Traffic in the morning.

run_Forrest_run

hoodwinked wrote: »

nope! instead like in the case on the Maryborough hill they give developers the right to shut a busy main road down to one lane for MONTHS so they can do "road works" aka build more mansions in Maryborough Woods easier.

tell me about it! Pretty sickening really.

emmettu2

I was so frustrated with traffic in the Douglas area that I wrote this article on Medium: Cork Unstuck - 4 lean approaches for un-sticking traffic bottlenecks in my hometown [can't include a link - but just google it!]

I agree that it feels like nobody is really thinking creatively about the problem of traffic congestion. Here are the keys areas I think would help:

- Incentivise people to bring their children to school an hour early (breakfast clubs, art classes, sports, etc.)
- Incentivise businesses to stagger employee start times
- Incentivise people to carpool (access to bus lanes for cars with 3 occupants, designated parking spaces for carpoolers, etc)
- A single person or small team responsible for fighting traffic congestion on particular corridors

I'd encourage everyone to download the Carma Carpooling app (I work at Carma) and consider carpooling with a neighbour. The most efficient and immediate solution is to reduce the wasted seat capacity in people's cars. Sign up and enter EMMETTM as your invite code to get $10 when you take your first trip.

AugustusMinimus

emmettu2 wrote: »

I was so frustrated with traffic in the Douglas area that I wrote this article on Medium: Cork Unstuck - 4 lean approaches for un-sticking traffic bottlenecks in my hometown [can't include a link - but just google it!]

I agree that it feels like nobody is really thinking creatively about the problem of traffic congestion. Here are the keys areas I think would help:

- Incentivise people to bring their children to school an hour early (breakfast clubs, art classes, sports, etc.)
- Incentivise businesses to stagger employee start times
- Incentivise people to carpool (access to bus lanes for cars with 3 occupants, designated parking spaces for carpoolers, etc)
- A single person or small team responsible for fighting traffic congestion on particular corridors

I'd encourage everyone to download the Carma Carpooling app (I work at Carma) and consider carpooling with a neighbour. The most efficient and immediate solution is to reduce the wasted seat capacity in people's cars. Sign up and enter EMMETTM as your invite code to get $10 when you take your first trip.

Simply put, a lot needs doing to solve Douglas' problems.

Here's for instance a map I've done of potential upgrades which I think would go a long way into solving Douglas' problems.



The 2 red lines above would represent 2 new roads. The one on the left is the newly proposed bridge over the Ballybrack Stream. The new section of road on the right would link the Carr's Hill interchange with Maryborough Hill and Moneygurney Road.

As part of this scheme, the Carr's Hill interchange would be upgraded to a full 4/4 dumbbell. The sliproad off of Maryborough Hill to the N28 would also be closed.

This scheme would give many, many benefits. THe blue line represents a new route which would link Grange and Donnybrook with areas such as Moneygurney, Rochestown, Mount Oval and onto Passage without having to go through the Fingerpost Roundabout or along the Rochestown Road.

In addition, access to Grange, Donnybrook Moneygurney etc would be dramatically improved. Instead of having to go through Douglas to access these areas, you could simply come off at Carr's Hill Interchange.

IMO, this would take significant pressure off of the centre of Douglas.

Truckermal

Funnily enough Dunkettle was very quiet this morning coming from Dublin. .

FrStone

It has gotten alot worse on the north side of the city too. Parking on the old youghal road, just down from Collins barracks seems to be so much worse than this time last year.

Parking is nearly gone from Collins barracks to the junction with Patricks hill by 8.20. Last year there used to be plenty, only being taken up by a few students in bruce and Christians.

the beer revolu

FrStone wrote: »

It has gotten alot worse on the north side of the city too. Parking on the old youghal road, just down from Collins barracks seems to be so much worse than this time last year.

Parking is nearly gone from Collins barracks to the junction with Patricks hill by 8.20. Last year there used to be plenty, only being taken up by a few students in bruce and Christians.

While an inconvenience, isn't that a good sign?
More people seemingly parking on the outskirts of town surely means more people working and/or spending money in town.

rosie16

Spent 40 minutes getting off the motorway through the jack lynch tunnel and past the kinsale road roundabout last week. My total journey time is usually 40 minutes -_-. Funnily enough there does not seem to be any traffic on friday mornings. If i have to be in for 10am on Monday I have to leave before half 8 but if I have to be in at 10am on friday I don't have to leave until 10 to 9.

kub

hoodwinked wrote: »

nope! instead like in the case on the Maryborough hill they give developers the right to shut a busy main road down to one lane for MONTHS so they can do "road works" aka build more mansions in Maryborough Woods easier.

Just to out the record straight there, it is not 'developers' who are responsible for this.
That field above that section of road was sold a few years ago. Obviously a developer bought it and applied for planning permission for the stone wall. I take it the full specification of the stone wall was passed by the county councils planning department.
The wall was subsequently built.

Roll on a few year later and a contractor was appointed by that same council to widen the road below that wall.

When the contractor starting working on site they discovered that the foundations of that previously mentioned stone wall were not down deep enough as the level difference between the ground level in the field and the road is huge.

