City just crazy

Ashleigh1986

DACOR ..... I agree ....roundabouts work well on paper and when there's not much traffic flow ( salthill / oranmore etc ) . But the problem is the traffic lights ARENT connected in a row .Take tuam road .... At 2am when going out from city center the lights will change at liosban from green to red even though no cars are coming out of liosban . Even the pedestrian lights will come on before the lights turn green again to let me go on my journey . IM from the city , I'm driving for 30 years . Take the recent ed Sheehan event .... Why were the lights left on at top of treadneddle road ?? Why lights left on at bottom of Taylor's hill ??? 100 gardai on duty ??? It happens every races .... Lights left on at entrance to Boston scientific even though 1000s going to event close by . THe council and gardai haven't a clue how to manage traffic . This coming Sunday in pearse stadium will be another traffic disaster .

xckjoo

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

DACOR ..... I agree ....roundabouts work well on paper and when there's not much traffic flow ( salthill / oranmore etc ) . But the problem is the traffic lights ARENT connected in a row .Take tuam road .... At 2am when going out from city center the lights will change at liosban from green to red even though no cars are coming out of liosban . Even the pedestrian lights will come on before the lights turn green again to let me go on my journey . IM from the city , I'm driving for 30 years . Take the recent ed Sheehan event .... Why were the lights left on at top of treadneddle road ?? Why lights left on at bottom of Taylor's hill ??? 100 gardai on duty ??? It happens every races .... Lights left on at entrance to Boston scientific even though 1000s going to event close by . THe council and gardai haven't a clue how to manage traffic . This coming Sunday in pearse stadium will be another traffic disaster .

Those one off events and 2am stops aren't a factor in the daily congestion that people encounter going to/from work, shops, etc. I think that's what most people have issue with.

Ashleigh1986

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

What you do is a " green wave " of lights and flush the traffic out . Same can be done along west side

There is a green wave on the Seamus Quirke Road - it is only noticeable when traffic is light.
I have caught it.

If people speed and race to the next set of lights or if there is congestion it breaks down.

Storm 10

Deleted User wrote: »

There is a green wave on the Seamus Quirke Road - it is only noticeable when traffic is light.
I have caught it.

If people speed and race to the next set of lights or if there is congestion it breaks down.

I came to the lights at Dunnes Stores Westside at 1am in the morning recently, not a car in sight and the lights went Red then changed for pedestrians and again no one around,smart lights my ass

Ashleigh1986

So pg633 .... You admit it " breaks down if there is congestion " .... Therefore it's not been worked correctly . When dealing with traffic the most important " zone " is the one in which your going to move the traffic along to . Again take the Dublin road . The traffic in the evening disappears after the galway clinic roundabout. Meanwhile it's congested all along into and sometimes beyond huntsman roundabout . Again the problem are the lights not been worked correctly especially at rush hour .

xckjoo

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

So pg633 .... You admit it " breaks down if there is congestion " .... Therefore it's not been worked correctly . When dealing with traffic the most important " zone " is the one in which your going to move the traffic along to . Again take the Dublin road . The traffic in the evening disappears after the galway clinic roundabout. Meanwhile it's congested all along into and sometimes beyond huntsman roundabout . Again the problem are the lights not been worked correctly especially at rush hour .

Ah it's not just the lights though. It's the volume of cars on the road. The lights can only do so much. The Dublin Road issue you're describing is because there cars going in the way are going into a bottleneck, while the ones going out the way disperse in various directions.



Every light change will introduce a delay/inefficiency by nature. Then add in the delays of individual cars responding to the change and people speeding as fast as they can to the next set of lights and it just adds to the mess. I'm sure there's room for improvement in timing, but it's not going to solve the issue.

Ashleigh1986

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

So pg633 .... You admit it " breaks down if there is congestion " .... Therefore it's not been worked correctly . When dealing with traffic the most important " zone " is the one in which your going to move the traffic along to . Again take the Dublin road . The traffic in the evening disappears after the galway clinic roundabout. Meanwhile it's congested all along into and sometimes beyond huntsman roundabout . Again the problem are the lights not been worked correctly especially at rush hour .

