Light rail for Galway

cgcsb

cgcsb wrote: »

If in the 1930s all Irish cities followed the example of the then Barcelona extension and pursued a programe of industrialization as per the rest of Europe, it'd be a completely different country no for the better with a lot more domestic industry and there'd be no mega motorways to hamlets.

You have a lot of ifs there - Ireland did try to industralise in the thirties. The rest of the world was protecting their economies - it was hard to create industries when your domestic market was small and your exporting one was not open.
Comparing us to Barcelona is a bit off - the entire population growth of the city from the thirties to now would fit into a few square kilometres of Barcelona density.
The population of the county today is the same as it was in the 1870s but with more concentrated in the city now - we are urbanising and have been for a long time.

Mrs OBumble

Humria wrote: »

It's the Ballybrit junction. It priorities the getting on the motorway and Parkmore. It just means it takes a long time to get through them coming from East Galway.

I agree that those on bikes, those who walk and catch the bus should supported. Increasing bus lanes and cycle lanes would be great. I just haven't seen an increase in those forms of transport from increased traffic lights. I'm aware that's just my experience. I'd like to hear about the positive impact of them if you've seen that.

Ballybrit junction? In my mind that's the one where Bothar na Dheabh (spelling?) meets Ballybane Rd (ie the former Morris roundabout). There, when the RAB was removed, the 405 bus route was extended first just inside the estate and later it started going right into it. The number of people catching the bus grew significantly. Numbers walking and cycling also grew, because they didn't have to cross a massive RAB anymore. (I was temping there for a while and had to cross the RAB once a day - was just horrible.) Vastly better than it was from all directions.

I wonder though if you mean the junction outside Briarhill shopping centre? That's the one where Parkmore and the motorway are prioritised. And yes, coming through there from the east is the one place where I do believe that things are worse now than they were pre-recession - simply because they've been made better for the other directions. And agree, it's the one area where there's no public transport, I suspect because it's in the county, not the city, and the locals are so used to being car dependent.

I don't think it's valid to generalise from that one area to the whole city though. In most other places, traffic and public transport now are far better than pre-recession.

Humria

cgcsb wrote: »

It's not worse than Dublin or Cork.

These reports suggest it is.

http://www.thejournal.ie/galway-bad-traffic-3-3727711-Dec2017/

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Ballybrit junction? In my mind that's the one where Bothar na Dheabh (spelling?) meets Ballybane Rd (ie the former Morris roundabout). There, when the RAB was removed, the 405 bus route was extended first just inside the estate and later it started going right into it. The number of people catching the bus grew significantly. Numbers walking and cycling also grew, because they didn't have to cross a massive RAB anymore. (I was temping there for a while and had to cross the RAB once a day - was just horrible.) Vastly better than it was from all directions.

I wonder though if you mean the junction outside Briarhill shopping centre? That's the one where Parkmore and the motorway are prioritised. And yes, coming through there from the east is the one place where I do believe that things are worse now than they were pre-recession - simply because they've been made better for the other directions. And agree, it's the one area where there's no public transport, I suspect because it's in the county, not the city, and the locals are so used to being car dependent.

I don't think it's valid to generalise from that one area to the whole city though. In most other places, traffic and public transport now are far better than pre-recession.

Yes, outside the Briarhill shopping centre. Sorry, that was a bad description on my part. There was a pathway under the dual carriageway that I used when I needed to cross it.

The bus service there is brilliant and it's fantastic that it's expanded but I don't see how that was as a result of the traffic lights?

I honestly don't see how you can say it's far better than before the recession. I can completely see how traffic lights are better for cyclists but just because it's easier now doesn't actually mean people are doing it more. If that's been your observation than I accept that but I'm wondering what you basing that on?

