Roadworks @ graveyard in balbriggan

sgarvan

This junction is a nightmare since it has been "upgraded"

Two good posts on the Balbriggan.net FB page regarding it. http://www.facebook.com/Balbriggan.net

Jimdagym

The delays are nuts. They definitely need the arrows marked on the road quickly, but also, the side from tesco doesn't seem to be sensored like it used to, so even at night you are left sitting there. The old junction had that down perfectly. Also, when you have the green light coming from Moylaragh, the left turn lane from tesco should absolutely have a green filter on, which it currently does not.

The one other thing is that I think the green light coming from Moylaragh should have a green filter for turning right on while the green light is on. People are very nervous pulling away from the junction and dont seem sure if the cars coming towards them have a green light too.

I dont come up chapel street too often so I dont know how bad it is, but reports on that FB link saying stopped for 4 minutes seem particularly bad!

ozmo

Why are they taking up the roundabouts around Dublin that work so well?

They are cheap to install - use zero power and need no management - yet allow the maximum amount of traffic to pass with zero wait times late at night.

Dizzyblonde

@ozmo - Blanchardstown is covered by the Dublin 15 forum.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=993

This forum is for the North County.

tatli_lokma

Jimdagym wrote: »

The delays are nuts. They definitely need the arrows marked on the road quickly, but also, the side from tesco doesn't seem to be sensored like it used to, so even at night you are left sitting there. The old junction had that down perfectly. Also, when you have the green light coming from Moylaragh, the left turn lane from tesco should absolutely have a green filter on, which it currently does not.

The one other thing is that I think the green light coming from Moylaragh should have a green filter for turning right on while the green light is on. People are very nervous pulling away from the junction and dont seem sure if the cars coming towards them have a green light too.

I dont come up chapel street too often so I dont know how bad it is, but reports on that FB link saying stopped for 4 minutes seem particularly bad!

Totally agree with you. They definitely need to reasses and make the following changes:

• Sensor the lights
• Ensure that the right arrow is reinstated because as you say people unfamiliar with the junction don't realise that the oncoming traffic light is red
• put a filter light in for left turns
• mark the road better (I have had 4 instances when traffic coming from Harry Reynolds road towards moylaragh have had to swerve when they realise that they are headed straight into the right turn lane on the oncoming side. The new lay out means you need to vear to the left as you cross the junction, but this is not very clearly marked so people unfamiliar with it seem to be ending up on the wrong side of the road once they cross the junction)

kaisersoze

I've been driving on the Harry Reynolds road turning right @ graveyard for years and got caught out last Saturday stuck in the left lane. Poorly implimented road signs are now also blocked by new street lights.
The street lighting is still dreadful. A couple of the new lights which are not turned on yet are also leaning over..Hope they fix it too.

ozmo

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

@ozmo - Blanchardstown is covered by the Dublin 15 forum.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=993

This forum is for the North County.

Oh, didnt mean to be so specific - am from Dub North myself - ill edit it to remove that location - insert any other Dub North new lights -


the argument still applies though- roundabouts are nearly always better

well almost - this one (from UK - not Dub North - hope its ok to mention ) might be a bit too extreme for us here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DPsVjTWjE8)

sgarvan

Just sent an email off to Thomas O’Connor, the Senior Executive Engineer in Fingal Co Co Roads department.

Email is as below. LittleTed, used your bullet points

It is great to see that the surface and layout of this junction has improved dramatically but can I ask is the construction/completion work finished?

The reason I ask is because I, and many other residents feel that this junction is now worse since being upgraded. It has a longer traffic wait time and is dangerous. An accident is waiting to happen.