So the contractor informed the council of this issue so now piles have to be driven and concrete pumped below ground level in order to support the now inadequate foundations of that same wall which the council planning department passed a few years ago.

So it is not a developers fault it is the council.

the beer revolu

So, a developer built a not fit for purpose wall and it's the council's fault?

Yes, council engineers should have flagged it but it is still, primarily the fault of the developer.

hoodwinked

kub wrote: »

Just to out the record straight there, it is not 'developers' who are responsible for this.
That field above that section of road was sold a few years ago. Obviously a developer bought it and applied for planning permission for the stone wall. I take it the full specification of the stone wall was passed by the county councils planning department.
The wall was subsequently built.

Roll on a few year later and a contractor was appointed by that same council to widen the road below that wall.

When the contractor starting working on site they discovered that the foundations of that previously mentioned stone wall were not down deep enough as the level difference between the ground level in the field and the road is huge.

So the contractor informed the council of this issue so now piles have to be driven and concrete pumped below ground level in order to support the now inadequate foundations of that same wall which the council planning department passed a few years ago.

So it is not a developers fault it is the council.

ok fair enough, i know that is their "official" line, but if it is foundations of the wall that these works are related to, that does not explain to me why the builders/developer is raising the road level up higher than the other side of the road on the maryborugh hill so they can move the pieces they need in over the wall to construct the houses/and pipe work for the houses? surely if it was just the foundation works being done they wouldn't be wasting time like this leaving the hill in it's busiest time of the year for traffic down to one lane for months??

kub

the beer revolu wrote: »

So, a developer built a not fit for purpose wall and it's the council's fault?

Yes, council engineers should have flagged it but it is still, primarily the fault of the developer.

AFAIK when such a wall is built as it is bordering public property, the council have to sign it off

kub

hoodwinked wrote: »

ok fair enough, i know that is their "official" line, but if it is foundations of the wall that these works are related to, that does not explain to me why the builders/developer is raising the road level up higher than the other side so they can move the pieces they need in over the wall to construct the houses/and pipe work for the houses? surely if it was just the foundation works being done they wouldn't be wasting time like this leaving the hill in it's busiest time of the year for traffic down to one lane for months??

The reason the road level is raised up is to allow the piling machine to operate as it has to be above the level of the hole which it is boring.

hoodwinked

kub wrote: »

The reason the road level is raised up is to allow the piling machine to operate as it has to be above the level of the hole which it is boring.

so the developer is just taking advantage of the fact the road is raised and is using it to build those houses?

kub

hoodwinked wrote: »

so the developer is just taking advantage of the fact the road is raised and is using it to build those houses?

Sorry I am confused, what gives you that idea?

There is no developer involved with that site any longer. There are houses currently being built by different building contractors on behalf of the people who employed them, they are the people who bought what are known as serviced sites. In such a situation these individuals employ their own design team and builder to build their own specific house.

These builders have no need whatsoever to awkwardly bring their necessary materials over that wall, when they can just drive onto the site directly by driving in the approach road to Maryborough Woods and turning right onto a finished road which is specifically for access to that site.

run_Forrest_run

emmettu2 wrote: »

I was so frustrated with traffic in the Douglas area that I wrote this article on Medium: Cork Unstuck - 4 lean approaches for un-sticking traffic bottlenecks in my hometown [can't include a link - but just google it!]

I agree that it feels like nobody is really thinking creatively about the problem of traffic congestion. Here are the keys areas I think would help:

- Incentivise people to bring their children to school an hour early (breakfast clubs, art classes, sports, etc.)
- Incentivise businesses to stagger employee start times
- Incentivise people to carpool (access to bus lanes for cars with 3 occupants, designated parking spaces for carpoolers, etc)
- A single person or small team responsible for fighting traffic congestion on particular corridors

I'd encourage everyone to download the Carma Carpooling app (I work at Carma) and consider carpooling with a neighbour. The most efficient and immediate solution is to reduce the wasted seat capacity in people's cars. Sign up and enter EMMETTM as your invite code to get $10 when you take your first trip.

Way too simplistic, just like the report you did on this matter, which I read a few months ago.
Granted you are coming with vested interest (working for a company who make money on car pooling apps).

hoodwinked

kub wrote: »

Sorry I am confused, what gives you that idea?

There is no developer involved with that site any longer. There are houses currently being built by different building contractors on behalf of the people who employed them, they are the people who bought what are known as serviced sites. In such a situation these individuals employ their own design team and builder to build their own specific house.

These builders have no need whatsoever to awkwardly bring their necessary materials over that wall, when they can just drive onto the site directly by driving in the approach road to Maryborough Woods and turning right onto a finished road which is specifically for access to that site.

thats why i am confused i know nothing about these things

but i did see a crane thing putting stuff over the wall for those houses, i thought it was weird too with the houses having a road, but the van parked next to the crane doing it was a housing contractor?

kub

hoodwinked wrote: »

thats why i am confused i know nothing about these things

but i did see a crane thing putting stuff over the wall for those houses, i thought it was weird too with the houses having a road, but the van parked next to the crane doing it was a housing contractor?