A good piece in the Advertiser about the future of the city in terms of transport, services and accommodation

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/98329/galway-traffic-can-ease-if-we-make-two-hard-choices-on-housing-and-cars

ben.schlomo

[Deleted User] wrote: »

A good piece in the Advertiser about the future of the city in terms of transport, services and accommodation

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/98329/galway-traffic-can-ease-if-we-make-two-hard-choices-on-housing-and-cars

Excellent piece from what will hopefully be a future representative for Galway.

biko

Not sure if it was mentioned already but there were some guys on Shop Street getting signatures for this. Last weekend I think.

joeKel73

They were taking signatures outside Dunnes in Westside recently too.

xckjoo

biko wrote: »

Not sure if it was mentioned already but there were some guys on Shop Street getting signatures for this. Last weekend I think.

For GLUAS? That's Catherine Connollys crew I think. Niall O Tuathail (author of Advertiser article) is arguing against the need for light rail and for increased investment in bus and bicycle infrastructure.

biko

I wish people would stop calling it GLUAS before it becomes a thing.
It just shows lack of imagination and is not correct in any way.

joeKel73

xckjoo wrote: »

Niall O Tuathail (author of Advertiser article) is arguing against the need for light rail and for increased investment in bus and bicycle infrastructure.

I think he's right too. We'll get much better bang for our buck by upgrading the bus and cycle network - it'll also be a much quicker return.

What I'd like to see as a quick relatively low-cost alternative is a high-frequency bus corridor across the city, probably between these two roundabouts....



Bus every 5-10 mins
This corridor should be flooded with buses, people shouldn't need to worry about timetables.

Split all of that stretch of the N6 that's two lanes into 1 regular lane and 1 bus lane.
This will not go down well initially with motorists as the private car road capacity across the Quincentenary, Terryland, Bothar na dTreabh will be dramatically reduced. But as the bus will be much faster option, a lot of city commuters will make the move.
There are already plans to add bus lanes to the road at Parkmore.

Off-board fare collection and mid-bus entry
Take a RBT approach. Don't have people queueing to enter and pay the driver - have a ticket machine at the stops and allow people to swipe their Leap Card at the stop they get on and off. Several doors should open along the bus.

Park and Ride at either end.
There appears to be potential P&R sites at both Parkmore and Knocknacarra.

Develop the bus network radially between the existing Eyre Square hub out to the outer bus corridor. Most routes branch out like this anyway.

xckjoo

J o e wrote: »

I think he's right too. We'll get much better bang for our buck by upgrading the bus and cycle network - it'll also be a much quicker return.
<snip>

Ya I totally agree. Part of the problem with the current bus routes is that they're very limited in where they cover. If you want to go to Eyre Square, you're fine but if you want to go NUIG->Salthill, you're faster walking. If they try and introduce something that depends on a new type of infrastructure (rail), we'll be right back to square 1.

We've already spend millions on a road network that we might as well use.

McTigs

I would also open up the bus lanes to trade vehicles and delivery trucks.... there should be plenty of room for flow with these added and it would reduce the complaining about empty bus lanes.

Robbo

biko wrote: »

I wish people would stop calling it GLUAS before it becomes a thing.
It just shows lack of imagination and is not correct in any way.

Gluas is also a registered business name of Brendan Holland so there's a proprietary issue.

McTigs

McTigs wrote: »

I would also open up the bus lanes to trade vehicles and delivery trucks.... there should be plenty of room for flow with these added and it would reduce the complaining about empty bus lanes.

No, nope, nadda!! The whole point of the empty bus lane is to give the bus fast movement.

The whole "empty lane, need to fill it" debate happened 30 years ago in Dublin. Bus lanes need to be as empty as possible for them to work as intended for the designated users otherwise it defeats the purpose of having them

joeKel73

Robbo wrote: »

Gluas is also a registered business name of Brendan Holland so there's a proprietary issue.

