Galway's traffic issues

Ashleigh1986

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Nox001....
Are you for real ???
Traffic is only busy for an hour in the morning and the evening???
I've read some crazy posts regarding galway traffic but congrats that now number one .
You obviously don't be driving around galway city at the times I do .
By your posts your not leaving home until 9am and not leaving work until 6.30 ??
Try driving around galway between 7.45 am to 9.30 am and 4pm to 7pm .
Come back to me when you have .

It’s at its worst for about an hour, it’s busy around this hour but manageable imo. Traffic is significantly lighter at 6 than 5:30 and on my route is pretty much gone by 6:30pm. In the morning once it gets to 9:10/9:15 the worst of the traffic is over. Also aside from a Friday traffic is not bad at 4pm.

Ashleigh1986

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

It’s at its worst for about an hour, it’s busy around this hour but manageable imo. Traffic is significantly lighter at 6 than 5:30 and on my route is pretty much gone by 6:30pm. In the morning once it gets to 9:10/9:15 the worst of the traffic is over. Also aside from a Friday traffic is not bad at 4pm.

On your route ? And at your times !!!
What about the roads not on your route and the times that you obviously aren't on the road ??
By your logic the person driving around galway on a Sunday hasn't a care in the world because there's no traffic.

Ashleigh1986

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

On your route ? And at your times !!!
What about the roads not on your route and the times that you obviously aren't on the road ??
By your logic the person driving around galway on a Sunday hasn't a care in the world because there's no traffic.

Well my route is one of the main routes into and out of the city so it would carry a significant amount of traffic. If I didn’t work in a company with a modern philosophy i.e. get the work done not be in at some fixed time and leave at some fixed time then I’d have to deal with a lot more traffic. If I had to be in at 9am I’d probably take an hour to get in but if I aim to be in the office at a time of my choosing around 9:30 or a little later the trip takes me 30 - 35 mins, a nice relaxing commute.

If more people could start at 9:30, others at 10am and for those that it suits better start at 7am an 8am just get a big spread of start/finish times then the big burst of traffic with loads of people aiming for a 9am start on top of school traffic would ease significantly imo. Same goes for schools, spread start times around so that there is not a glut of traffic all going in for 9am. Some schools already do start later but more need to.

Oh and get the bypass on the fastest of fast tracks, ram through planning and exempt it from any big appeals process.

Doctors room ghost

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

It’s at its worst for about an hour, it’s busy around this hour but manageable imo. Traffic is significantly lighter at 6 than 5:30 and on my route is pretty much gone by 6:30pm. In the morning once it gets to 9:10/9:15 the worst of the traffic is over. Also aside from a Friday traffic is not bad at 4pm.

It’s a boll1x of a city structured around several bottle necks and governed by 8000 sets of pointless lights which back up onto each other there’s that many of them.
Best avoided all the time if possible.
If you live east of the city it’s easier to get to Athlone

Doctors room ghost

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Let me guess .... Today was a disaster of a day regarding traffic ??
When your constantly driving in galway city there are certain times to avode it if possible .
It needs a one way sytem brought in Asap.
One way inbound Lough atalia
One way outbound college road
One way inbound bohermore
One way outbound headford road
Bus lanes all along each of these roads .
CCTV operated especially during rush hours on traffic lights around the city.
Pedestrian lights to be replaced by " crossing zones"
With proper signage/ lighting at these zones .
Forget a by pass in 8 to 10 years .
Galway needs changes TODAY !!!!

One way outbound college road wouldn’t solve a thing when them cars get to the farcical junction at the g hotel and the traffic that’s backed up from Oranmore.
There’s 6 sets of lights on the Dublin Road and no need for any of them.

xckjoo

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

It’s at its worst for about an hour, it’s busy around this hour but manageable imo. Traffic is significantly lighter at 6 than 5:30 and on my route is pretty much gone by 6:30pm. In the morning once it gets to 9:10/9:15 the worst of the traffic is over. Also aside from a Friday traffic is not bad at 4pm.