A couple of points that residents believe could be addressed which would really solve some of the issues are:

• Sensor the lights as per the previous layout. If you arrive at lights and lights are red and no other cars are at/using the junction, your set of lights go green. The old layout had this perfect.
• Ensure that the right turn arrows are re-instated so that people unfamiliar with the junction know that the cars opposite are not going to start coming towards them.
• Put a filter light in for left turns.
• Mark the road better (Traffic coming from Harry Reynolds road towards Moylaragh have had to swerve when they realise that they are headed straight into the right turn lane on the oncoming side. The new lay out means you need to veer to the left as you cross the junction, but this is not very clearly marked so people unfamiliar with it seem to be ending up on the wrong side of the road once they cross the junction)

Also, please see some comments that from local residents that have been posted on the Balbriggan.net community Facebook page regarding this junction.

http://www.facebook.com/Balbriggan.net/posts/621305421228605

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=548185875226261&set=a.139888742722645.20831.139728726071980&type=1

tatli_lokma

stick up his email address and I'll bing one off to him too

sgarvan

Little Ted wrote: »

stick up his email address and I'll bing one off to him too

I will PM it to you.

sgarvan

Little Ted, did you get a reply? I didn't!

Looks like the traffic sensors where placed back in the road yesterday. Was defo far quicker this morning and did not turn green on one side of the junction when no cars where present.

Also I see the lane arrows have been painted on the Naul Road side to indicate what lanes are for what

October

I've just been through this junction twice this morning. Each side now seem to have a green light in turn but there needs to be filter lights to show this to drivers turning right, especially for drivers who are not familiar with the junction. They'll get it right eventually

tatli_lokma

no - didn't get a reply.

I also suggested in my email about possibly staggering the right turn lane from Harry Reynolds road on to the Naul Road. The reason for this is because with the bike lane being in place, if you are on Naul road and turning left onto HR Road, it is actually a fairly tight turn. I am familair with it now, so I take it at a wider swing, but I have seen a good few cars turning left almost hit the kerb. The fact that the kerb becomes the cycle lane and then goes back to a kerb is also a bit awkward.
If the right turn lane on HR road was set back a few feet, then it would leave more room for those turning left into the road.

I'm not explaining it very well! The right turn from collins avenue onto gracepark road as an example of what I mean and sent a link to it on google maps with my email.
http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=Collins+Avenue,+Beaumont,+Dublin&hl=en&ll=53.381061,-6.23921&spn=0.000026,0.027788&sll=53.3834,-8.21775&sspn=9.771782,28.45459&oq=collins+avenue,+d&hnear=Collins+Ave,+Dublin+9,+County+Dublin&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=53.381061,-6.23921&panoid=Zb88SByojCRqFny_km8-vQ&cbp=12,272.34,,0,0

sgarvan

Its alright, I understood you when I looked at the map!!

tatli_lokma

I did word it better in my email! honest! I'm just on my phone at the moment and can't be arsed doing a copy and paste job from the email!

F1 fanatic

Anyone know when these works are going to be finished.

Still no street lights.

Frank Spencer

It's a joke that cars are allowed to park outside houses after the traffic lights heading into Balbriggan from the R122. I understand that people live in these houses but their cars are blocking the flow of traffic.

Yesterday on a quiet Sunday afternoon I missed the lights because of cars blocking the road leaving and returning to Balbriggan. I can only imagine what it is like during the busier weekdays if cars are parked there.

Who would one send an e-mail to to raise this issue?

kaisersoze

roads@fingalcoco.ie

Frank if you are sending in a mail, can you please ask them when the contractor is coming back to finish the green areas that they damaged, particularly at the entrance to Westbrook?

Cheers,
KS.

Frank Spencer wrote: »

It's a joke that cars are allowed to park outside houses after the traffic lights heading into Balbriggan from the R122. I understand that people live in these houses but their cars are blocking the flow of traffic.

Yesterday on a quiet Sunday afternoon I missed the lights because of cars blocking the road leaving and returning to Balbriggan. I can only imagine what it is like during the busier weekdays if cars are parked there.

Who would one send an e-mail to to raise this issue?

Bluetonic

Frank Spencer wrote: »

It's a joke that cars are allowed to park outside houses after the traffic lights heading into Balbriggan from the R122. I understand that people live in these houses but their cars are blocking the flow of traffic.

Yesterday on a quiet Sunday afternoon I missed the lights because of cars blocking the road leaving and returning to Balbriggan. I can only imagine what it is like during the busier weekdays if cars are parked there.

Who would one send an e-mail to to raise this issue?

