Galway City to receive €25 million investment in transport over the next 5 years

pete_mcs

Galway city council could spend the 25 million on putting back in the roundabouts that they are taking away this year. Ballybrit is a farce at rush hour, monivea road backed up miles. Lough Atalia is jammed everyday, all the time. The motorway from Dublin just ends at a roundabout!!!!!!! Westside, jebus dont get me started on the farcial never ending roadworks at Westside. (tar a road, dig it up, tar it again). Claregalway bus lane was such a waste of money, next time count how many buses pass you as you sit waiting for the traffic to go through the lights.

Iwannahurl

galwaycyclist wrote: »

At the moment the Galway Transportation Unit are fighting to keep any mention of zebra crossings out of the draft Walking and Cycling strategy. The latest reason is that it would be discriminatory against disabled people to use zebra crossings in the city.

So they were looking for EU20million in state funds for "Smarter Travel" on the default basis that they are not going to use pedestrian crossings that give pedestrians priority.

What could be wrong with this picture?

I have raised the issue of zebra crossings (or equivalent/better) with the City Council, especially in the context of all those infernal roundabouts.

Nobody in the Council (elected or official) has issued any formal response to date, so it's news to me that the GTU is now suggesting zebra crossings discriminate against disabled people. Is that on the written record, and can they point to any precedent, policy or best practice guidelines to support their contention?

Now that I think of it, would they therefore accept that ?zebra crossings they recently installed (for example on Shantalla Road near the primary school/junction with Maunsell's Road, and the one on Clybaun Road) directly discriminate against disabled people? If so, why did they install them?





EDIT: Did some quick searching. The issue may be with vision-impaired pedestrians. Here's an interesting paper from Sweden that discusses some of the details, in the context of making roundabouts safer: Improving roundabouts for cyclists and visually impaired, Lund University 2009.

galwaycyclist

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I have raised the issue of zebra crossings (or equivalent/better) with the City Council, especially in the context of all those infernal roundabouts.

Nobody in the Council (elected or official) has issued any formal response to date, so it's news to me that the GTU is now suggesting zebra crossings discriminate against disabled people. Is that on the written record, and can they point to any precedent, policy or best practice guidelines to support their contention?

It is in written position papers that they are circulating as part of negotiations that Cllr Michael Crowe is chairing at SPC level. So not "published" but if you are a member of a group affiliated to the community forum then it would be my view that you are entitled to see them.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Now that I think of it, would they therefore accept that ?zebra crossings they recently installed (for example on Shantalla Road near the primary school/junction with Maunsell's Road, and the one on Clybaun Road) directly discriminate against disabled people? If so, why did they install them?

I haven't heard of one on Clybaun Rd. However regarding Shantalla Rd I would speculate that Cllr. Colette Connolly and/or Cllr Peter Keane made that the price of their votes on the roundabouts.

This illustrates a recurring theme, among the elected councillors there is support for zebra crossings but opposition from the Galway Transportation Unit (GTU).

Among the elected councillors, there is support for contraflow cycling on one-way streets but opposition from the GTU.

Among the elected councillors, there is support for developing country lanes and boreens as a resource for walking and cycling, Menlo, Castlegar etc, but opposition from the GTU.

Among the elected councillors, there is support for making cycling provision on-road by default but opposition from the GTU.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

EDIT: Did some quick searching. The issue may be with vision-impaired pedestrians. Here's an interesting paper from Sweden that discusses some of the details, in the context of making roundabouts safer: Improving roundabouts for cyclists and visually impaired, Lund University 2009.

This issue is acknowledged but my understanding is that guide dogs can be trained to deal with zebra crossings. If there was a will, I suspect a means could be found to deal with other issues that might arise.

bk

pete_mcs wrote: »

Claregalway bus lane was such a waste of money, next time count how many buses pass you as you sit waiting for the traffic to go through the lights.

Sorry to go OT, but this is a silly argument.

You hear this point being made in Dublin all the time too. However it isn't correct. Even empty looking bus lanes, carry far more people per hour then they can as a car lane.

