Has traffic around Limerick gotten worse recently?

Comhrá

Is it my imagination or has the traffic got a good deal worse around town and especially the suburbs in the past six months or so?

I live in Caherdavin and I seem to notice the local traffic has gone a bit mad recently, especially along the Ennis Rd. from around the Gaelic Grounds to Ivan's Cross.

Also, getting in and out of Caherdavin via Brookville Ave. and the Ennis Rd. has become a lot slower throughout the day.

I feel the traffic lights at the Jetland/LIDL junction are more of a hindrance than a help, causing long tail-backs to the Gaelic Grounds and general congestion throughout the afternoons and evenings. Maybe a one-way system for traffic leaving Woodies & Dunnes.... have them go around towards Clondrinagh rather than joining the Ennis Rd directly?

Maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy? :mad:

naughtysmurf

Yeah, old & grumpy I'd say

I've noticed an increase in traffic , Castletroy - Parkway roundabout & Corbally Rd from Grove Island to Mill Rd junction in the evenings, approx 4,30 when in the past I'd sail through

dunworth1

live out that side of town myself and i dont think that traffic has increased that much but rather the traffic lights timings have become poor.

the light at union cross normally only let three or four cars though at a time.
and i agree with regard to the lights coming from woodies/lidl

over all there's just too many lights on that stretch of road

juneg

I've definitely noticed an increase in traffic. It takes longer to get out at junctions and traffic lights I used to be out of quickly

OfTheMarsWongs

naughtysmurf wrote: »

Yeah, old & grumpy I'd say

I've noticed an increase in traffic , Castletroy - Parkway roundabout & Corbally Rd from Grove Island to Mill Rd junction in the evenings, approx 4,30 when in the past I'd sail through

Re: Traffic in Corbally, love the new Hook & Ladder, not a big fan of the people parking on the footpath down the road from it. Means cars have to drive slower from O'Driscolls to the lights, also means people turning right at the junction have to wait in traffic rather than going straight to the junction (when lights red).

mitresize5

its the economy innit

More people in work, more people on the road at rush hour

Work in Castletroy myself and the difference from now and 12/18 months ago is huge

Tefral

mitresize5 wrote: »

its the economy innit

More people in work, more people on the road at rush hour

Defintely part of it anyway. Also a certain cynical part of me thinks they fecked in so many lights to get people coming in the ennis road from shannon etc to use the tunnel.

thesimpsons

the lights at Ivans coming from Greenhills side and turning right towards Clonmacken road were at the best of times, terrible. now with increased traffic and idiots all trying their best to get into Ivan's small carpark, its horrendous. Why the green filter light turns to pure red on that junction annoys me. There might often be nothing coming out of town but yet the filter light goes red. written to council - no joy.

steveon

Not extra traffic just endless days due traffic lights that are red for no reason, roads been reduced to slow speeds condell road for example, punches cross reduced to one lane, squashing in of UN-neccessary bus lanes all having the effect of delays delays delays in the hope we will use the tunnel which cannot get most people from a-b...

naughtysmurf

OfTheMarsWongs wrote: »

Re: Traffic in Corbally, love the new Hook & Ladder, not a big fan of the people parking on the footpath down the road from it. Means cars have to drive slower from O'Driscolls to the lights, also means people turning right at the junction have to wait in traffic rather than going straight to the junction (when lights red).

O'Driscolls have given Hook&Ladder a few parking spaces, not sure if the customers use them though but some kind of an accident will happen sooner or later with the cars parked either side of the road

stefanovich

thesimpsons wrote: »

the lights at Ivans coming from Greenhills side and turning right towards Clonmacken road were at the best of times, terrible. now with increased traffic and idiots all trying their best to get into Ivan's small carpark, its horrendous. Why the green filter light turns to pure red on that junction annoys me. There might often be nothing coming out of town but yet the filter light goes red. written to council - no joy.

The timing on those lights is mad too in the evenings. Even if just trying to go towards town. It stays green for a few seconds at best. If the driver in front is not paying attention he may not get through.

Also union cross. I actually would take longer detours through mayorstone / clareview to avoid it.

I've found town manageable if you are a little assertive. There are so many slow and dozy drivers out there. I can usually fly up William street or O'Connell street by meandering through the queues of OAPs.

I think Limerick is a nice town to drive in, not a lot of traffic. Go to any big city in England and try driving in rush hour.

1huge1

Agree with the above posters regarding the increase in traffic, (though I'm not in Limerick as much as I used to be).