It's a minor inconvenience but hardly anything that needs drastic action. People need to park their cars somewhere and should expect that they can park them outside their own house.

The only other option is to park them on the grass across the road, but this would involve breaking the rules of the road, whereas what they are doing now doesn't break any.

I'd imagine there are less cars there on week days as people have commuted to work etc.., in their car.

Having said all that plans are afoot to make that road one way.

Morpheus

Well the Chapel Gate cars and houses were there long before many people who use the road today - used it. So where exactly will these people park up do you think?

Also they cant / shouldnt park across the road on the grass verge as its causing damage and in some cases some parts of the big walls at the back of the estate there, are subsiding slightly as the ground pressure from vehicles parked on the verge has damaged the walls foundations.

My suggestion is that you just get used to it, leave a little earlier and deal with the inconvenience - feel sorry for the folks who have nowhere else to park their car and lose wing mirrors there - or use a different road.

sending an email wont help.

P.S. I drive up that way every day and whilst yes its a bit annoying, but you can learn to live with it.

Benjy

I think I've figured out a way to overcome the issue of being delayed / missing the lights / getting frustrated etc. at this junction.

There are (iirc) 3 sensors in the road which are used to detect how many cars are waiting to go through the junction. If there is a car parked outside one of the houses, I stop & wait on the sensor furthest from the lights which allows oncoming traffic to get by the parked car and, when the lights change, it also allows me time to make it through the lights.

Try it out & let me know if it works for you.

Frank Spencer wrote: »

It's a joke that cars are allowed to park outside houses after the traffic lights heading into Balbriggan from the R122. I understand that people live in these houses but their cars are blocking the flow of traffic.

Yesterday on a quiet Sunday afternoon I missed the lights because of cars blocking the road leaving and returning to Balbriggan. I can only imagine what it is like during the busier weekdays if cars are parked there.

rpurfield

Morpheus wrote: »

Well the Chapel Gate cars and houses were there long before many people who use the road today - used it. So where exactly will these people park up do you think?

Also they cant / shouldnt park across the road on the grass verge as its causing damage and in some cases some parts of the big walls at the back of the estate there, are subsiding slightly as the ground pressure from vehicles parked on the verge has damaged the walls foundations.

My suggestion is that you just get used to it, leave a little earlier and deal with the inconvenience - feel sorry for the folks who have nowhere else to park their car and lose wing mirrors there - or use a different road.

sending an email wont help.

P.S. I drive up that way every day and whilst yes its a bit annoying, but you can learn to live with it.

not the house owners fault but them houses should never have been given permission there back in the mists of time or at least something amended to make room for people parking there.they also run the risk of damage to their cars from someone being careless after all

Morpheus

In fairness, back in the mists of time, the main belfast road ran through balbriggan. the naul road on which the houses were built was literally hardly ever used by anything other than the odd tractor and cars were far more scarce back then.

I remember walking with my family up that road most evenings in the summer when the graveyard and the 2 bungalows after it were all there was before you got to Dalahasey. Im sure back then there were feck all plans to build an inner and then outer ring road around the town.

They could have built the houses further back from the road though - agreed with you here. They are there over 25 years now though

F1 fanatic

Hi All

I have just e-mailed fingal co co with regards the completion of the street lighting and grass verges.

I will post the reply as soon as I receive one

F1 fanatic

Does anyone know how long it takes to get a reply off fingal coco. Ive had no reply to my email about the completion of this project yet

kaisersoze

F1, any time I've emailed them they tend not to come back.

Might be worthwhile asking a public representative to follow up on your behalf or ring the roads department direct

F1 fanatic wrote: »

Does anyone know how long it takes to get a reply off fingal coco. Ive had no reply to my email about the completion of this project yet

sgarvan

I still haven't got a reply from the mail I sent from here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=83764698&postcount=69

kaisersoze

sgarvan, I would have thought they had an obligation to reply to all correspondence within a reasonable time frame.

F1 fanatic

Nearly a year since work started and nearly 6 months since it was supposedly completed and we STILL have no street lights.

Fingal co-co is a joke.