I think you are missing the point. The roads can only carry so many cars efficiently. Once you go above that, no matter what you do, there will be blockages. We are at that stage now. Actually, we were at that stage years ago

Ashleigh1986

I never said " it was JUST the lights ". But I'm driving in galway city 10 hours per day over the last 20 years . The lights are a huge factor especially 7am to 10 am and 4pm to 7pm . Other factors are driver behaviour . Total disregard with parking . Allowing on street parking on both sides of the road and expecting roads to be 2 way . Roundabouts at bohermore/ corrib park / castlelawn heights/ corrib great southern all need to be pulled out and a cctv operated at peak times traffic light system put in . They can put whatever sequence they want on lights at non peak times .... But they must be manned at peak times .

xckjoo

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

I never said " it was JUST the lights ". But I'm driving in galway city 10 hours per day over the last 20 years . The lights are a huge factor especially 7am to 10 am and 4pm to 7pm . Other factors are driver behaviour . Total disregard with parking . Allowing on street parking on both sides of the road and expecting roads to be 2 way . Roundabouts at bohermore/ corrib park / castlelawn heights/ corrib great southern all need to be pulled out and a cctv operated at peak times traffic light system put in . They can put whatever sequence they want on lights at non peak times .... But they must be manned at peak times .

Why do you think manning them would fix the issue? Humans aren't very efficient.

Ashleigh1986

Xckjoo .... It's down to vision . It's down to what's exactly happening at any given time . You can sequence all you want but it doesn't take into account driver behaviour . Properly trained humans would beat any computer sequenced system.

Ashleigh1986

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Properly trained humans would beat any computer sequenced system.

Everyone has a licence, therefore they are trained (in the eyes of the law).

Mrs OBumble

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Xckjoo .... It's down to vision . It's down to what's exactly happening at any given time . You can sequence all you want but it doesn't take into account driver behaviour . Properly trained humans would beat any computer sequenced system.

I doubt it. Computer sequencing now includes complex algorithms using machine-learning, and take account of observed driver behaviour A trained human being might be able to make one or two intersections run better. A properly speced and configured computer could do that to the whole system.

That said, I have no idea if Galway's lights or system are actually properly specced or congfigured.

bodhrandude

The lights broke at the Crescent going into Father Griffin Road, its a godsend the bus is far quicker into town. Usually the green light has a six second go before it changes back, it just takes two cumbersome drivers in front of the bus before we are in the red again.

Ashleigh1986

That's my point bodhrandude , all the lights in the city are sequenced . I'm all the time driving in the city and the amount of times vehicles are stuck at lights on red and it's green when there's no traffic on that junction . Another disaster is coming out from liosban onto castlelawn heights roundabout . Why can't the road be widened to let 2 cars out at top . Exact same at exit of hospital onto corrib park roundabout . Another disaster is mill street / Dominic street and the whole west end of the city . Allowing on street parking and expecting these roads to be 2 way is another city council joke . Another road that needs looking at is ' hidden valley " . It's opposite shannon dry cleaners going onto headford road . Make it one way , with the option of right turn going out towards tesco and left going towards cathedral .

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

The lights are a massive improvement on the rab's that were there before

I'd strongly disagree, traffic flow is considerably worse now than before. Roundabouts are a far better way of getting traffic around the city than having lights everywhere.

benjamin d

Gracelynn Whining Rainbow wrote: »

I'd strongly disagree, traffic flow is considerably worse now than before. Roundabouts are a far better way of getting traffic around the city than having lights everywhere.

Roundabouts are fantastically efficient if people use them properly. But they won't. So they aren't.

The three lane roundabout at the shopping centre was perfectly suited for that location if it wasn't for the fact that a majority of Irish drivers are absolute selfish pr*cks. Heaven forbid you'd ever (correctly) get into the inside lane of that roundabout because you were in for a shock if you thought anyone would respect that you had right of way.

xckjoo

Gracelynn Whining Rainbow wrote: »

I'd strongly disagree, traffic flow is considerably worse now than before. Roundabouts are a far better way of getting traffic around the city than having lights everywhere.

There's more cars now than there was during the old days of roundabouts. As benjamin d said, if we were all good drivers they might be better, but most people are barely aware they're in control of the things. Look how long it takes for people to start moving when the lights turn green. No ability to pay attention to the road.

topcat77

Roundabouts are fantastic for car traffic but a total nightmare for pedestrians and cyclists.

