Galway's traffic issues

zell12

topcat77 wrote: »

What about the old and infirm? Keep them locked in the house i suppose?

Force them into cars, more like

what_traffic

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

Look I never wait for a green man and cross where it’s most convienent but I do so at my own risk and make sure not to impede cars when doing so.

Which came first - Roads or cars?

Pinch Flat

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

You can’t be serious? Pedestrians are 100% responsible for looking after themselves when walking and should very much worry about putting themselves in harms way as it’s their job to stay out of cars way if they set foot on the road, which is for cars not walkers aside from when they have a green man to cross. Are you suggesting that walkers should just be able to walk out in front of cars and expect them to stop and if they don’t it’s not their own stupid fault?

Look I never wait for a green man and cross where it’s most convienent but I do so at my own risk and make sure not to impede cars when doing so.

"I'm a motorist, don't you know"

xckjoo

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

You can’t be serious? Pedestrians are 100% responsible for looking after themselves when walking and should very much worry about putting themselves in harms way as it’s their job to stay out of cars way if they set foot on the road, which is for cars not walkers aside from when they have a green man to cross. Are you suggesting that walkers should just be able to walk out in front of cars and expect them to stop and if they don’t it’s not their own stupid fault?

Look I never wait for a green man and cross where it’s most convienent but I do so at my own risk and make sure not to impede cars when doing so.

Yup. 100% serious. Course we should be able. It's a city not a motorway. People were walking there long before cars were even a concept. Car movement shouldn't get priority over a persons safety. If they can't coexist safely, the cars have to go. Simples

jjpep

Is there self driving cars in Galway now? Surely you mean people driving cars....

xckjoo

jjpep wrote: »

Is there self driving cars in Galway now? Surely you mean people driving cars....

Don't you know there's no people involved in this? It's cars, pedestrians, drivers and cyclists. 4 unique species with no crossover. All incapable of communicating with each other

jjpep

xckjoo wrote: »

Don't you know there's no people involved in this? It's cars, pedestrians, drivers and cyclists. 4 unique species with no crossover. All incapable of communicating with each other

Plus don't forget that if you're a cyclist and a driver than really you're just a cyclist...

Mrs OBumble

xckjoo wrote: »

Yup. 100% serious. Course we should be able. It's a city not a motorway. People were walking there long before cars were even a concept. Car movement shouldn't get priority over a persons safety. If they can't coexist safely, the cars have to go. Simples

Does that mean cycles also have to go?

I spent 45 minutes walking around the city this morning. No cars endangered or even annoyed me at any time. The only vehicle which did was a bicycle going the wrong way down a one-way street; traffic was stationary while a lad unloaded some stuff, so I stepped into the street to go around some slower-moving pedestrians. Cycle-user should have anticipated that I'd do this because it'd been catching up to them for a good minute, but still he passed me with mm to spare.

xckjoo

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Does that mean cycles also have to go?

I spent 45 minutes walking around the city this morning. No cars endangered or even annoyed me at any time. The only vehicle which did was a bicycle going the wrong way down a one-way street; traffic was stationary while a lad unloaded some stuff, so I stepped into the street to go around some slower-moving pedestrians. Cycle-user should have anticipated that I'd do this because it'd been catching up to them for a good minute, but still he passed me with mm to spare.

Oh FFS. YES!!!!!!!! Do I need to spell this out? Safety should be #1 priority. If we can't share space with cars, they go. If we can't share space with bikes, they go. There's a reason we (kinda) banned cycling on the footpath and have separate lanes for people on foot and people on bikes. Those dicks that cycle on Shop Street are just that, dicks. Get off and walk FFS. Bikes aren't allowed to contra-flow a one-way system so the person in your example was a dick twice. Them and their ilk are the reason we can't have cars and bikes and pedestrians sharing the same space.


Thanks for re-enforcing the whole "us" vs "them" mentality though.

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Does that mean cycles also have to go?

I spent 45 minutes walking around the city this morning. No cars endangered or even annoyed me at any time. The only vehicle which did was a bicycle going the wrong way down a one-way street; traffic was stationary while a lad unloaded some stuff, so I stepped into the street to go around some slower-moving pedestrians. Cycle-user should have anticipated that I'd do this because it'd been catching up to them for a good minute, but still he passed me with mm to spare.

You'll win yourself a Darwin Award with behaviour like that

John_Rambo

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Does that mean cycles also have to go?

I spent 45 minutes walking around the city this morning. No cars endangered or even annoyed me at any time. The only vehicle which did was a bicycle going the wrong way down a one-way street; traffic was stationary while a lad unloaded some stuff, so I stepped into the street to go around some slower-moving pedestrians. Cycle-user should have anticipated that I'd do this because it'd been catching up to them for a good minute, but still he passed me with mm to spare.

Count yourself lucky it was a bike and not a car you stepped out in front of.

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

You'll win yourself a Darwin Award with behaviour like that

Nope.

There is no way a car could have been in that place: the street is one vehicle wide, one way, and traffic was totally stopped by the van, which I was only a few metres away from.

Ass*** on bicycle shouldn't have been there. Suffice to say he had no helmet, dark coloured clothing, and either no warning device (ie bell) or chose / was to stupid to use it.

Classic example of why pedestrians and bicycles don't mix.

McTigs

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Does that mean cycles also have to go?

I spent 45 minutes walking around the city this morning. No cars endangered or even annoyed me at any time. The only vehicle which did was a bicycle going the wrong way down a one-way street; traffic was stationary while a lad unloaded some stuff, so I stepped into the street to go around some slower-moving pedestrians. Cycle-user should have anticipated that I'd do this because it'd been catching up to them for a good minute, but still he passed me with mm to spare.

