Fire in Douglas - See Mod note in post #506

Markcheese

kub wrote: »

It is a section of road that does have what road engineers call ' Phantom Traffic Jams '


Here is an explanation of same


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3iOE_ymE_w


I cannot help but imagine the fun ahead of us all there when the motorway from Ringaskiddy slips west bound to join the constant stream that will be coming up from Dunkettle..........in 50 or so years time

It mightnt be 2 bad ,the traffic merging at Broomfield is already very high ,
But the closeness of the junctions from kinsale road to mahon causes drama at the moment , particularly at Douglas

Karmella

beer enigma wrote: »

It's the anchor ones that could affect it although the smaller units in the middle took the bigger hit on livelihoods.

O'Briens always did a good trade, but apart from traffic through Tesco, I don't remember seeing many of the others jammed so will be interesting. M&S always seemed quiet, especially the cafe, Starbucks you could always get a seat, new chemist opposite the centre could do for the one that was there. Bresnans are unlikely to go back in, no Born, and with Lidl opening as well.

Will be interesting

O’Connors pharmacy have opened up in the woollen mills near where DJ cabs used be. Not sure if it’s permanent.

That pharmacy and bresnans had been tenants in the shopping centre for decades.

Hibernicis

Just after 10am this morning there was a tailback past the Mahon interchange. The delay was 10 minutes. No accidents or other apparent causes.

Cork Trucker

Hibernicis wrote: »

Just after 10am this morning there was a tailback past the Mahon interchange. The delay was 10 minutes. No accidents or other apparent causes.

Rubber neckers looking at the scaffolding for the screen being erected so i believe. Can't win

airy fairy

Karmella wrote: »

O’Connors pharmacy have opened up in the woollen mills near where DJ cabs used be. Not sure if it’s permanent.

That pharmacy and bresnans had been tenants in the shopping centre for decades.

Have Bresnans always been there?
Were they there when Macs meats were there also?
I think it's the end of Douglas Village bSC as we know it.
I miss it hugely.

Hibernicis

Karmella wrote: »

O’Connors pharmacy have opened up in the woollen mills near where DJ cabs used be. Not sure if it’s permanent.

That pharmacy and bresnans had been tenants in the shopping centre for decades.

Barters (Travel Agent) have moved to Claremont Avenue (Alongside Allcare Pharmacy and the former Carry Out/Fine Wines store)

beer enigma

Hibernicis wrote: »

Barters (Travel Agent) have moved to Claremont Avenue (Alongside Allcare Pharmacy and the former Carry Out/Fine Wines store)

Ha I've driven past it loads of times thinking where do I know the name from... Makes sense

grogi

Cork Trucker wrote: »

Rubber neckers looking at the scaffolding for the screen being erected so i believe. Can't win

How can you simultaneously complain about action and lack of action?!

Cork Trucker

grogi wrote: »

How can you simultaneously complain about action and no action?!

I’m not complaining, it’s a factual reality.

grogi

Cork Trucker wrote: »

I’m not complaining, it’s a factual reality.

Lack of action is permanent, nothing changes. Same old...

Action at least brings change and there is a chance of things getting better.

Cork Trucker

grogi wrote: »

Lack of action is permanent, nothing changes. Same old...

Action at least brings change and there is a chance of things getting better.

Fingers crossed

who_me

I'm sure it's been noted, but due to the closure of the road between the shopping centre and the ring road, there's so much more traffic on Church St.

The junction between it and South Douglas Rd. is now constantly busy. Bad for traffic, and pedestrians given there's no lights/crossing there. It seems to flow well enough, probably because of the lack of lights. But cars and pedestrians are really 'chancing it', darting out into gaps. It probably needs something done before that street opens again.

Cork Trucker

who_me wrote: »

I'm sure it's been noted, but due to the closure of the road between the shopping centre and the ring road, there's so much more traffic on Church St.

The junction between it and South Douglas Rd. is now constantly busy. Bad for traffic, and pedestrians given there's no lights/crossing there. It seems to flow well enough, probably because of the lack of lights. But cars and pedestrians are really 'chancing it', darting out into gaps. It probably needs something done before that street opens again.

I'm at a loss as to how that road was permitted to remain in private ownership despite being used by the public, i know it was the old car park and that, surely so if something happened on it then liability rests with the shopping centre? You are the first one to say it is now busier since the road/shopping centre was shut, others have said the reverse.

TheChizler

It is far busier, in laws live on that road there's constant traffic when there was only occasional traffic before.

kub

Cork Trucker wrote: »

I'm at a loss as to how that road was permitted to remain in private ownership despite being used by the public, i know it was the old car park and that, surely so if something happened on it then liability rests with the shopping centre? You are the first one to say it is now busier since the road/shopping centre was shut, others have said the reverse.

