Twin Towns traffic

water-man

Hi,

Anyone here experiencing the traffic chaos that is the twin towns these days?

I have also heard at the weekend that the traffic lights at McClays corner are not broken but turned off. I was surprised to hear this as I thought kids and elderly would be considered a higher priority than business but apparently not. No plan to get them turned on again either but let’s hope they're on again for the kids getting to school.

It's a real shame the by-pass never got the go ahead & started back in the 2000's. If it did we wouldn't be in this mess now.

I'm actually starting to worry that it might not happen again due to too much interference from the County Councilors and the Chamber of Commerce. Back in the 2000's they were against the south route. So now the NRA has proposed the North route and now they're all against it!!!!

Joshua J

water-man wrote: »

Hi,

Anyone here experiencing the traffic chaos that is the twin towns these days?

I have also heard at the weekend that the traffic lights at McClays corner are not broken but turned off. I was surprised to hear this as I thought kids and elderly would be considered a higher priority than business but apparently not. No plan to get them turned on again either but let’s hope they're on again for the kids getting to school.

It's a real shame the by-pass never got the go ahead & started back in the 2000's. If it did we wouldn't be in this mess now.

I'm actually starting to worry that it might not happen again due to too much interference from the County Councilors and the Chamber of Commerce. Back in the 2000's they were against the south route. So now the NRA has proposed the North route and now they're all against it!!!!

Don't go through man, go around.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Why are you being so dramatic???

Traffic flows easier and quicker when they're switched off hence the reason they haven't been turned back on and traffic isn't so heavy that someone couldn't get across the street. Your making it out like its the Champs Elysees with 10 lanes of fast moving traffic, its a two lane street with fairly light traffic, people are able to cross the road in relative safety without the need for traffic lights or pedestrian crossing.

There is a pedestrian crossing near Drumboe avenue for the school children to use.

Joshua J

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Traffic flows easier and quicker when they're switched off hence the reason they haven't been turned back on and traffic isn't so heavy that someone couldn't get across the street. Your making it out like its the Champs Elysees with 10 lanes of fast moving traffic, its a two way street with fairly light traffic, people are able to cross the road in relative safety without the need for traffic lights or pedestrian crossing and just while on that note, the lights at McClays corner were purely for traffic, there is no pedestrian crossing there so your point was null from the start.

Was at McClays on Saturday at about 2pm and usually it'd be long queues on all sides yet wasn't a car to be seen. Flows much better with the lights off from what I can see.

muffler

The long delays and tailbacks in recent weeks were being caused by 2 different lots of roadworks. One has since stopped / put on hold and the traffic management has been changed in the other so for now traffic is flowing easier.

But wait until the schools open again and it will be a different story.

water-man

That road (donegal town Letterkenny) is probably the buiest road in Donegal then add the lifford road and now we're asking our kids to cross it without traffic lights.

Maybe I am being a bit dramatic but it is serious. I know of at least one blind person that has to get to the doctors surgey - how do they get accross now? That person was confident going to the Dr or shops by themselves but now that has been taken away from them. Heart breaking to see.

All I know is I don't have the answer but accepting the lights being constantly off is not acceptable to me. Am hoping some bright spark might have an out of the box solution.

Cee-Jay-Cee

water-man wrote: »

That road (donegal town Letterkenny) is probably the buiest road in Donegal then add the lifford road and now we're asking our kids to cross it without traffic lights.

Maybe I am being a bit dramatic but it is serious. I know of at least one blind person that has to get to the doctors surgey - how do they get accross now? That person was confident going to the Dr or shops by themselves but now that has been taken away from them. Heart breaking to see.

All I know is I don't have the answer but accepting the lights being constantly off is not acceptable to me. Am hoping some bright spark might have an out of the box solution.

There is a pedestrian crossing at drumboe avenue, why can’t they use it?

water-man

You are right - That set of lights will do a lot of school kids, not all but most that's for sure. I guess I'm just not comfortable asking kids & older people to cross one of the busiest junctions in Donegal wihtout some assistance while trying to get to Finn Valley/pool/library/Dr all so I get work in the morning or home in the evening a few minutes earlier.

I'm not doubting that the traffic is moving much better at that junction now but is that down to the lights being off or better traffic management at the Donegal road road works?

The last time the lights were fixed (only a week or 2 ago) the timing on them was way off. I mean the green light for traffic from Ballybofey was only staying green a very short period this in my oponion was the cause of the very large tail backs we had before the lights were turned off.

Did they even try to adjust the timing? Does anyone know if there is someone activetly working on a possible solution?

Cee-Jay-Cee

water-man wrote: »

Did they even try to adjust the timing? Does anyone know if there is someone activetly working on a possible solution?

They have realised that the lights were never needed and when they were switched on done nothing but create more problems than they cured. I'd imagine they will decommission them and remove them for good.

What they should do however is put a yellow box at that junction to allow traffic to move more freely if it does get heavy.

lulu1

Someone was saying only today that they sat for a full hour in a traffic jam in Ballybofey

muffler

lulu1 wrote: »

Someone was saying only today that they sat for a full hour in a traffic jam in Ballybofey

There were serious tail backs after the match on Sunday and I believe the traffic was very heavy yesterday again. With ongoing roadworks on the Donegal road (stop - go in operation again) its delays all the way again.