Perhaps poor traffic management but I would like to assume its due to the improvement in the economy with more people back at work.

zulutango

Traffic lights, in general, help ease traffic. That might mean slowing it down if you're coming from one particular direction, so it feels like they are actually hindering it. An example is the lights at the junction of Condell Road and Lower Shelbourne Road. People who were only ever driving in to the city via the Condell Road saw them as a huge hindrance, but they were a godsend to those who had to come down Lower Shelbourne Road. They helped free up traffic at Union Cross and the Ennis Road and in general improve traffic in the city, but try telling that to somebody who was used to having a free run in along Condell Road.

who_ru

The speed limits on Condell road are ridiculously slow and only serve to enforce the popular theory that road safety is more about extracting more money from drivers than anything else.

Why don't people contact their local representatives and get them to demand action from the council about poor traffic light management?

dunworth1

who_ru wrote: »

The speed limits on Condell road are ridiculously slow and only serve to enforce the popular theory that road safety is more about extracting more money from drivers than anything else.

the speed limit on the condell road is due to the amount of deaths that have happened on that stretch of road as far as i know

gotasmoke

dunworth1 wrote: »

the speed limit on the condell road is due to the amount of deaths that have happened on that stretch of road as far as i know

I can think of 2 separate deaths on that road. Combine that with the fact that there are pedestrian crossing along the way, I think the speed limit is needed.

dunworth1

gotasmoke wrote: »

I can think of 2 separate deaths on that road. Combine that with the fact that there are pedestrian crossing along the way, I think the speed limit is needed.

i totally agree

Jjiipp79

For the size of the city traffic in limerick is a dream!

I lived in Galway for 8 years and traffic is a nightmare!

juneg

gotasmoke wrote: »

I can think of 2 separate deaths on that road. Combine that with the fact that there are pedestrian crossing along the way, I think the speed limit is needed.

Also if you are speeding, in an accident and career off the road there's the danger of going into the river.

Insect Overlord

juneg wrote: »

Also if you are speeding, in an accident and career off the road there's the danger of going into the river.

Maybe so, if you drive a monster truck...

juneg

An File wrote: »

Maybe so, if you drive a monster truck...

Maybe I do

phog

who_ru wrote: »

The speed limits on Condell road are ridiculously slow and only serve to enforce the popular theory that road safety is more about extracting more money from drivers than anything else.

Why don't people contact their local representatives and get them to demand action from the council about poor traffic light management?

I've never seen a speed check on the 50 zone on Condell Rd.

Insect Overlord

phog wrote: »

I've never seen a speed check on the 50 zone on Condell Rd.

The Garda motorbike stops there sometimes, but not often. The bus and cycle lanes aren't for parking in, so the speed van has to stop in a spot that once had a 50 miles per hour limit. 60 km/h still feels slow on that wide stretch.

Poxyshamrock

phog wrote: »

I've never seen a speed check on the 50 zone on Condell Rd.

That's because there's no where for the van to pull in!

zulutango

The 50 kph zone is right, in my opinion. Plenty of cyclists use it.

stefanovich

They should put the cycle lane up by the path near the river and get rid of the practically unused bus lane.

phog

An File wrote: »

The Garda motorbike stops there sometimes, but not often. The bus and cycle lanes aren't for parking in, so the speed van has to stop in a spot that once had a 50 miles per hour limit. 60 km/h still feels slow on that wide stretch.

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

That's because there's no where for the van to pull in!

I'm aware of that but if the speed limit was there only as a means of extracting money from the motorist then one would imagine that a speed check would be far more frequently carried out on that stretch of road.

Aside, from it seeming too slow to drive, what time delay is there in driving that stretch of road within the limit and driving it at say 60kph or 70? Does it add two minutes to the journey?

stefanovich

phog wrote: »

Aside, from it seeming too slow to drive, what time delay is there in driving that stretch of road within the limit and driving it at say 60kph or 70? Does it add two minutes to the journey?

Some are not as patient as yourself. Don't assume people are going to behave logically when driving. A long straight road like that with such a limit will encourage people to overtake or undertake on the bus lane.

Irish_rat

Traffic looks the same to me, although I've better things to be thinking about. The economy in the city looks to be on a serious upturn judging by the sharp increase in the rental/property market in the past 2 months.

thesimpsons

stefanovich wrote: »

They should put the cycle lane up by the path near the river and get rid of the practically unused bus lane.

That onlys work for family and kid cycles. Anyone commuting or even cycling training need to be in the traffic and not sharing pathways with walkers. It's virtually the only decent cycle way in the city area - leave it alone.

peckerhead

stefanovich wrote: »

I think Limerick is a nice town to drive in, not a lot of traffic. Go to any big city in England and try driving in rush hour.

+1.

I moved here from Dublin 20 years ago; if I hadn't, about 4 of those years would probably have been spent sitting in traffic.