Roundabouts plan is 7 months behind schedule

emptybladder

So, we're going to have half a traffic management system in place for the Volvo. Christ, can the Council get *anything* right?????

Traffic plan to miss Volvo race deadline by months

October 28, 2011 - 6:15am
Red-faced City Council officials admit new junctions will not be ready in time


BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM
Red-faced City Council officials are facing their second major roads debacle in a fortnight, after it emerged their plan to remove city roundabouts is facing delays of up to seven months and will not be completed ahead of the Volvo Ocean Race next summer.
The Galway City Tribunecan reveal that potential problems with two of the roundabouts have arisen because of the Council’s own City Development Plan, and they may not be replaced by junctions until November 2012.
It’s now likely that variations to the Development Plan will have to be drawn up and voted on by councillors because the junctions will encroach on open space and possibly even privately-owned land.
The issues have arisen because there are five exits off the Corrib Park and Menlo Park roundabouts, which have to be reduced to four-way junctions.
It means Galway is facing traffic chaos during the Volvo Ocean Race – which will attract more than 600,000 visitors to the city – and the Galway Races because the new €6m Urban Traffic Control system will not be fully in place.
Director of Transport and Infrastructure, Ciarán Hayes admitted this week that there would be an impact on traffic because of the delays, but insisted that motorists will be able to see the benefits from the removal of the first four (of six) roundabouts in the scheme.
The new high-tech ‘intelligent’ traffic light system was supposed to be in place by April, but is now highly unlikely to be finished before November next year.
The embarrassing realisation for the Council comes just a fortnight after it admitted the Seamus Quirke Road project will be delayed by at least six months, and it does not know what the final cost of that scheme will be.
Just eight weeks ago, the Council maintained the new traffic light system – which will be linked to a manned control centre in City Hall and includes CCTV at all junctions on the N6 route into the city – would be in place by Easter, and any teething problems would be ironed out well in advance of the Volvo Ocean Race finale.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.

galah

wanna bet it'll be way over budget as well? And I am sure they will have forgotten something, which requires digging up bits again after completion...how the project managers of these roadwork projects got away with it so far is beyond me. If I delivered projects like that - overrun, mismanaged, disorganised and over budget - I'd be out of a job faster that I could say P45...

parrai

Amazing really! Volvo have said that the only real thing they had an issue with was the traffic the last time, yet they gave Galway another chance at holding not only part of the race, but the final part of the race! This, I would think, should be showing the great potential Galway has, to host events like this. You'd think these 'planners' would take these things into consideration.

Cathal01

Why are they removing the roundabouts in the first place?

parrai

Cathal01 wrote: »

Why are they removing the roundabouts in the first place?

I don't know, but I think it is to get money flowing in the local economy...

There is probably money there for infrastructure and this is their take on using that money.

This is not fact just an opinion.

Cathal01

To me, it's utter madness and waste. The lights at Moneenageisha are an absolute joke, and traffic at Ballybrit is just fine. The problems when them lights go in at Briarhill are going to be off the scale.

TheCosmicFrog

Cathal01 wrote: »

Why are they removing the roundabouts in the first place?

They're an absolute nightmare when it comes to traffic management. And they make it difficult for both cyclists and pedestrians. They're also linking up all of the lights to a networked traffic management system which means the timings can be controlled remotely. Makes so much more sense for the future, even if they are likely to make a balls of it.

Cathal01

In my experience it's the lights that cause the most problems with traffic management. I never saw such massive traffic constantly backed up on Lough Atalia when the roundabout was in place at Moneenageisha. I never heard of any accidents there either.
People aren't aware enough in Galway. Most people aren't on the ball at the lights and take forever to put their cars into gear and accelerate.
Briarhill has no problem with traffic management. I've lived there for four years and installing lights there is a complete waste of funds.

parrai

There are traffic lights around the city, that at night time, could be put on automatic, but are not...

At moneenageisha, those lights too are 'intelligent lights' but a major disaster. Now in all fairness, if they can't manage those lights as it is, I dread when the new ones are operational...

The problem is not the roundabouts, it's the infrastructure of the city not being able to service the volume of traffic in the city at peak times.
Also, there are a lot of people that do not know how to use a roundabout.

i know that there isn't the money there to fix this problem now, but it should have been addressed years ago...

No practical vision or provision for the future is the real problem.

whitelightrider

Its insane and makes no sense. So in a recession can anyone tell me how it can run so overtime, and over budget? How is it not managed by a Project Manager?? This is crazy. Would you let your house run over budget by millions and over time by months??? Its a disgrace. How are City Hall being let away with this.

GalwayGaillimh

Simple! Just sack everybody involved in the project and all the councillors etc as well.
You can be sure that the next project will be ahead of schedule and under budget!

galwaycyclist

GalwayDotCom wrote: »

Simple! Just sack everybody involved in the project and all the councillors etc as well.
You can be sure that the next project will be ahead of schedule and under budget!

Yes but this is the point these people(apart from the councillors) cannot be sacked they are not actually answerable to anybody.

Sponge Bob

Not only are they not answerable to anybody, the 'traffic control room' they are planning will not be manned between 7.30 and 9am nor will it be manned after 6pm. So the chaos will continue anyway.

emptybladder

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Not only are they not answerable to anybody, the 'traffic control room' they are planning will not be manned between 7.30 and 9am nor will it be manned after 6pm. So the chaos will continue anyway.

I read somewhere a couple of weeks ago that it will be manned 7am to 7pm, but that could be more council bull

KevR

Cathal01 wrote: »

Briarhill has no problem with traffic management. I've lived there for four years and installing lights there is a complete waste of funds.

Disagree with this. Briarhill is a disaster at peak periods.

I'd love to see Briarhill get a flyover though, would be a lot better than lights.

Cathal01

KevR wrote: »

Disagree with this. Briarhill is a disaster at peak periods.

I'd love to see Briarhill get a flyover though, would be a lot better than lights.

That's going to be a given though considering the volume of people that commute from Oranmore, Athenry, Monivea, Turloughmore etc. all on that side of Galway, and it's really not bad at all. I avoid the Tom Hogans road if I'm going past Ballybrit/Briarhill, go down by Castlepark and you have no problems. Can you imagine what it's going to be like there with traffic lights?

galwaycyclist

Cathal01 wrote: »

That's going to be a given though considering the volume of people that commute from Oranmore, Athenry, Monivea, Turloughmore etc. all on that side of Galway, and it's really not bad at all. I avoid the Tom Hogans road if I'm going past Ballybrit/Briarhill, go down by Castlepark and you have no problems. Can you imagine what it's going to be like there with traffic lights?

Hopefully the lights will help put a stop to rat running through Castlepark and the Monivea Rd

antoobrien

galwaycyclist wrote: »

Hopefully the lights will help put a stop to rat running through Castlepark and the Monivea Rd

Not a chance, it'll make it worse

There was lots of activity at the Ballybrit roundabout at about 10pm last night.

Some of the extra lanes are taking shape.