New Road Layout Suggestion for Retail Park at Carraroe

Andy From Sligo

Good afternoon good people of Sligo - I would love to run this new suggestion of a new road layout scheme for getting from the inner relief road to the N4 Carraroe Retail Park (please excuse terrible drawings, they just for an idea) - what do you think would it be a better scheme that is already in place? - I could really see this happening in the future, money permitting, and buying disused property and some land I think its viable:

Here at present are the road layouts:




And here is my suggestion to make it easier to get to retail park from the inner relief road:

shanec1928

ya must have plenty of time on your hands:pac::pac:

Andy From Sligo

shanec1928 wrote: »

ya must have plenty of time on your hands:pac::pac:

yep I have at the moment thanks

AllGunsBlazing

Nice idea, but I don't think there will be any need for this any time soon. Unless they get a proper anchor store in there, then that place will continue to struggle. A supermarket is the only thing that will save it.

Wont be holding my breath on that one, though.

Andy From Sligo

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

Nice idea, but I don't think there will be any need for this any time soon. Unless they get a proper anchor store in there, then that place will continue to struggle. A supermarket is the only thing that will save it.

Wont be holding my breath on that one, though.

No i can never see a supermarket up there alas - this bloody nightmare plan of that sligo environs plan thing is scuppering it!

You have quite a bit of a draw up there with homebase and currys and if ARGOS moved their store up there it would be even better - but also if your driving along on the inner relief road and want refreshment of fast food or Costa you could easily swing off the relief road with the plan I've outlined I think, better than coming of slip road at carraroe roundabout and then doubling back on yourself.

I should imagine it would be easier for delivery trucks (for present stores and future stores) as well to get to the retail park this way as well if they could just swing off the relief road straight up to the retail park that way if there was a new bit of road built across the field to the retail park.

Mint Sauce

Trying to make sense of this, but are you suggesting the junction run from the HQDC N4 between the exsisting Caltragh and Carroroe junctions.

This stretch of road is probably never going to get motorway status as it is, as meets all the criteria only for it being a few KMs to short. Three junctions so close together is pointless, and status would never be granted, plus think of the millions it would cost.

I'd be much more in favour of HQDC all the way to Castlebaldwin, rather than the exsisting plans for a 2+2 (think that's what they call it), without interruptions for roundabouts at Colloney, which is what would happen under existing plans. A HQDC all the way to Castlebalwin would also pretty much guarantee Motorway status.

Its amazing for all the bragging we do about us being a city, we don't have a motorway linking at least part of the way, on one of the most busiest and most dangerous roads in the country, to our capital, other than the M4 between them and Mulingar.

Andy From Sligo

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Trying to make sense of this, but are you suggesting the junction run from the HQDC N4 between the exsisting Caltragh and Carroroe junctions.

Yes - as crazy as it sounds - ok it might only be a pipe dream , but they should have done a road to the retail park like this at the time of building the inner relief road. - if its an issue of too many junctions, remove the one that goes to the carraroe roundabout - then just have the retail park junction and then the Caltragh junction there .

does HQDC= High Quality Dual Carriageway? - not good with abbreviations.

Mint Sauce wrote: »

This stretch of road is probably never going to get motorway status as it is, as meets all the criteria only for it being a few KMs to short. Three junctions so close together is pointless, and status would never be granted, plus think of the millions it would cost.

Cost of a little bit of land aquisition and the derelict bungalow? - yeah could run into millions i suppose once you add the ashphalt signage and streetlights i suppose

Mint Sauce wrote: »

I'd be much more in favour of HQDC all the way to Castlebaldwin, rather than the exsisting plans for a 2+2 (think that's what they call it), without interruptions for roundabouts at Colloney, which is what would happen under existing plans. A HQDC all the way to Castlebalwin would also pretty much guarantee Motorway status.

Its amazing for all the bragging we do about us being a city, we don't have a motorway linking at least part of the way, on one of the most busiest and most dangerous roads in the country, to our capital, other than the M4 between them and Mulingar.