Remember the odd bus passing by every 10 minutes can be carry up to 120 people, which is far more then you could fit in the same space with cars.

Bus lanes need to be mostly empty, so that buses can be faster then cars, as the bus has to stop at each bus stop and board passengers and you want the bus to be faster all over then cars in order to attract people out of cars and into buses.

antoobrien

bk wrote: »

Sorry to go OT, but this is a silly argument.

You hear this point being made in Dublin all the time too. However it isn't correct. Even empty looking bus lanes, carry far more people per hour then they can as a car lane.

Remember the odd bus passing by every 10 minutes can be carry up to 120 people, which is far more then you could fit in the same space with cars.

Bus lanes need to be mostly empty, so that buses can be faster then cars, as the bus has to stop at each bus stop and board passengers and you want the bus to be faster all over then cars in order to attract people out of cars and into buses.

Bk the buses using this lane (from Tuam to Gawlay, there's no outbound) average at about 1 per hour. Even trebled it's a total waste.

galwaycyclist

antoobrien wrote: »

Bk the buses using this lane (from Tuam to Gawlay, there's no outbound) average at about 1 per hour. Even trebled it's a total waste.

Ok there is an outbound bus lane on the southern side of Claregalway. To approach this another way. If Claregalway represents a constrained pinch point on the route, then setting aside extra lanes for cars either side of the village not going to get those cars through the village any faster. So there is going to be queueing either way at rush hour. If there is going to be queing anyway, then why not use whatever extra capacity you have to keep the buses moving past those queues?

Whatever about the existing bus service, you cannot grow the PT service unless there is some advantage to taking the bus for potential passengers.

Sponge Bob

Blame Claregalway on Galway County not Galway City.

Back to this mythical €25m , how much will be disburded in 2012 and for what??

pete_mcs

bk wrote: »

Sorry to go OT, but this is a silly argument.

You hear this point being made in Dublin all the time too. However it isn't correct. Even empty looking bus lanes, carry far more people per hour then they can as a car lane.

Remember the odd bus passing by every 10 minutes can be carry up to 120 people, which is far more then you could fit in the same space with cars.

Bus lanes need to be mostly empty, so that buses can be faster then cars, as the bus has to stop at each bus stop and board passengers and you want the bus to be faster all over then cars in order to attract people out of cars and into buses.

I am not against the bus lane, but this bus lane continues for less than a half a mile, and the buses gets clogged up at the traffic lights anyway, and then the lane just ends. It was a waste of money when the dog in the street knows that a bypass has been needed in Claregalway for donkey years. Add to this that this lovely new road gets flooded when it rains. A simple process of forward thinking by galway city/co co engineers would end up saving money in the long run.

bk

pete_mcs you may well be right, I'm not familiar with the bus lane in question.

I was making a more general point about bus lanes.

Nok1a

antoobrien wrote: »

Bk the buses using this lane (from Tuam to Gawlay, there's no outbound) average at about 1 per hour. Even trebled it's a total waste.

Your basis for an average number is flawed, average over 24hrs would be about 1 an hour but the majority of the buses would run most of their services at peak times which is when the bus lane is needed most.

-Bus eireann offer multiple daily sevices through claregalway to which incldue the following destinations derry, ballina, castlerea, tuam, sligo, mountbellew,
-Burkes buses,
-School buses - both national and secondary,
-Private buses,
-Feda bus,

Im sure that is only half the buses(with passengers) that pass through claregalway each day.

It was expensive to build but the end result is a good surface for traffic, good footpaths for pedestrians and a well lit road, the village deserves these features to allow them to safetly walk through one of the most congested roads in ireland.

antoobrien

Nok1a wrote: »

Your basis for an average number is flawed, average over 24hrs would be about 1 an hour but the majority of the buses would run most of their services at peak times which is when the bus lane is needed most.

I was basing it on average 1 per hour during the BE operating hours (about 12 hours or so). There are a couple of times when there are 3 schedule services within an hour, but others where there's no service scheduled for 90 minutes.

Go take a look at their schedule.