Galway traffic

sgthighway

I drive all the time. I went to get the bus a few nights into town. Bus was late. It was raining and there was no bus shelter. There was no traffic at that hour of evening so can’t understand how bus could be late. If there is supposed to be a bus on the hour and ever half hour how can some buses disappear as in not come for an hour? Do bus drivers take buses of the road to change driver or do they meet in Eyre Square? Buses should be traceable for customer on a phone app and BE should be more accountable. I do understand there are bottle necks. Galway City should take land from Glennina Heights, Galwegians, Flannerys and GMIT all the way out to Galway Clinic for a bus lane.
The standing/cycling in the rain is a big put off for me.
Hate the traffic in the car too though.

AndrewJRenko

at1withmyself wrote: »

Drivers coming from the N6 and turning into the Ballybrit business park are stopping then to let drivers coming from McDonaghs out the slip road and thus causing the cars behind to remain in the middle of the junction, lights then go red and cars still there blocking the next arm of green light cars moving and thus a domino effect.

Drivers need to stop blaming the driver in front when they 'get stuck' in the middle of a junction. The reason they get stuck is because they personally chose to enter the junction when their exit route not clear. They got stuck because of their own selfish decision, not because of anything the driver in front did or didn't do.

what_traffic

at1withmyself wrote: »

Sorry to drag this one up again but I decided to watch the junction this week and well the back ups are all being caused by drivers and not the lights. Drivers coming from the N6 and turning into the Ballybrit business park are stopping then to let drivers coming from McDonaghs out the slip road and thus causing the cars behind to remain in the middle of the junction, lights then go red and cars still there blocking the next arm of green light cars moving and thus a domino effect.

Those coming from McDonaghs already get a number of opportunities to move through as the normal sequence of lights works so why these drivers are stopping to let them out I don't know. If people just followed the sequence then it would run better (I think this is probably the case at most junctions in Galway).

I can concur with this behavior as well from observations in the morning. (see previous post on this junction)
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=112207251&postcount=268

what_traffic

zell12 wrote: »

BÉ already gave presentations to the Council stating that a QB service was not financially viable, due mainly to traffic jams
TII already issued a bus licence across the QB, but no one has availed.
17:45 - 26:00 https://galwaybayfm.ie/podcasts/citywest/

If memory serves me correct City Direct were interested in providing services during certain windows - but did not want to provide a FULL DAY(16h-18h) Service. NTA would not issue licence for that route as result
I think NTA should have given them go-ahead for a Pilot, just to see what uptake would have been during those periods.

at1withmyself

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Drivers need to stop blaming the driver in front when they 'get stuck' in the middle of a junction. The reason they get stuck is because they personally chose to enter the junction when their exit route not clear. They got stuck because of their own selfish decision, not because of anything the driver in front did or didn't do.

FFS they entered the junction because they had a green light, the drivers done nothing wrong as they are taking a right turn. There is no "selfishness" from those drivers in this case at this junction.

cooperguy

at1withmyself wrote: »

FFS they entered the junction because they had a green light, the drivers done nothing wrong as they are taking a right turn. There is no "selfishness" from those drivers in this case at this junction.

Both are in the wrong. You dont enter a junction unless you have clear passage through (or there is a turning box marked, in which case 1 car can enter the junction)

cooperguy

cooperguy wrote: »

Both are in the wrong. You dont enter a junction unless you have clear passage through (or there is a turning box marked, in which case 1 car can enter the junction)

You can’t sit and wait to enter a high throughput junction like this where the expectation is that your exit is clear. The city would come to a standstill if traffic wasn’t flowing through quickly.

The fault here is fools letting people out, it drives me mad in a daily basis. Drive on to feck and don’t be holding everyone up.

what_traffic

what_traffic wrote: »

How long the Oral Hearing will last next month will be interesting.
http://www.n6galwaycity.ie/phase-4/bulletin-23-update-15012020/
"
Start Date: Tuesday 18th February 2020

Start Time: 10am

Location: The G Hotel, Old Dublin Road, Galway

End Date: To be confirmed
"

Oral hearing to last 7 weeks

http://www.pleanala.ie/lists/oralhearings.htm


2 Cases

302885: Galway.
Case Type: Application - Local Authority Road Scheme CPO (Board Reference: PL07.302885)
Description: N6 Galway City Ring Road Motorway Scheme 2018 and Protected Road Scheme 2018
Date lodged: 26/10/2018
Decide By: 28/08/2020
location: The G Hotel Old Dublin Road, Galway
Date: 10:00, 18/02/2020 - 03/04/2020

302848: Galway.
Case Type: Application - Local Authority Road Development (Board Reference: PL07.302848)
Description: N6 Galway City Ring Road
Date lodged: 23/10/2018
Decide By: 28/08/2020
location: The G Hotel Old Dublin Road, Galway
Date: 10:00, 18/02/2020 - 03/04/2020

AndrewJRenko

at1withmyself wrote: »

FFS they entered the junction because they had a green light, the drivers done nothing wrong as they are taking a right turn. There is no "selfishness" from those drivers in this case at this junction.