Yes Church Road is indeed busier, but my own commute is a lot easier heading past Douglas Court and up the Douglas Road due to the fact that the lights are now only for pedestrians at the Shopping Centre junction.
Some of us are benefiting in the short term, I hope in the long term that the City Council have plans and a long term solution for traffic in the village, at least they have experienced urban traffic problems and have some solutions as opposed to their County colleagues.
Who in all their time did nothing but made the traffic in Douglas worse.

beer enigma

Apparently one of the cars that came down with the demolition was a 192 Peugeot... Ouch

Mardyke

beer enigma wrote: »

Apparently one of the cats that came down with the demolition was a 192 Peugeot... Ouch

Meeow

zilog_jones

Cork Trucker wrote: »

...You are the first one to say it is now busier since the road/shopping centre was shut, others have said the reverse.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111796954&postcount=730

Heckler

TheChizler wrote: »

I remain to be convinced, there was always a slowdown there, even before the shopping centre was built.

Naw. I've been driving home around 4.30 after work on the N40 from the tunnel heading to the Kinsale roundabout for the last 4 years and it was never as bad as it is now. The main slowdowns are along the slip roads where idiots come off the slips at 60/80kph trying to merge with traffic moving at 100kph and bigger idiots slow down or brake to let them in leading to the knock on affect further back. Coming out of the tunnel heading to glanmire every morning the amount of cars on the slip travelling at stupid slow speeds and actually braking as they try to merge is ridiculous.

This is still happening but combined with the rubbernecking is making things twice as bad. I watch the cams at www.dunkettletraffic.ie at work and sure as **** from 4 onwards every day all you can see is brake lights coming on and traffic coming to a halt at bloomfield. Get past the Douglas flyover and its freeflowing again.

People need to get up to speed when merging, people need to stop braking or slowing down to let them merge and people need to stop gawking at a ****ing building site.

If you're going anywhere like Togher, the Lough etc. go out Tivoli direction, its usually fine.

TheChizler

Was driving past last night in a group of maybe 6 cars, no other cars visible ahead of us as far as you could see. The two cars in front and their tailgaters braked harshly where the hard shoulder narrows by KFC, nowhere near the shopping centre yet. Fine if that makes you nervous slow down by taking your foot off but don't brake in an otherwise clear road, the braking causes the concertina effect that totally stops traffic. Also don't tailgate. I had been keeping a 3-4 second gap as I was expecting it but still had to hover over the brake as slowing naturally nearly wasn't enough.

Heckler

TheChizler wrote: »

Was driving past last night in a group of maybe 6 cars, no other cars visible ahead of us as far as you could see. The two cars in front and their tailgaters braked harshly where the hard shoulder narrows by KFC, nowhere near the shopping centre yet. Fine if that makes you nervous slow down by taking your foot off but don't brake in an otherwise clear road, the braking causes the concertina effect that totally stops traffic. Also don't tailgate. I had been keeping a 3-4 second gap as I was expecting it but still had to hover over the brake as slowing naturally nearly wasn't enough.

Yup thats the thing. People braking instead of just easing off the accelerator. People see brake lights in front and then they brake too and on and on it goes behind. As an aside the amount of people who automatically brake at an approaching vehicle in the opposite lane when there's room to get the moon between them..the fcuk is that about...

Cork Trucker

zilog_jones wrote: »

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111796954&postcount=730

My apologies dear Sir

Markcheese

Well the scaffolding barrier is up , don't think the mesh to block the view is yet, now though ever one is going to be looking at the scaffolding, and it is impressive ...

Jeju

Markcheese wrote: »

Well the scaffolding barrier is up , don't think the mesh to block the view is yet, now though ever one is going to be looking at the scaffolding, and it is impressive ...

I was passing westbound yesterday morning and they had the end and a few meters roadside done with the mesh but when I was coming back later it was taken down again. Maybe they thought better of putting it up prior to the storm.

Cork Trucker

Any update on the 2 cars still visible? One looks like a Nissan Qashqai literally on the edge now since the demolition. Are they coming down with the rest of the floor or can they be recovered from that position externally?

Chris_5339762

There is only two days of experience but has anyone else noticed that since the "blocking" has gone up on the screens at Douglas that rubbernecking westbound has completely stopped and that the N40 - in the evenings anyway - is now freeflow again westbound?

Chris_5339762

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

There is only two days of experience but has anyone else noticed that since the "blocking" has gone up on the screens at Douglas that rubbernecking westbound has completely stopped and that the N40 - in the evenings anyway - is now freeflow again westbound?

Last two evenings have been totally fine thank god...up until then it’s been slow from the tunnel until Tesco!

Cork Lass

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

There is only two days of experience but has anyone else noticed that since the "blocking" has gone up on the screens at Douglas that rubbernecking westbound has completely stopped and that the N40 - in the evenings anyway - is now freeflow again westbound?

Drove past there earlier - no bother. Amazing the difference this has made.

TheChizler

Two days last week I drove past at rush hour and there was no issue, phantom traffic jams come and go out of nowhere, too early to say with any certainty that there's any difference I think.

Chris_5339762

I dunno... fine tonight too. Every day I've gone eastbound before the hoarding the south ring was blocked up to the tunnel, and the day after the hoarding went up the traffic had gone and has been gone every night since.

kub

I have to agree, traffic eastbound is back to normal and the idiots are not slowing down anymore.