Eyezone

After 10 years driving here I have one conclusion - one or two tunnels or bridges would do the job.

Gracelynn Whining Rainbow

Gracelynn Whining Rainbow wrote: »

I'd strongly disagree, traffic flow is considerably worse now than before. Roundabouts are a far better way of getting traffic around the city than having lights everywhere.

The data shows otherwise

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/93534/open-data-and-open-roads-how-data-can-show-the-value-of-road-improvements-around-galway

topcat77

topcat77 wrote: »

Roundabouts are fantastic for car traffic but a total nightmare for pedestrians and cyclists.

This is an important point.

When looking at road users nowadays, pedestrians are considered first, then cyclists, then public transport and finally private car users

xckjoo

Deleted User wrote: »

This is an important point.

When looking at road users nowadays, pedestrians are considered first, then cyclists, then public transport and finally private car users

Is that what you're saying actually happens or what should happen? It seems like the order they actually follow is the reverse of this.

Ashleigh1986

To help with traffic flow tru the city there should be " red zones " . Thelse should be foster street / eglinton street . No parking whatsoever from 11am to 7pm. Proper signage / enforcement should be put in place . Have ye seen the total abandonment of cars along eglinton street and foster street on Saturdays and Sunday's ???? The 2 busiest days of the week in the city and this is been tolerated??? Some of these vehicles are parked along these streets for the whole day and paying NOTHING

zell12

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

To help with traffic flow tru the city there should be " red zones " . Thelse should be foster street / eglinton street . No parking whatsoever from 11am to 7pm. Proper signage / enforcement should be put in place . Have ye seen the total abandonment of cars along eglinton street and foster street on Saturdays and Sunday's ???? The 2 busiest days of the week in the city and this is been tolerated??? Some of these vehicles are parked along these streets for the whole day and paying NOTHING

It's not going to change.
All 18 councillors representing us are silent, ergo we are silent

xckjoo

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

To help with traffic flow tru the city there should be " red zones " . Thelse should be foster street / eglinton street . No parking whatsoever from 11am to 7pm. Proper signage / enforcement should be put in place . Have ye seen the total abandonment of cars along eglinton street and foster street on Saturdays and Sunday's ???? The 2 busiest days of the week in the city and this is been tolerated??? Some of these vehicles are parked along these streets for the whole day and paying NOTHING

Don't F*ck with the parking or you'll have the business lobby down your throat! Do you not know that the city will become a desolate waste-ground if people are asked to pay for parking or park further away

zell12

xckjoo wrote: »

Don't F*ck with the parking or you'll have the business lobby down your throat! Do you not know that the city will become a desolate waste-ground if people are asked to pay for parking or park further away

True true.
Yet on a day like today, imagine what benches and flowers in place of motorparking would be like

xckjoo

zell12 wrote: »

True true.
Yet on a day like today, imagine what benches and flowers in place of motorparking would be like

Get out of here with that hippy thinking. A green area is just a lost opportunity for parking income. :pac:

zell12

xckjoo wrote: »

Get out of here with that hippy thinking. A green area is just a lost opportunity for parking income. :pac:

We do be on the same wavelength.

Ashleigh1986

The type of people that abandon their cars on these streets over the weekend aren't that big of spenders in our city . That you can be sure of . These individuals don't want to pay for anything and if they decide ( which I doubt ) to spend their money elsewhere .... So be it .... No loss

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

This is an important point.

When looking at road users nowadays, pedestrians are considered first, then cyclists, then public transport and finally private car users

Cars should be considered first by a distance imo as it is the most important and most used transport and always will in a place like Galway city and county (from where thousands commute into the city and surrounds everyday). A few people being able to cross the road a bit easier is meaningless in a city transport plan.

zell12 wrote: »

True true.
Yet on a day like today, imagine what benches and flowers in place of motorparking would be like

A waste of valuable road space it what they would be. Go into eyre square if you need to see flowers and benches.

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

The type of people that abandon their cars on these streets over the weekend aren't that big of spenders in our city . That you can be sure of . These individuals don't want to pay for anything and if they decide ( which I doubt ) to spend their money elsewhere .... So be it .... No loss

I wouldn't be so sure, many people who park up for the weekend are out in the cities pubs and clubs spending lots of money.