Council to ban cars from O'Briens & Salmon Weir bridge, and 7 streets

cgcsb

FortySeven wrote: »

Sorry. Got carried away there.

They go a hell of a way closer to paying for it than cyclists contributions .I ask you again, are you willing to pay tax for this? Will you take out third party insurance?

We don't tax cycling because cycling is a behaviour that we want to encourage. Driving is a behaviour we want to discourage as much as possible. Similarly heavy taxes and charges are levied on smoking and not recycling. The tax system is used all over the world to encourage/discourage behaviours that are considered beneficial to society.

cgcsb

FortySeven wrote: »

I don't disagree, I am an avid cyclist and I love riding a bike long distance. I live near headford and I'm sure you know that road .I would be signing a potential death cert to start commuting by bike.

I also happen to agree we need to reduce emissions and we are. My disagreement is with this implementation of urban transportation in a tiny town (in a global comparison) in what I see to be an experimental social engineering exercise.

Cars will not go away because of this, it will just cause more hardship for all.

More useful for your emissions argument would be to reduce transit times for cars with the use of flyovers, bypasses and other modern transit means. If my journey time is reduced by a quarter, guess what happens to my emissions? Extrapolate that over the population and it is a considerable saving. What is being proposed will increase bottlenecks and thus transit times. More emissions.

If you want to see an example of pointless cycling campaigning for infrastructure you need look no further than the doughiska road. I'm at work now so can't go into it but will later.

The plan will cause modal shift, which will reduce congestion not increasing it. You are not considering the modal shift effect on congestion.

cgcsb

FortySeven wrote: »

Have you ever looked into what happens to local shops when out of town shipping offers free parking? Ghost towns.

This would force people into seeking alternative out of city shopping. Create demand, supply will come.

Indeed the planning system needs to be robust in steadfastly refusing to allow development of out of town centres.

Chuchote

cgcsb wrote: »

Indeed the planning system needs to be robust in steadfastly refusing to allow development of out of town centres.

True. And also put bicycle racks outside city centre shops. Studies that I'm too shagged right now to look up show that bicycle racks increase footfall in cities and are profitable for shops -- they're especially good for cafes; having racks outside your cafe is a big money-drawer-in.

Eeden

cgcsb wrote: »

Limerick is as wet.

Anecdotally (if that's a word!), not true according to my daughter who has just spent 4 years at college in Limerick

Speedwell

Folks, I live near Sligo town. I am low mobility (but do not quite qualify for disabled parking) and low income (I am working but I don't make very much). I have to see a specialist at University Hospital once or twice a month and will be scheduling surgery in several months. I'm not able to walk far; I can no more walk a km without stopping several times to rest than I can fly the same distance, and I can barely manage a flight of stairs. My treatment will eventually fix a lot of those issues, but for now I am confused about what to do. At the moment I book parking for the day at Eyre Square, drive there, then walk to the taxi rank (which is about as much as I can do in one go), then after the appointment I must walk to the taxi rank again and then go back to Eyre Square, where I rest a bit before I walk to my car and come home. I don't ride the bus because I get sick on buses (and planes, and I've been told not to take travel sickness medication with the other medication I've been given). It's expensive no matter whether I park or ride the bus anyway.

Can any of you locals recommend me a better strategy or one that will still be viable when they do all this banning of car traffic?

Subcomandante Marcos

Taxi's count as public transport, so you're fine.

Speedwell

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

Taxi's count as public transport, so you're fine.

Will I still be able to get to Eyre Square to park there? I apologise, I'm not really grasping the situation from the maps.

Subcomandante Marcos

Yes.

Although I don't know the specific route you'd use, and it might be easier to part somewhere a little less central if possible.

Speedwell

Gracias, Subcomandante

Subcomandante Marcos

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

I was in a city in Spain recently. the Old Town where we were staying was fully pedestrianised. Quite a big area too.

The Taxi driver stopped at the nearest point and had a sheaf of photocopied street maps on the dashboard. He took one, marked where we were stopped and where the hotel was.

Brilliant. About a seven or eight minute walk no bother at all, and the area was amazing. Kids all over the place because it was SAFE from traffic, and cafes/restaurants with outdoor seating.

Anyway, while I was there, I was really wondering why we don't make use of outdoor areas for eating and drinking. Well it's not there, because there are too many CARS!

And before anyone starts the Blah Blah about our weather, well when I was in Maastricht in December, it was cold and wet, but the outdoor areas (in the pedestrian zone AGAIN, lol) had heaters and blankets, and it was just great.

It's all in the head this panic about no cars. It can work.

Was the city Granada?

Subcomandante Marcos

Speedwell wrote: »

Gracias, Subcomandante

De nada.