Multiple people or companies can have the same registered business name. But as said before, it's an awful name anyway!

phelant

Why are people convinced that cycling, irrespective of how much infrastructure is in place, will ever appeal to a large body of people in Galway. It rains 6 of every 10 days in the west on average.

cgcsb

phelant wrote: »

Why are people convinced that cycling, irrespective of how much infrastructure is in place, will ever appeal to a large body of people in Galway. It rains 6 of every 10 days in the west on average.

So what. Rains in Dublin too and in Stockholm you're likely to get freezing sleet and snow in your face.

biko

Please drop the cycling.
This thread is about trams, not cycling.

biko

Posts about cycling removed.

Mrs OBumble

J o e wrote: »

it's an awful name anyway!

Why's the awful?

It communicates the idea of a modern tramway to pretty much anyone who's ever visited Dublin.

And hell, we all use DAFT pretty successfully, and that's an even worse name (apt though it is for the current property market!)

what_traffic

biko wrote: »

I wish people would stop calling it GLUAS before it becomes a thing.
It just shows lack of imagination and is not correct in any way.

GLUAS kind of makes sense from a Gaeilge perspective
It sounds similar to the word:
Gluiaseacht = Movement (http://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/gluaiseacht)

but is GLUAS short for

Gaillimhe LUAS or Galway LUAS ??

biko

Luas is a good name, means "speed".
Gluas is a bastardisation of that name

What's next - the Gdart? If Galway were to get a subway, would you then push for Gtube?

Leave Luas for the dubs and use a unique name for a unique town. Preferably another Irish name.

what_traffic

biko wrote: »

Luas is a good name, means "speed".
Gluas is a bastardisation of that name

Problem with the LUAS it is not very "speedy", but it easy to pronounce for non-Gaeilge speakers.

What was the Gaeilge nickname name given to the Old Horse and Tram from Eyre SQ to Salthill back in the day?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_and_Salthill_Tramway

What's the problem with just plain old LUAS?

It's not like the train or the buses have different names in different cities around the country.

Mute point anyway, won't even start planning on it for 30-40 years

biko

Trains and buses do have different names around the world. Look up the Muni in San Fransisco, Dart in Dublin, Tube in London, etc etc


You're talking about different things. Luas is the name, the vehicle is a tram. The track is a tramway.

How about Gtram? Grailway?

Edit, GRail, I like it

Hugh Jampton

Deleted User wrote: »

What's the problem with just plain old LUAS?

It's not like the train or the buses have different names in different cities around the country.

Mute point anyway, won't even start planning on it for 30-40 years

Mute point is right.

Mrs OBumble

I know trams are quiet - but mute point seems a bit harsh.

Unless you mean moot point???



As for Irish names: ya, sure, so long as you don't want tourists or foreign blow-ins to use the name. Remember what the offical name of the Eastern Distributor Road is, and what proportion of people know how to say it.

fergiesfolly

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I know trams are quiet - but mute point seems a bit harsh.

Unless you mean moot point???



As for Irish names: ya, sure, so long as you don't want tourists or foreign blow-ins to use the name. Remember what the offical name of the Eastern Distributor Road is, and what proportion of people know how to say it.

Yes, we should change all the names to English. Just as they do in Spain, France and Germany.

Off topic, but we need to educate people how to use the language, not eradicate it.

Anyway, over the years, I've had a change of heart regarding car use in the city. Large park and ride centres on the edge of the city and a vastly improved bus network, where fares are affordable and standardised. More cycle lanes( raised above road level) and incentives to get children back cycling.
Don't see a need for a tram system in Galway. Most buses in the future will be electric and driverless, so that should suffice.

Paddico

I hear plans are been drafted for the Micheal D space centre on Inis Oir as well.
Day trips to the moon are been proposed

Mearings

biko wrote: »

Luas is a good name, means "speed".
Gluas is a bastardisation of that name

What's next - the Gdart? If Galway were to get a subway, would you then push for Gtube?

Leave Luas for the dubs and use a unique name for a unique town. Preferably another Irish name.

Anyway it will (if ever) be called Gmall.