Mint Sauce

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

Nice idea, but I don't think there will be any need for this any time soon. Unless they get a proper anchor store in there, then that place will continue to struggle. A supermarket is the only thing that will save it.

Wont be holding my breath on that one, though.

Even then I wouldn't support the idea of a new junction, purely down to the points I already listed.

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Yes - as crazy as it sounds - ok it might only be a pipe dream , but they should have done a road to the retail park like this at the time of building the inner relief road. - if its an issue of too many junctions, remove the one that goes to the carraroe roundabout - then just have the retail park junction and then the Caltragh junction there .

does HQDC= High Quality Dual Carriageway? - not good with abbreviations.

Precisely. On ALL points. Although cant see the NRA or the CoCo giving/getting the money for such ventures.

dingding

The roundabout would require a bridge over the dual carriageway It would not make much point to have a set of traffic lights as you would be stopping traffic at that point.

Andy From Sligo

dingding wrote: »

The roundabout would require a bridge over the dual carriageway It would not make much point to have a set of traffic lights as you would be stopping traffic at that point.

No need for the expense of a bridge or flyover - a roundabout would work it there if issue of traffic lights would stop the flow of traffic, or traffic lights with a filter system where lights are green unless some vehicles waiting to turn right or left onto the slip road

would be no harm to slow down traffic to 60kmh / 50kmh in the area of a roundabout or lights in any case because your going to have to slow down soon as you are coming off the 80kmh stretch anways ...

Mint Sauce

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

No need for the expense of a bridge or flyover - a roundabout would work it there if issue of traffic lights would stop the flow of traffic, or traffic lights with a filter system where lights are green unless some vehicles waiting to turn right or left onto the slip road

would be no harm to slow down traffic to 60kmh / 50kmh in the area of a roundabout or lights in any case because your going to have to slow down soon as you are coming off the 80kmh stretch anways ...

Now your just trying to wind us up, but I'll bite anyway just to see where you go with this...



Why on earth would you want to dig up a multi million euro HQDC, to install a roundabout to a retail park when there is already a high quality slip road only a few hundred metres further up.

Second, what current stretch of the road is 80km? The whole thing is 100km, with a change of status to motorway, you could legally do 120 on it.

Finally, the slips are the same limit as the road its self, 100km, apart from the final couple hundred yards on leaving, or the first couple hundred entering, where its 50/60 depending on the junction. Really bugs me when you get someone slowing before they even reach the exit slip, or only start speeding up when they join the road.

Andy From Sligo

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Now your just trying to wind us up, but I'll bite anyway just to see where you go with this...

I aint trying to wind anyone up - its just a suggestion of mine - it looks only natural to me as approaching the Retail Park Roundabout from carraroe area that a first exit could lead to the inner relief road if the property next to the roundabout was demolished and a carridgeway ran through that field (which looks disused to me) it would also 'tidy up' that area as well

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Why on earth would you want to dig up a multi million euro HQDC, to install a roundabout to a retail park when there is already a high quality slip road only a few hundred metres further up.

why? its been done before ....

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Second, what current stretch of the road is 80km? The whole thing is 100km, with a change of status to motorway, you could legally do 120 on it.

Yep i made a mistake with the speed limits - pardon me!

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Finally, the slips are the same limit as the road its self, 100km, apart from the final couple hundred yards on leaving, or the first couple hundred entering, where its 50/60 depending on the junction. Really bugs me when you get someone slowing before they even reach the exit slip, or only start speeding up when they join the road.

Mint Sauce

In theory i suppose you could move the entire junction back about 500 metres so it could be linked up with the retail park roundabout, you would have to move the fly over as well to allow traffic on the opposite side of the carraige way to access the retail park.

The existing roundabout below Cliffords could be turned into a t junction to access the exsisting flyover that allows access to/from the Oak Feild Rd.