Many european cities are now allowing contra flow cycling (I admit not ours) as one way systems were introduced in the first place as cars and carparking didn't allow two way because of space.... but there really is no reason to restrict bicycles in the same way.

gordongekko

McTigs wrote: »

Many european cities are now allowing contra flow cycling (I admit not ours) as one way systems were introduced in the first place as cars and carparking didn't allow two way because of space.... but there really is no reason to restrict bicycles in the same way.

So it's not ok for cars to break the rules but it is ok for cyclists to break them :rolleyes:

xckjoo

gordongekko wrote: »

So it's not ok for cars to break the rules but it is ok for cyclists to break them :rolleyes:

I don't think so. Use the bike to get around most days but stick to the rules.

The obvious difference is the risk involved to others, but I'd be happy with equal enforcement of all road rules. And I don't mean the zero enforcement that's currently done

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Nope.

There is no way a car could have been in that place: the street is one vehicle wide, one way, and traffic was totally stopped by the van, which I was only a few metres away from.

Ass*** on bicycle shouldn't have been there. Suffice to say he had no helmet, dark coloured clothing, and either no warning device (ie bell) or chose / was to stupid to use it.

Classic example of why pedestrians and bicycles don't mix.

I owe you an apology, I missed that the cyclist was going the wrong way down a one-way in your original post, I stand corrected

Ashleigh1986

One things for sure .
Galway streets are to narrow to allow on street parking and expect them to be 2 way . The space isn't there for cyclists / motorists .
I'm all in favour of bus lanes / bike lanes , however unless you start knocking down buildings it's impossible to fit everything in .
It's obvious a one way system around a lot of the city roads needs to be implemented.
But like with a lot of things enforcement is the key .

McTigs

gordongekko wrote: »

So it's not ok for cars to break the rules but it is ok for cyclists to break them :rolleyes:

Nope, didn't say that. I merely pointed out that it's not a rule that should apply to cyclists and this something that is being recognised in other (more progressive and imaginative) places.

McTigs

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

It's obvious a one way system around a lot of the city roads needs to be implemented.

It's already implemented, half of them are one way

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Gwen Shallow Raccoon wrote: »

You can’t be serious? Pedestrians are 100% responsible for looking after themselves when walking and should very much worry about putting themselves in harms way as it’s their job to stay out of cars way if they set foot on the road, which is for cars not walkers aside from when they have a green man to cross. Are you suggesting that walkers should just be able to walk out in front of cars and expect them to stop and if they don’t it’s not their own stupid fault?

Look I never wait for a green man and cross where it’s most convienent but I do so at my own risk and make sure not to impede cars when doing so.

A basic for anyone learning to drive a car (or indeed ride a bike) is to assume that other people will do stupid things. This will never not be an issue. So if a pedestrian does something stupid, you still have to try not to hit them. It doesn’t matter that you’re in the right. It’s not always possible to not hit the pedestrian but the driver should do their best not to. Human life > being right.

Whereisgalway

topcat77 wrote: »

There should be a lot more light controlled crossings in the city centre and all should be pedestrian biased.

The lights at Spanish arch are a joke along with Eyre square. no crossings along Eglington street and trying to get from Galway shopping centre to Galway retail park is a nightmare for anyone.

The ped lights at the spainish arc are the main cause of traffic to stretch along the docks and Lough Atalia Road

jjpep

Whereisgalway wrote: »

The ped lights at the spainish arc are the main cause of traffic to stretch along the docks and Lough Atalia Road

One of our esteemed local councillors said similar recently too. Is the idea that parts of the city should not be accessible on foot so that people driving can be stuck some where else along that road? Maybe a better plan would be to find other ways than just cars as a way of commuting across the city.

Ashleigh1986

McTigs wrote: »

It's already implemented, half of them are one way

....mill street / sea road / Dominic street/ Henry street/ .... A slight exaggeration to suggest half of the streets in galway are already one way !!!!

Ashleigh1986

Also .... University road / headford road / bohermore / Lough atalia / college road / .... Nonsense to suggest half of the galway city roads/ streets are already one way

jjpep

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Also .... University road / headford road / bohermore / Lough atalia / college road / .... Nonsense to suggest half of the galway city roads/ streets are already one way

It would make a lot of sense to make many, if not all, of those one way. Where the streets are narrow, on street car parking could be removed to allow for bike lanes

Ashleigh has a point, we should be pushing to get more one way streets to free up space for pedestrians and cyclists

Ashleigh1986

Will the galway city council do away with on street parking on certain roads to facilitate one way systems or bike lanes ????
The revenue from on street parking pays for a lot of these public sector workers !!
Sooner better than later galway city council needs to get its head out if it's ARS ,and start implementing drastic changes ,to aliveate all the issues regarding galway traffic no matter what mode of transport you use .

Mrs OBumble

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Will the galway city council do away with on street parking on certain roads to facilitate one way systems or bike lanes ????
The revenue from on street parking pays for a lot of these public sector workers !!
Sooner better than later galway city council needs to get its head out if it's ARS ,and start implementing drastic changes ,to aliveate all the issues regarding galway traffic no matter what mode of transport you use .

What particular streets do you have in mind?

Fitz*

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What particular streets do you have in mind?

I would guess Eglinton street for a start. Forster street too.

Ashleigh1986

Lough atalia / college road / mill street / sea road / Henry street / presentation road / Dominic street .... After that take a look at headford road from courthouse to traffic lights at tesco ....