous that people feel discouraged from walking and cycling simply adds to the overall pool of avoidable deaths.

snubbleste

I went past this evening and the roundabout is gone. Gone
sniff sniff
All I have is some photos to remind be of the all the near death experiences I had there.

Patrickheg

Iwannahurl wrote: »

In the US roundabouts may have crosswalks on all arms, and motorists are required to yield to pedestrians on both entry and exit. Compliance is less than 100%, though, and pedestrian accessibility issues have been identified.

You need to give more information behind the "facts" in your post. It's a bit disingenuous to compare the US to ireland in terms of roundabouts, you are effectively saying a country of 400 million people are doing X whereas traffic policy in the us is at state level and very few states have opted for roundabouts so for that very reason comparison is invalid.

I lived in the US for 15 years up to 18mths ago, been to 35 states and driven substantially in 31 of them, and would estimate I saw less than 20 roundabouts in my 500k plus miles of travelling.

I suppose if one is losing an argument one gets desperate

galwaycyclist

Patrickheg wrote: »

You need to give more information behind the "facts" in your post. It's a bit disingenuous to compare the US to ireland in terms of roundabouts, you are effectively saying a country of 400 million people are doing X whereas traffic policy in the us is at state level and very few states have opted for roundabouts so for that very reason comparison is invalid.

I lived in the US for 15 years up to 18mths ago, been to 35 states and driven substantially in 31 of them, and would estimate I saw less than 20 roundabouts in my 500k plus miles of travelling.

I suppose if one is losing an argument one gets desperate

I think you may be attacking the wrong post. IWH is not the person who introduced the comparisons with the US.

gordongekko

snubbleste wrote: »

I went past this evening and the roundabout is gone. Gone
sniff sniff
All I have is some photos to remind be of the all the near death experiences I had there.

It seems to have reappeared this morning or it was there when i went around it this morning anyways

Mrs OBumble

antoobrien wrote: »

How many deaths have there been at RABs vs signallised junctions in Galway?

I can't remember any at/on roundabouts but there have been deaths at lights.

You should also factor in serious injuries, especially ones that leave a person permanently disabled.

I don't have statistics, but people I've worked with still talk about a colleague on a bicycle who was badly hurt at the Morris a few years back and hasn't worked since.


Getting back to the topic of Bodkin:

snubbleste wrote: »

I went past this evening and the roundabout is gone. Gone

Alleluia!

Iwannahurl

It still felt roundy when I drove through it on Saturday.

Crazy traffic too.

I am not at all convinced that pedestrians are being properly catered for with the new entrances to Galway Shopping Centre. The one off Sean Mulvoy Road has only one (discontinuous) footpath. The one from the Headford Road has a slip road which is tricky for pedestrians to negotiate, and people passing by on foot have to cross three lanes of traffic, all of which have priority. Additionally, motorists coming from the town direction (ie heading east) are turning right from the Headford Road to access the slip road.

It looks very chaotic to me, but who knows, maybe things will settle when the entire project is fully complete.

The original plans suggest there will be a footpath out to the junction following the old entrance.

I note that the exit onto the Headford road wasn't in the initial plans - only an entrance which has also changed in layout.

Iwannahurl

The drawings show a footpath on both side of the entrance from Sean Mulvoy Road.

http://www.galwaycity.ie/N6/130212_01.pdf

In reality there is only one. How can that be?

antoobrien

snubbleste wrote: »

I went past this evening and the roundabout is gone. Gone

Jumping the gun much, it's still there this morning.