I would go one step further, and change the access to The Hawthorns behind the retail park. Always find it odd having to acesss that estate via a industrial/commercial area.

If you are going to move the entire junction, I would finally remove the Caltragh junction, or change the start of the HQDC to that point, I find it crazy to have a junction so close after the start of the Carriage Way, and two junctions so close together.

overshoot

the NRA would never allow another access so close, you would have to decommission one, probably both of the existing either side of the proposed entrance to cater for slip roads & merging traffic.... which as mint says, the irish are ****e at. You have a serious job on your hands before they let you have an access onto even the worst of N roads never mind a what is effectively a motorway. Reducing a speed limit, is reducing capacity and another huge no.

it would probably be cheaper to move the retail park, your talking an average of 10million per km of that type of road, junctions obviously more costly

bobcar61

This whole thing is an absolute farcical idea, it will never happen and should never happen.What is wrong with driving a few extra hundred meters to a perfectly good slip road.

And the suggestion of putting in a roundabout or traffic lights. That stretch of road is probably one of the best in Sligo, why would you want to complicate it and slow everything down. Keep it as it is I say.

Mint Sauce

bobcar61 wrote: »

This whole thing is an absolute farcical idea, it will never happen and should never happen.What is wrong with driving a few extra hundred meters to a perfectly good slip road.

And the suggestion of putting in a roundabout or traffic lights. That stretch of road is probably one of the best in Sligo, why would you want to complicate it and slow everything down. Keep it as it is I say.

Best stretch of road in the NW, let alone Sligo.

Andy From Sligo

bobcar61 wrote: »

This whole thing is an absolute farcical idea, it will never happen and should never happen.What is wrong with driving a few extra hundred meters to a perfectly good slip road.

And the suggestion of putting in a roundabout or traffic lights. That stretch of road is probably one of the best in Sligo, why would you want to complicate it and slow everything down. Keep it as it is I say.

I dont think its farcical, i think its logical, looking at it every time i drive down that way that there should be a road linking from the inner relief road to the retail park roundabout - if really people would get so upset at slowing down at the junction by either traffic signals or roundabout (honestly if it was a 60 or 50kmh speed limit how would that delay people much?) then workaround is have slip road leading off on the carrigeway heading south and ajoin a new piece of road across wasteland to lead up to the retail park roundabout (and if needs disuse the normal slip road further up that leads to carraroe R/bout)

And then if you going North on link road make traffic that want to go to the retail park stay in right lane in the 50kmh stretch at r/bout just before garden hill , come back down heading south come of at new slip road and road to retail park r/bout ... then no need for any kind of roundabout or traffic signals there , saving money/disruptions and anyone who is worried about stopping traffic on the 100km stretch... - not ideal turning around back on yourself at the garden hill roundabout, but just one more solution...

Mint Sauce

Hell. Whilst we are at it, lets build a flyover, or a tunnel, starting at the Bundoran Rd, and ending at Summer Hill Roundabout.

It would make mine, and many others daily commute a whole lot easier, thus keeping the inner releif rd (the actual one with all the traffic lights) free for local access.

Andy From Sligo

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Hell. Whilst we are at it, lets build a flyover, or a tunnel, starting at the Bundoran Rd, and ending at Summer Hill Roundabout.

Now now that really is a silly suggestion sillier than my suggestion - and at least my suggestion is do-able :-)

Mint Sauce

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Now now that really is a silly suggestion sillier than my suggestion - and at least my suggestion is do-able :-)

So you admit yours is silly then.

Andy From Sligo

so as is stands at the moment if your coming from the north side you have to come off at the slip road then come to stop at the T-junction (right for oakfield road - left for cararoe roundabout) then left at the roundabout and where road narrows at cliffords (how do lorries maneuvor that?) then your on a 60km stretch then you got the retail park roundabout - what a lot of faffing about when it could be so simple to come of slip road onto a nice new bit of dual carriageway leading to the retail park roundabout and your there .