Chuchote

Maybe Galway could do what Paris has started doing: rent out scooters on roughly the same system as the Galway Bikes —

http:// www. thelocal. fr/20160620/paris-to-get-new-rent-a-scooters-in-summer

Discodog

The biggest failing with any Galway plan is the ability of the Council to implement it properly. I would have no faith in them making this work without causing chaos. Galway is a major pinch point. The priority is to give the through traffic a new fast route. There has to be a link between the two sides of the City otherwise business will suffer. I already avoid work that involves crossing the City.

It's a classic cart before the horse. Get a lot of the traffic out of the city first & on to the bypass then make the City pleasant for pedestrians.

_Whimsical_

Speedwell wrote: »

Folks, I live near Sligo town. I am low mobility (but do not quite qualify for disabled parking) and low income (I am working but I don't make very much). I have to see a specialist at University Hospital once or twice a month and will be scheduling surgery in several months. I'm not able to walk far; I can no more walk a km without stopping several times to rest than I can fly the same distance, and I can barely manage a flight of stairs. My treatment will eventually fix a lot of those issues, but for now I am confused about what to do. At the moment I book parking for the day at Eyre Square, drive there, then walk to the taxi rank (which is about as much as I can do in one go), then after the appointment I must walk to the taxi rank again and then go back to Eyre Square, where I rest a bit before I walk to my car and come home. I don't ride the bus because I get sick on buses (and planes, and I've been told not to take travel sickness medication with the other medication I've been given). It's expensive no matter whether I park or ride the bus anyway.

Can any of you locals recommend me a better strategy or one that will still be viable when they do all this banning of car traffic?

You could try and park in the Cathedral car park and then call a taxi to there and get it to bring you to the hospital. That would cut out a lot of walking for you. It's around 2 or 3 euro more expensive per journey if you call a taxi rather than getting one at the rank but it sounds like it would be worth a fiver or so to save strength in your case. A taxi from the cathedral would be cheaper than one from town too so you wouldn't end up paying more.
You could also park on a road in a housing estate in Shantalla ( near uchg) and call a taxi there to the house number your outside and you'd only have to go from your car into the taxi then.

The pedestrianisation, if it happens, will take place over years rather than months so you don't need to worry, sounds like you'll be fit by then. Good luck.

gordongekko

Imagine those bridges closed to traffic today.

jjpep

gordongekko wrote: »

Imagine those bridges closed to traffic today.

Yep, it would be great. All the traffic for the game would be directed to the ring road and everyone else would get to be able to use the city centre.

Or better again use the proposed park and rides with buses going directly to the stadium. One would hope that occasions like today would be planned for like that.

gordongekko

jjpep wrote: »

Yep, it would be great. All the traffic for the game would be directed to the ring road and everyone else would get to be able to use the city centre.

Or better again use the proposed park and rides with buses going directly to the stadium. One would hope that occasions like today would be planned for like that.

What ring road?? I'd love to use it myself

jjpep

gordongekko wrote: »

What ring road?? I'd love to use it myself

Apologies if I'm using the wrong name, not a Galway native. The road that goes around the city from the large roundabout where the dublin motorway starts, goes past the racecourse and ballybrit, down to the quincentianal bridge, past the hospital, through westside and diwn to blackrock in salthill. Its the road thats a dual carriageway pretty much for the entire lenght that i describe.

I suppose ring road isn't the right word as its not making a complete circle but half ring.

JoeA3

The same "ring road" that's gridlocked every evening when the Salmon Weir is open?

Discodog

JoeA3 wrote: »

The same "ring road" that's gridlocked every evening when the Salmon Weir is open?

And imagine how much worse it would be when you add all the cars that can't go through the city.

Wompa1

I'm not above taking a bus. But there's a few things that p1ss me off about the bus service in Galway and pretty much Ireland in general. Also, I had a car when I lived in the city and have had a car every time I've gone back but still choose to use the bus when it makes sense.

1.) The price. It really irked me with those ads that a monthly bus pass was cheaper than the car when for me at the time at least, that wasn't true. I think there are a lot of people paying for monthly passes that are subsidizing for others.

2.) Inconsistency. I thought them putting in the LED screens might be a deterrent to bus drivers dossing or BE being incompetent but it hasn't. There's days when you'll see that the information is not available and a bus doesn't show up at all according to the schedule online or printed.

3.) Schedule and routes. In my day Parkmore was the only viable route in the city. I was back a few weeks ago and wanted to get the bus out to Headford Road after a long day of walking but they seemed to move the bus stop for it and didn't label it (or at least not that I could see). So, I figure, it's alright I know where the next couple of stops are, we'll walk out a bit. NOPE...the stops were no longer there. I looked it up, it's completely changed and is even more irregular than it use to be.