Is that not proof that public transport should be the main focus for fixing traffic issues? If it's only busy when people are going to and from work? Get most of the people going from high density housing areas to high density employment areas onto buses and most of that traffic disappears

xckjoo

xckjoo wrote: »

Is that not proof that public transport should be the main focus for fixing traffic issues? If it's only busy when people are going to and from work? Get most of the people going from high density housing areas to high density employment areas onto buses and most of that traffic disappears

Galway doesn't have any high density housing areas.

It has areas with shedloads of houses, but its a long, long way off being high density by any measure.

Not disagreeing with the principle behind your post though, move more people to sustainable transport models

xckjoo

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Galway doesn't have any high density housing areas.

It has areas with shedloads of houses, but its a long, long way off being high density by any measure.

Not disagreeing with the principle behind your post though, move more people to sustainable transport models

Haha. I guess I should have said relatively high.

Mrs OBumble

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Pedestrian lights to be replaced by " crossing zones"
With proper signage/ lighting at these zones .

Can you tell us more about these, please? Are they like zebra crossings? Or something else?

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

There’s 6 sets of lights on the Dublin Road and no need for any of them.

'Cos f*** you pedestrians, ye don't need to cross the road. Not even get to the bus stop which means you don't need to take a car anywhere.

Yeah, right .....

xckjoo

xckjoo wrote: »

Is that not proof that public transport should be the main focus for fixing traffic issues? If it's only busy when people are going to and from work? Get most of the people going from high density housing areas to high density employment areas onto buses and most of that traffic disappears

Public transport is suitable for some but not for others. It will never be suitable for me as for one I simply don’t like it, I live rurally and even discounting both these reasons I often use my car to go places during the day (lunch in different places etc) and after work I don’t just travel home I might travel home via somewhere else and always have lots of stuff in my car too that I may or may not need on any given day. Many people are like this and value the flexibility of a car very highly.

But for those who it is suitable for or who want to use public transport by all means make it available and improve it but not to the detriment of car traffic.

amcalester

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

Public transport is suitable for some but not for others. It will never be suitable for me as for one I simply doesn’t like it, I live rurally and even discounting both these reasons I often use my car to go places during the day (lunch in different places etc) and after work I don’t just travel home I might travel home via somewhere else. Many people are like this and value the flexibility of a car very highly.

But for those who it is suitable for or who want to use public transport by all means make it available and improve it but not to the detriment of car traffic.

Car traffic should be the least prioritized in cities.

It’s the least efficient.

Ashleigh1986

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Can you tell us more about these, please? Are they like zebra crossings? Or something else

Raised pedestrian crossings with flashing lights and well lit up at night.
Pedestrians get right of way at these crossings .
All pedestrians cross together .
It would involve having to educate Irish people to cross the road correctly and not walk out in front of traffic all over city center .
It's nuts at the moment pedestrian lights coming on and no pedestrians at the lights to cross .

Doctors room ghost

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Can you tell us more about these, please? Are they like zebra crossings? Or something else?






'Cos f*** you pedestrians, ye don't need to cross the road. Not even get to the bus stop which means you don't need to take a car anywhere.

Yeah, right .....

The lights at the hospice back onto the lights at Duggan’s which back onto the lights below Ryan’s hotel which back onto the lights at the g hotel.
Same thing with the 3 gombeen sets of lights out at the crystal factory.its a fcukin jokeshop

McGiver

amcalester wrote:

It’s the least efficient.

Lowest throughput, highest noise and chemical pollution (bar EVs), highest accident/injury/fatality rate. Overall highest cost to the tax payer (healthcare costs, environmental costs) and greatly reduced quality of life in cities.

EVs would mitigate several of the negatives above, except of the throughput, but mass deployment of EVs in West of Ireland is unlikely due to several reasons some of which are related to local culture, so it's moot.

McGiver

Doctors room ghost wrote:

The lights at the hospice back onto the lights at Duggan’s which back onto the lights below Ryan’s hotel which back onto the lights at the g hotel. Same thing with the 3 gombeen sets of lights out at the crystal factory.its a ****in jokeshop

How many lights and pedestrian crossings should there be in this section of the road according to you? Zero?