Heckler

Dunkettle to the Kinsale R/A around 4-5pm is pretty much back to how it was before the fire all this week. Can't be a coincidence that this happened pretty much the day they blocked off the view. Like I posted before these mental tailbacks only started after the fire and now it seems ok again. While there was always a very slight slowdown around there it was never as stupid as its been since the fire.

Looking forward to the school christmas holidays and things will be even better. If only it was like summer holiday months everyday....

Truckermal

Heckler wrote: »

Dunkettle to the Kinsale R/A around 4-5pm is pretty much back to how it was before the fire all this week. Can't be a coincidence that this happened pretty much the day they blocked off the view. Like I posted before these mental tailbacks only started after the fire and now it seems ok again. While there was always a very slight slowdown around there it was never as stupid as its been since the fire.

Looking forward to the school christmas holidays and things will be even better. If only it was like summer holiday months everyday....

Yep going westbound this morning was fine aswell except for the normal nervous driver's.

hans aus dtschl

It's a ridiculous situation that the screens were needed.

Previously in the thread there was a discussion that Douglas is flowing better now too...is there an argument to be made for leaving this road closed?

Dbu

hans aus dtschl wrote: »

It's a ridiculous situation that the screens were needed.

Previously in the thread there was a discussion that Douglas is flowing better now too...is there an argument to be made for leaving this road closed?

Yes traffic in Douglas has been flowing freely since this road has been closed.

TheChizler

Last couple of days I've been stuck in tailbacks as far as Mahon, originating where they always have... No crashes while I was there.

Ludo

hans aus dtschl wrote: »

It's a ridiculous situation that the screens were needed.

Previously in the thread there was a discussion that Douglas is flowing better now too...is there an argument to be made for leaving this road closed?

How do customers get into the centre then when it re-opens?

dulpit

Ludo wrote: »

How do customers get into the centre then when it re-opens?

Could put a block in the middle so you can't drive straight through?

hans aus dtschl

dulpit wrote: »

Could put a block in the middle so you can't drive straight through?

I won't be facetious by suggesting people can walk there, but yes that's what I had in mind. Perhaps entrance to the mall from one road, exit to the other road? You can tell that I don't tend to think of the needs of customers driving to the mall as a primary consideration.

who_me

Dbu wrote: »

Yes traffic in Douglas has been flowing freely since this road has been closed.

Which junction? I'm sure the junction at the Eastern end of the shopping centre is much quieter, given there's no traffic to/from the shopping centre and no access to the Ring Rd. on-ramp from there. The Church St. / South Douglas Rd. junction is far busier; as more traffic has to take that route to get to the on-ramp now.

As there are no lights at the junction traffic does move steadily, if slowly; but it's pretty dangerous, especially for pedestrians with no crossing there. You pretty much just have to walk through the traffic as there's no other option.

Truckermal

TheChizler wrote: »

Last couple of days I've been stuck in tailbacks as far as Mahon, originating where they always have... No crashes while I was there.

Me too it's back to the same ****e in the Morning anyway going Westbound...

Dbu

Dbu wrote: »

Yes traffic in Douglas has been flowing freely since this road has been closed.

Less traffic......

grogi

What should happen is one way traffic in the Church Street and in front of Tesco... This would create alike roundabout and once priority is given to the cars inside, the traffic would flow smoothly.

rebel.ranter

grogi wrote: »

What should happen is one way traffic in the Church Street and in front of Tesco... This would create alike roundabout and once priority is given to the cars inside, the traffic would flow smoothly.

Spoke to a city councillor before about a similar idea elsewhere, they would not go for it stating that studies have shown that one way streets have cars travelling faster and therefore are more dangerous. Personally I think they should at least trial it.

grogi

rebel.ranter wrote: »

Spoke to a city councillor before about a similar idea elsewhere, they would not go for it stating that studies have shown that one way streets have cars travelling faster and therefore are more dangerous. Personally I think they should at least trial it.

That's interesting... My own experience tells me that the wider the available space is, the faster they go. Allow parking on both sides and cars slow down significantly.

TheChizler

Or widen the footpath! It's a busy enough walkway as it is

grogi

TheChizler wrote: »

Or widen the footpath! It's a busy enough walkway as it is

But this requires cash to do resurfacing. Assigining parking is only paint...

Dbu

Augeo wrote: »

Less traffic......

Not at 8.15am

hans aus dtschl

Interesting conversation and ideas guys! I think a narrow one-way street and wide pedestrian section would be good for Douglas. The market takes place on a very small sliver of footpath right now.

Markcheese

hans aus dtschl wrote: »

Interesting conversation and ideas guys! I think a narrow one-way street and wide pedestrian section would be good for Douglas. The market takes place on a very small sliver of footpath right now.

There have been suggestions in the past to make the street one way on Saturdays ,and either expand the market or just give it a bit more space ,
I think it's been an eye-opener to some how many people the market draws in on a Saturday ...(even with the centre closed )