Andy From Sligo

Mint Sauce wrote: »

So you admit yours is silly then.

no, my suggestion is a logical idea in keeping with modernisation, you have a good enough retail park there and a silly way to get to it from the inner relief road ... well i think

Mint Sauce

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

no, my suggestion is a logical idea in keeping with modernisation, you have a good enough retail park there and a silly way to get to it from the inner relief road ... well i think

How is dropping a roundabout on a near motorway quality road, and dropping the speed limit down to 50/60 in line with modernisation. The current set up serves the Oakfeild Road, the Old Dublin Road, the road for Drumohaire, and the retail park quite well enough as it is. Even if you were to have a set up envolving slip roads and a new flyover, think of all the disrubtion traffic using both the N4, the retail park roundabout, and roads off it, plus the 100s of millions wasted.

As for lorry drivers negotiating it, they are quite skilled at getting around roads allot more difficult, and have to ask, where was it done before?

Andy From Sligo

Mint Sauce wrote: »

How is dropping a roundabout on a near motorway quality road, and dropping the speed limit down to 50/60 in line with modernisation.

You have a roundabout a bit further up the one at garden hill (or whatever that place is on left with the solar panels on the roof) so its no hardship, you know anyway in the next few hundred yards your gonna hit the roundabout and have to slow down to 50kmh and hit a plethora of traffic lights all together anyways

Mint Sauce wrote: »

The current set up serves the Oakfeild Road, the Old Dublin Road, the road for Drumohaire, and the retail park quite well enough as it is.

OK yes it does - but there is always room for improvement and the improvement is running a small bit of road from the relief road to the retail park roundabout...

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Even if you were to have a set up envolving slip roads and a new flyover, think of all the disrubtion traffic using both the N4, the retail park roundabout, and roads off it, plus the 100s of millions wasted.

Already said - no need for a flyover and the costs and disruption tied with it

Mint Sauce wrote: »

As for lorry drivers negotiating it, they are quite skilled at getting around roads allot more difficult, and have to ask, where was it done before?

Just generally seen it done before - a nice new (or not long opened road) has been dug up for improvements or roads joined onto it or slip roads moved - not in Sligo but elsewhere - not economical as well but its been done for improvements even for a new junction or to make a road safer

Andy From Sligo

I dunno why we all getting worked up about it anyways we all know it aint gonna be done due to costs and planning permission anyway - but I still think it would have be a good idea to have a road at the retail park roundabout that you could directly join to the relief road without having to go all around the houses (literally!) - and should have been done when they were putting in the retail park roundabout while they were at it (if they could have aquired and demolished the bunglow there and purchased a bit of that land)

GG66

It's great that you're putting some thought into town planning but I really don't see any need for this at all.

Vlove

I really love ur idea, I think it would make sligo more easier to get in/out. Of course the coco would have to be involved wih regards to funding!!

ectoraige

A major issue with this suggestion is that when my eldest son was six, he decided that he will open a restaurant on the site of the derelict house. So your idea is a non-runner, sorry to break it to you.

Andy From Sligo

ectoraige wrote: »

A major issue with this suggestion is that when my eldest son was six, he decided that he will open a restaurant on the site of the derelict house. So your idea is a non-runner, sorry to break it to you.

haha - how old is your son now, and why did he not want to be an astronaut or drive trains?

ectoraige

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

haha - how old is your son now, and why did he not want to be an astronaut or drive trains?

He's eight now so you probably don't need to book a table just yet. He might build a launchpad in the wasteland behind, I suppose.

Andy From Sligo

ectoraige wrote: »

He's eight now so you probably don't need to book a table just yet. He might build a launchpad in the wasteland behind, I suppose.

oh well by the time he gets near my age there will most probably will be a link road long built there and a plethora of other shops/warehouses/houses on that bit of wasteland there and a big Tesco supermarket up in the reatail park - mind u knowing Sligo and this very silly environs plan ... maybe not!!