Doctors room ghost

McGiver wrote: »

How many lights and pedestrian crossings should there be in this section of the road according to you? Zero?

Yes absolutely zero.put in a zebra crossing at Duggan’s where a car only has to stop if somebody is present.as for cars joining the Dublin Road they should just merge when possible.

The rat run through Renmore is beyond a joke and is downright dangerous for kids there.

And as for the Mickey Mouse junction at the g hotel take all that out and put it back as a free flowing roundabout.

A lane there on the right approach from Oranmore side lying empty and coned off.ffs stevie wonder would have engineered it better

John_Rambo

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

The biggest immediate change that would improve Galway traffic for everyone is a joint effort by all major employers and schools to stagger start/finish times.

It's an interesting and novel idea, but those stars will never ever align. The people who's work starts at 8.00am and who's kids school starts at 10.00am and vice versa will simply exasperate the traffic problems and will have cause for a jump in pre and after school care prices.

You're own particular scenario is rare. Most people want to get in early if they can get out early. I actually had a similar situation in work myself years ago, but when the kids came along there was no way I was going to drop the kids off to school and hang around or go home and back in to work and miss an hour of family time in the evening.

McGiver

Doctors room ghost wrote:

The rat run through Renmore is beyond a joke and is downright dangerous for kids there.

How is it dangerous? And how it would be less dangerous using zebra crossing instead of light controlled crossing?

Just asking, because the whole fúcking civilised Europe doesn't do it in the way you suggest... whatsoever like.

connemara man

Hey, People can have a differing of opinion but KEEP IT CIVIL

Doctors room ghost

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

Yes absolutely zero

Nox, that you?

Doctors room ghost

McGiver wrote: »

How is it dangerous? And how it would be less dangerous using zebra crossing instead of light controlled crossing?

Just asking, because the whole fúcking civilised Europe doesn't do it in the way you suggest... whatsoever like.

How is it dangerous?a couple of thousand cars down through narrow housing estate roads in a race against the clock where kids could be out playing.it also brings you past schools and a restaurant where people might stand out on the road by accident

John_Rambo

John_Rambo wrote: »

It's an interesting and novel idea, but those stars will never ever align. The people who's work starts at 8.00am and who's kids school starts at 10.00am and vice versa will simply exasperate the traffic problems and will have cause for a jump in pre and after school care prices.

I disagree, why wold it exacerbate the traffic issues? There will be less cars on the road at a given time also most people who live rurally have a local school so staggering the start times of work keeps the people out of the city. Schools don't start at 8 anyway so someone who has to be in at 8 has to find a way for their kids to get to school, usually both parents start at different times to accommodate this and no reason similar could not be done. i.e. one parent starts at 8 and the other starts at 10 or grandparents do the drop offs (big advantage of rural living beside family which city dwellers don't get very often) or maybe short time in a before school minder.

John_Rambo wrote: »

You're own particular scenario is rare. Most people want to get in early if they can get out early. I actually had a similar situation in work myself years ago, but when the kids came along there was no way I was going to drop the kids off to school and hang around or go home and back in to work and miss an hour of family time in the evening.

I wouldn't say its rare at all, this is the second company I've worked for who operate a very flexible approach to work hours and people opting for an early start over a late one are in a very small minority from my experience including those with kids. The office would be busier at 8:30pm than 8:30am by a distance for example. Occasionally I would be in the office a little early at say 8:50 am and more often then not would mean turning on the lights in a large open plan office as either no one was in yet or the one or two who were didnt turn on the lights. 9:15 or so onwards up to about 10 am was the main time for people to come in with some still coming in up to about 10:30am.

I dont really get your point about dropping your kids off to school and then hanging around or going home. School start times would likely be staggered from say 9 to 10am. So if its a 9am start you drop them on the way and off into work or same if it's 9:30, why would you go home (unless you are spending some time working from home which I also often do myself). For me I pass the local primary school driving to work so I if I were dropping kids I would just start work when it suited. If school started at 9:15 I'd drop kids an continue on to work getting there with little or no traffic hold ups by about 9:45. Kids or no kids, starting early or late working on late is something I would be doing regularly anyway thats the nature of a busy job to be honest so starting a bit later in the morning makes little difference in that regard.


