Why does the motorway around Limerick city not have a name?

Cityslicker1

Why does the motorway around Limerick city not have a name?I remember before the full ring road was completed there were signs for Limerick South Ring road but they have all since disappeared. Cork has the South ring road,Dublin has the M50...but the ring road around Limerick seems to be nameless. When in Cork or Dublin you will always see sign posts in those cities for the South ring and the M50 but in Limerick city there's no indication of the ring road at all. What I've also noticed particularly with the older section of the ring road is that the city almost seems to be completely ignored and bypassed where you would barely realise that you're on a ring road around the city almost like as if you're just bypassing every other small town coming down the M7 from Dublin.Limerick is the main destination at the end of the M7 linking two cities Dublin and Limerick yet it feels like the city is completely cut off and bypassed!However, when you travel on the South ring Cork or M50 Dublin you are very aware that you're on an urban ring road in those cities with those roads being well lit..signage to the city centre's etc. I think that the ring road around Limerick should be more urbanised with public lighting and signage to the city so people are well aware that you are in Limerick city and not just on a bypass around an insignificant small town that almost goes unnoticed!

Cookiemunster

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

Why does the motorway around the Limerick city not have a name? I remember before the full ring road was completed there were signs for Limerick South Ring road but they have since all disappeared. Cork has the South ring road, Dublin has the M50...but the ring road around Limerick seems to be nameless.

Basically because while it does bypass Limerick, now that the motorway runs from Dublin to Gort it's no longer a bypass. It's a part of the motorway network that runs past Limerick where the N7 terminates and the N18 and M20 start.
The M50 isn't a name it's the roads designation and the official designation of the Cork south ring road is the N40.

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

When in Cork or Dublin you will always see sign posts in those cities for the South ring and the M50 but in Limerick city there's no indication of the ring road at all.

In Limerick you see signs for the M7 and N18, because thats what the road is called.

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

What I've also noticed particularly with the older section of the ring road is that the city almost seems to be completely ignored and bypassed where you would barely realise that you're on a ring road around the city almost like as if you're just bypassing every other small town coming down the M7 from Dublin. Limerick is the main destination at the end of the M7 linking two cities Dublin and Limerick yet it feels like the city is completely cut off and bypassed!

See above. It’s not a bypass it’s part of a motorway / dual carriageway that happens to route pass Limerick

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

However, when you travel on the South ring Cork or M50 Dublin you are very aware that you're on an urban ring road in those cities with those roads being well lit..signage to the city centre's etc.

You can’t equate Limerick to Dublin or Cork. Dublin is 10 times larger than Limerick and the M50 handles hundreds of thousands of cars every day. The Cork southern ring was originally just a dual carriageway version of Childers Rd. It wasn’t designed to be the road it is today.

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

I think that the ring road around Limerick should be more urbanised with public lighting and signage to the city so people are well aware that you are in Limerick city and not just on a bypass around an insignificant small town that almost goes unnoticed! You not in Limerick you are

It shouldn’t be urbanised. It’s nothing like the M50 or N40. Also there are huge signs 2Km, 1Km and 500m before Junctions 26 - 28 on the M7 and junctions 2 - 4 directing you into Limerick. They also have the local areas of the city listed on them. And when you’re on the motorway you’re not in Limerick City.

EDIT: Reading that back it's comes across like a rant. Not meant that way, only trying to be informative.

pigtown

I asked in the roads forum about the name change to N40 in Cork and apparently there are plans to complete the ring with a North Ring Road so it will be a complete motorway around the city. It makes sense therefore that the road would have a distinct name.
Limerick won't have a full ring road in the next 50 years so it's not as much of an issue. Two things should happen though, either the N18 should start at M7 junction 28, leaving junctions 1 through 6 as gateways to the city, or the M7 should end at N18 junction 4.
And access to the city should be allowed from Rosbrien, this would relieve a lot of pressure from the Ballysimon interchange and just plain make sense.

Cookiemunster

pigtown wrote: »

I asked in the roads forum about the name change to N40 in Cork and apparently there are plans to complete the ring with a North Ring Road so it will be a complete motorway around the city. It makes sense therefore that the road would have a distinct name.
Limerick won't have a full ring road in the next 50 years so it's not as much of an issue. Two things should happen though, either the N18 should start at M7 junction 28, leaving junctions 1 through 6 as gateways to the city, or the M7 should end at N18 junction 4.
And access to the city should be allowed from Rosbrien, this would relieve a lot of pressure from the Ballysimon interchange and just plain make sense.

I know what your saying about the end point of the M7, but it also seems logical that the M7, N18 and M20 converge at the same point. Unfortunately it's not possible to change this junction to allow city access. You can thank the city council for this bit of genius as they lobbied to have the movement deleted from the plans back around 2001 and then lobbied to have it put back in when it was too late and the flyover was already built.

pigtown

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I know what your saying about the end point of the M7, but it also seems logical that the M7, N18 and M20 converge at the same point. Unfortunately it's not possible to change this junction to allow city access. You can thank the city council for this bit of genius as they lobbied to have the movement deleted from the plans back around 2001 and then lobbied to have it put back in when it was too late and the flyover was already built.

Oh I know all about them sleeping at the wheel but I don't buy the 'it's not possible' argument. Sure it would be difficult but it's still very doable.

Henry Ford III

It's called Derick.

Cookiemunster

pigtown wrote: »

Oh I know all about them sleeping at the wheel but I don't buy the 'it's not possible' argument. Sure it would be difficult but it's still very doable.

As much as I'd love to see it happen, it's never going to happen. The only way to get from the M7 into the city would be to built another flyover above the current flyover. For something like this to be viable the the slip would have to start before the bridge carrying the R511 over the motor which is only 200m from the current slip. It's simply not possible without demolishing the current interchange completely and starting again.

user040913

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

Why does the motorway around Limerick city not have a name?I remember before the full ring road was completed there were signs for Limerick South Ring road but they have all since disappeared. Cork has the South ring road,Dublin has the M50...but the ring road around Limerick seems to be nameless. When in Cork or Dublin you will always see sign posts in those cities for the South ring and the M50 but in Limerick city there's no indication of the ring road at all. What I've also noticed particularly with the older section of the ring road is that the city almost seems to be completely ignored and bypassed where you would barely realise that you're on a ring road around the city almost like as if you're just bypassing every other small town coming down the M7 from Dublin.Limerick is the main destination at the end of the M7 linking two cities Dublin and Limerick yet it feels like the city is completely cut off and bypassed!However, when you travel on the South ring Cork or M50 Dublin you are very aware that you're on an urban ring road in those cities with those roads being well lit..signage to the city centre's etc. I think that the ring road around Limerick should be more urbanised with public lighting and signage to the city so people are well aware that you are in Limerick city and not just on a bypass around an insignificant small town that almost goes unnoticed!

I recently drove down to Ennis and with the exception of two junctions, it did just feel like I was driving on a dual carriageway in rural Ireland. It would seem that the Limerick ring road is slightly outside the city whereas the Cork south ring and the M50 both pass through built up suburbs.