All in all. The service is not reliable enough to be a viable alternative to a car. With that said, if they could provide a viable public transportation system and plan it well. I would be all for closing off the city to cars. I could really give a toss about those who want to be able to drive their car into the city because it's my car and I'm better than the bus waaa waaa waaa

Spanish Eyes

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

Was the city Granada?

San Sebastian. Super place.

Then moved on to Bayonne in France. Same thing, pedestrianised inner zone too. Amazing what can be done when the will is there.

Subcomandante Marcos

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

San Sebastian. Super place.

Then moved on to Bayonne in France. Same thing, pedestrianised inner zone too. Amazing what can be done when the will is there.

Yeah, Pamplona is similar in the old town too. Love that area of Spain/France.

If that's your sort of thing, and you like good tapa, put Granada on your list. Equally as beautiful, food is even better!

ben.schlomo

Wompa1 wrote: »

I'm not above taking a bus. But there's a few things that p1ss me off about the bus service in Galway and pretty much Ireland in general. Also, I had a car when I lived in the city and have had a car every time I've gone back but still choose to use the bus when it makes sense.

1.) The price. It really irked me with those ads that a monthly bus pass was cheaper than the car when for me at the time at least, that wasn't true. I think there are a lot of people paying for monthly passes that are subsidizing for others.

2.) Inconsistency. I thought them putting in the LED screens might be a deterrent to bus drivers dossing or BE being incompetent but it hasn't. There's days when you'll see that the information is not available and a bus doesn't show up at all according to the schedule online or printed.

3.) Schedule and routes. In my day Parkmore was the only viable route in the city. I was back a few weeks ago and wanted to get the bus out to Headford Road after a long day of walking but they seemed to move the bus stop for it and didn't label it (or at least not that I could see). So, I figure, it's alright I know where the next couple of stops are, we'll walk out a bit. NOPE...the stops were no longer there. I looked it up, it's completely changed and is even more irregular than it use to be.

All in all. The service is not reliable enough to be a viable alternative to a car. With that said, if they could provide a viable public transportation system and plan it well. I would be all for closing off the city to cars. I could really give a toss about those who want to be able to drive their car into the city because it's my car and I'm better than the bus waaa waaa waaa

The route of the 407 hasn't changed in years, maybe you went out the wrong road. The stop is also at the same place since the Eyre Square revamp!!!

Chuchote

Galway can be a bit freehand. You'd be wandering around staring up at corners wondering what the road is, and if you find a sign it says something different from the map, and you ask a local and he says "God, I don't know!"

As for the buses and the electronics — are there electronics? — the way it was worked out in Dublin after some grit between drivers and management was that the driver presses a button to show the bus location at every stop. But sometimes drivers forget.

gordongekko

Chuchote wrote: »

Galway can be a bit freehand. You'd be wandering around staring up at corners wondering what the road is, and if you find a sign it says something different from the map, and you ask a local and he says "God, I don't know!"

As for the buses and the electronics — are there electronics? — the way it was worked out in Dublin after some grit between drivers and management was that the driver presses a button to show the bus location at every stop. But sometimes drivers forget.

That's probably how it works but it can't take account of traffic. I've often been waiting looking at the sign saying due but no sign of a bus for another 10 mins

Wompa1

ben.schlomo wrote: »

The route of the 407 hasn't changed in years, maybe you went out the wrong road. The stop is also at the same place since the Eyre Square revamp!!!

I walked out from town, out past Woodquay and then to the Headford Rd. All of the bus stops had the timetables taken off. I lived in Bothar an Choiste for a year, took the bus a lot when living there. The day that I was looking for it, it was not at the same stop and the stops along the way didn't have any info on them.

ben.schlomo

Wompa1 wrote: »

I walked out from town, out past Woodquay and then to the Headford Rd. All of the bus stops had the timetables taken off. I lived in Bothar an Choiste for a year, took the bus a lot when living there. The day that I was looking for it, it was not at the same stop and the stops along the way didn't have any info on them.

First stop on the Headford rd is still at Woodquay, second is still at the retail park, third is still opposite Dunnes. It still goes from the stop opposite Fibbers, which has a large timetable on it.

Wompa1

ben.schlomo wrote: »

First stop on the Headford rd is still at Woodquay, second is still at the retail park, third is still opposite Dunnes. It still goes from the stop opposite Fibbers, which has a large timetable on it.

The timetable was int the bus stop in the Square but there was no bus for a bunch of the times listed. The timetables were not up on the bus stops on the Headford Road....even had a wander down to where the bus usually drops off on our way to walk out...No mas!

This was 5 weeks ago. It was just after the bank holiday but it wasn't on the weekend itself. I think it was a Thursday evening.

EDIT: Wouldn't be the first time a bus hasn't shown up. Had the same happen trying to get to Salthill and get out of Salthill. Also lived in Mervue years ago. The Sunday bus would routinely just not show up.