Separately encouraging more working from home is another easy step which could quickly reduce traffic volumes. I know its not possible for everyone but it is for a lot of jobs many of which could realistically be done almost fully remotely but if anyone who it is possible for did a day or maybe two a week from home it would also reduce the traffic. I work quite a bit from home myself, sometimes for a week at a time and I see it as something that will only become more and more prevalent hence I will be including a dedicated office in my house design and it wont be a small little after thought, a proper job.

Ruhanna

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

Public transport is suitable for some but not for others. It will never be suitable for me as for one I simply doesn’t like it, I live rurally and even discounting both these reasons I often use my car to go places during the day (lunch in different places etc) and after work I don’t just travel home I might travel home via somewhere else and always have lots of stuff in my car too that I may or may not need on any given day. Many people are like this and value the flexibility of a car very highly.

But for those who it is suitable for or who want to use public transport by all means make it available and improve it but not to the detriment of car traffic.

Can we please drop all the pretence that traffic congestion is caused by lack of road space, unsuitability of public transport or whatever?

This is what it all boils down to in terms of local and national politics: "I doesn't like it".

The obstacles to sustainable transport in Galway and elsewhere in Ireland have very little to do with geography, engineering, logistics or anything else of that sort. Such challenges can be overcome when there is political will, which is what is sorely lacking and has been for decades.

This is what it's all about: me and my car, multiplied by hundreds of thousands. The 'cars rule' ideology permeates all levels of the body politic, from a homeowner using the public footpath as private space, to the parent parking in a bike lane outside a school, to the shopkeeper treating on-street parking as a private business asset, to the civil engineer designing road layouts mainly for car traffic, to the urban planner organising a city around car ownership, to the elected representatives counting votes from car commuters, to the government officials and ministers dancing to the tune of the car lobby.

No wonder that transport is such a huge contributor to CO2 emissions, and that we are locked into car dependence, probably for decades more.

xckjoo

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

Public transport is suitable for some but not for others. It will never be suitable for me as for one I simply doesn’t like it, I live rurally and even discounting both these reasons I often use my car to go places during the day (lunch in different places etc) and after work I don’t just travel home I might travel home via somewhere else and always have lots of stuff in my car too that I may or may not need on any given day. Many people are like this and value the flexibility of a car very highly.

But for those who it is suitable for or who want to use public transport by all means make it available and improve it but not to the detriment of car traffic.

You realise all those issues are effectively down to personal preference and lack of structure /planning. You effectively want 100s of millions of euro spent because you want to the option to do anything you want at a moments notice. You can't have the flexibility of a car without the traffic it brings, its just not possible.
Flexible work times are only possible in certain industries. The logistics difficulties increase exponentially with scale. Flexible school start times are even more unworkable for reasons outlined by others. Not everyone even has parents /grandparents to mind their kids and do school runs.
The level of self involvement in your posts is staggering as always

JCX BXC

Ever drive to Westside? Often clogged up to and past the Browne roundabout most weekdays from 1/2pm until after the evening rush.

John_Rambo

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

I wouldn't say its rare at all, this is the second company I've worked for who operate a very flexible approach to work hours and people opting for an early start over a late one are in a very small minority from my experience including those with kids. The office would be busier at 8:30pm than 8:30am by a distance for example. Occasionally I would be in the office a little early at say 8:50 am and more often then not would mean turning on the lights in a large open plan office as either no one was in yet or the one or two who were didnt turn on the lights. 9:15 or so onwards up to about 10 am was the main time for people to come in with some still coming in up to about 10:30am

Nox. It is rare. Most offices are closed at 8.30pm. Surely you know this?

xckjoo

John_Rambo wrote: »

Nox. It is rare. Most offices are closed at 8.30pm. Surely you know this?