Fair dues, boards is all about discussions and helping out , I am not at all doubting that you saw what you did.

Perhaps the foreman of which ever house was concerned had trouble getting something awkward around to the back of the house the conventional way so asked the foreman working below on the road for a dig out.......pardon the pun......

Rhys Essien

BUNK1982 wrote: »

You almost forget that up until 18 months there was no flyover for the sarsfield rd or bandon rd roundabouts!

Cork is shocking for traffic and it all comes down to some pretty appalling urban planing really, Mahon Point and City Gate as a case in point.

You have obviously never experienced traffic in Dublin,mornings and evenings from Monday to Friday.Cork is a dream in comparison.I dont know how the Dubs deal with it full time.

run_Forrest_run

Rhys Essien wrote: »

You have obviously never experienced traffic in Dublin,mornings and evenings from Monday to Friday.Cork is a dream in comparison.I dont know how the Dubs deal with it full time.

perhaps you are right, but I think Galway seems to be horrific for traffic too, maybe not as widespread but out around Clare-Galway it can be brutal.

leahyl

I leave every morning for work at 7.45 as otherwise I won't get a space in the car park in work but normally the traffic isn't that bad....since September it has been SO busy when I am coming in (which is still relatively early I think) and at the moment they are doing works on Horgans Quay so the lanes have been shifted over to the right and the amount of cars that queue skip is unreal and so annoying......grinds my gears :mad:

Truckermal

leahyl wrote: »

I leave every morning for work at 7.45 as otherwise I won't get a space in the car park in work but normally the traffic isn't that bad....since September it has been SO busy when I am coming in (which is still relatively early I think) and at the moment they are doing works on Horgans Quay so the lanes have been shifted over to the right and the amount of cars that queue skip is unreal and so annoying......grinds my gears :mad:

I was up in Northern Ireland today and none of that crap goes on unless it's a southern reg car everyone sticks to the proper lane and traffic moves way faster..

leahyl

Horgans Quay absolute disaster this morning - left at 7.45 as usual and got into work for 8.35 - what is normally a 20 min drive :mad:

Dannyboy83

Kinsale Road Roundabout this morning, must have spent 15mins+ queuing...
typically I don't even have to queue here

Couldn't see any evidence of a crash, anyone know what happened?

AugustusMinimus

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Kinsale Road Roundabout this morning, must have spent 15mins+ queuing...
typically I don't even have to queue here

Couldn't see any evidence of a crash, anyone know what happened?

Traffic is just getting heavier there I suspect. NRA had a chance to do that junction properly with something like a partially unrolled cloverleaf but instead provided us with a grade separate roundabout which is nothing but a short term solution. Would have involved some CPOs but that would have been minimal in the overall cost of such a project.

Truckermal

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Kinsale Road Roundabout this morning, must have spent 15mins+ queuing...
typically I don't even have to queue here

Couldn't see any evidence of a crash, anyone know what happened?

It was the same last week it doesn't help when some dopes refuse to que, a pr1ck overtook me this morning and then stood on the brakes so everyone on the dual carriageway had to stop..:rolleyes:

hoodwinked

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

Traffic is just getting heavier there I suspect. NRA had a chance to do that junction properly with something like a partially unrolled cloverleaf but instead provided us with a grade separate roundabout which is nothing but a short term solution. Would have involved some CPOs but that would have been minimal in the overall cost of such a project.

if people just stopped queue jumping there wouldn't be others slamming on the brakes and causing jams to begin with. :mad:

AugustusMinimus

hoodwinked wrote: »

if people just stopped queue jumping there wouldn't be others slamming on the brakes and causing jams to begin with. :mad:

Its a bit more than that even. At rush hour, the junction is above capacity and its only going to get worse. Something like the M50-N4 interchange should have been built. The problem was that the flyover was build in 2005. At that time, the NRA seemed to constantly mandate non-freeflow junctions which was absolute madness.

M50-N4 junction for reference.

AugustusMinimus

Some nice Cork LUAS route plans by user irishfeen.





Will be a while before this would be considered due to costs but what a difference this would make to traffic and commuting in Cork.

who_me

Seems a little twisty & turny to me - how tight is the Luas turning radius?

If it ever were to go ahead (massive IF, obviously) I'd have thought the easiest first phase would be Mahon Point to the city centre (City Hall). You could use the old railway line and then the quay-side, so minimal road disruption apart from the very end near City Hall. Great option for people commuting into the city, and great for people getting to Mahon Point / Douglas. If One Albert Quay kick-starts the docklands development, the Douglas/Mahon/Passage West/Carrigaline traffic would only get worse otherwise.

It'd be a shame to lose that nice quiet walkway, but it's such a great option to have.

rebs23

With the population increasing significantly, Cork urgently needs to consider putting in plans for a mass transport system around the city before the places starts clogging up. Traffic is got very bad. I travel a lot to Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Dublin and over the last 12 months the traffic in Cork and Dublin is worse than it ever was.
The only good thing is that it is a positive sign with more people working and commuting.