Never mind the people working in industries where they can't just start whenever; which is probably most industries. Even if they just needed groups to start at the same time it would be a logistical nightmare. How do you cater for thousands of employees coming from different places, with kids starting and ending school at different times and other time demands, while still achieving your core business objectives to stay afloat? What about the service industries that revolve around the business provided by workers in other companies coming in for lunch, etc.? Would they have to stay open 24hrs to accommodate everyone elses opening hours? Do workers get a say in what time they start at? If I'm in manufacturing and a team of 3 is needed to run the machine, what happens if I need to start at 10 to accommodate the school run, but the other two want/need to start at 8? What international company is going to be willing to open in Galway if they had to take that kind of mess on themselves? I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.
Not too surprising that this is the solution proposed by the person who by their own account, doesn't plan further than getting into their car.

John_Rambo

xckjoo wrote: »

Never mind the people working in industries where they can't just start whenever; which is probably most industries. Even if they just needed groups to start at the same time it would be a logistical nightmare. How do you cater for thousands of employees coming from different places, with kids starting and ending school at different times and other time demands, while still achieving your core business objectives to stay afloat? What about the service industries that revolve around the business provided by workers in other companies coming in for lunch, etc.? Would they have to stay open 24hrs to accommodate everyone elses opening hours? Do workers get a say in what time they start at? If I'm in manufacturing and a team of 3 is needed to run the machine, what happens if I need to start at 10 to accommodate the school run, but the other two want/need to start at 8? What international company is going to be willing to open in Galway if they had to take that kind of mess on themselves? I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.
Not too surprising that this is the solution proposed by the person who by their own account, doesn't plan further than getting into their car.

Agreed. Novel idea, but bonkers really.

xckjoo

John_Rambo wrote: »

Agreed. Novel idea, but bonkers really.

It's more of an employee perk than a solution to a city-wide transport problem.

John_Rambo

John_Rambo wrote: »

Nox. It is rare. Most offices are closed at 8.30pm. Surely you know this?

I agree working until 8:30pm regularly is not the norm though in many jobs you will have to work late during busy times so its not unheard of by any means.

I was simply highlighting that people tend to go for later rather than earlier hours given a flexible work schedule. I know people in more menial jobs tend to lack flexibility but in highly skilled sectors which I work in and would know lots of other people in other companies also hours tend to be very flexible as the attitude is to get the work done not work a set of hours, this could mean working late or even a weekend at times if necessary but the trade off is you can tailor your hours to suit.

I've worked with countless people with kids who start work after 9 and finish after 6 by choice rather than start earlier and finish earlier. Contrary to what you said it makes more sense as someone starting late can do a school drop off much easier than an earlier starter.

xckjoo wrote: »

Never mind the people working in industries where they can't just start whenever; which is probably most industries. Even if they just needed groups to start at the same time it would be a logistical nightmare. How do you cater for thousands of employees coming from different places, with kids starting and ending school at different times and other time demands, while still achieving your core business objectives to stay afloat? What about the service industries that revolve around the business provided by workers in other companies coming in for lunch, etc.? Would they have to stay open 24hrs to accommodate everyone elses opening hours? Do workers get a say in what time they start at? If I'm in manufacturing and a team of 3 is needed to run the machine, what happens if I need to start at 10 to accommodate the school run, but the other two want/need to start at 8? What international company is going to be willing to open in Galway if they had to take that kind of mess on themselves? I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.
Not too surprising that this is the solution proposed by the person who by their own account, doesn't plan further than getting into their car.

Its is already common to have flexible working hours especially in international companies. Yes some roles are unsuitable if you are hands on in a factory, but even many hands on jobs are flexible also. Most highly skilled jobs are suited to flexible hours infact many require them due to having to work with international partners etc. Any desk job is suitable for flexible hours and more so for remote working.

Certainly in the highly skilled, cutting edge tech areas I have worked in and with many people I know working in similar areas with different companies flexibility in hours and for remote working is common place.

There is still a glut of people though working in 9-5 office jobs that could do their job no issue whatsoever on a 10-6 or 8-4 and also work remotely a day or two per week. Rigid work hours and having to be in the office to be considered are backward old fashioned ways of running a business.