If they got stuck, then they did something wrong. Do we need to put yellow hatching on every single junction to get people to drive decently?

Jazmin Harsh Gold wrote: »

The fault here is fools letting people out, it drives me mad in a daily basis. Drive on to feck and don’t be holding everyone up.

Just slight irony here - if they're letting people out, then by definition, they're not 'holding everyone up'.

Mrs OBumble

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Just slight irony here - if they're letting people out, then by definition, they're not 'holding everyone up'.

Everyone except the one person they aren't actually required to consider.

As a pedestrian it drives me cracked when a car driver pulls up short of an intersection to let me cross when there's no marked crossing: they're putting themself ar risk of being rear ended, and me at risk of getting hit of they change their mind or someoneundertakes them. Just drive the damn car as expected and let me wait for the natural break in the traffic.

AndrewJRenko

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Everyone except the one person they aren't actually required to consider.

As a pedestrian it drives me cracked when a car driver pulls up short of an intersection to let me cross when there's no marked crossing: they're putting themself ar risk of being rear ended, and me at risk of getting hit of they change their mind or someoneundertakes them. Just drive the damn car as expected and let me wait for the natural break in the traffic.

I've done it for vulnerable people, when I see an older person, or a family with little kids trying to cross. I'll certainly check that I've nothing on my tail, and that is my responsibility, but I will stop on the road to let people cross when they need a break.

ChewyLouie

cooperguy wrote: »

Both are in the wrong. You dont enter a junction unless you have clear passage through (or there is a turning box marked, in which case 1 car can enter the junction)

Where you getting that interpretation from?

Rules of the Road on yellow box junctions...

An exception is when you want to turn right. In this case, you may enter the yellow box junction while waiting for a gap in traffic coming from the opposite direction.

No mention of a marked turning box or 1 car at a time...

cooperguy

ChewyLouie wrote: »

Where you getting that interpretation from?

Rules of the Road on yellow box junctions...


No mention of a marked turning box or 1 car at a time...

That is true, I confused a couple of situations. However, it clearly states after you enter a junction you do not block oncoming traffic while you wait to complete your turn:

if you wish to turn right at a set of traffic lights that has an arrow to the right
(or white rectangular box with white arrow), drive into the junction when you
see a green light. Take care not to block any oncoming traffic. Then, when it is safe, finish your turn.

Mrs OBumble

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

I've done it for vulnerable people, when I see an older person, or a family with little kids trying to cross. I'll certainly check that I've nothing on my tail, and that is my responsibility, but I will stop on the road to let people cross when they need a break.

I'm on the verge of being an older person. Please don't stop: there may be no one on your tail at the moment when you stop, but someone can very easily come up on you during the time it takes me to cross.

Also I have to worry about the other lane which you maybe stopping me from seeing, and the other side of the road. Seriously, we will all get where we're going faster if you just move your vehicle along so it's not obstructing my sight lines.

AndrewJRenko

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I'm on the verge of being an older person. Please don't stop: there may be no one on your tail at the moment when you stop, but someone can very easily come up on you during the time it takes me to cross.

Also I have to worry about the other lane which you maybe stopping me from seeing, and the other side of the road. Seriously, we will all get where we're going faster if you just move your vehicle along so it's not obstructing my sight lines.

The people who waved in grateful thanks seemed to take a different view to you. So if it looks like the person needs a break, I'll give them a break. Any vehicle 'easily coming up' while a person in crossing needs to be able to stop within the distance they can see to be clear.



The vehicles behind me won't get anywhere faster. They just get to the back of the next queue of cars a few seconds earlier.



And yes, the pedestrian has to worry about two lanes. I have found that often when one vehicle stops, others take their cue and follow suit.

xckjoo

David McWilliams talks about traffic in the latest episode of his podcast. Mentions Galway and the proposed ring road as a particularly ludicrous example :pac:

what_traffic

xckjoo wrote: »

David McWilliams talks about traffic in the latest episode of his podcast. Mentions Galway and the proposed ring road as a particularly ludicrous example :pac:

Paradox of aggregation.
He had an article in the Irish Times last Saturday on it as well.
Subscriber only
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/david-mcwilliams-introduce-a-congestion-charge-and-make-public-transport-free-1.4141971
"
Public road
Let’s not start with cars, but let’s begin with public property, the public road. Traffic is a space issue: there are too many cars in the limited space of the road at a particular time of the day. Because cars clog up the roads, more efficient and more sociable modes of transport, such as buses and more environmentally-friendly modes of transport such as cycling are crowded out.
Even where there are bus lanes, the needs of cars on the cramped roads interfere with the buses, playing havoc with timetables and undermining the service.
"

Ruhanna

cooperguy wrote: »

I travel to and from work outside of peak time. That is how I have changed my behaviour. Considering there is a bus stop outside my door, I would use it if I was guaranteed a fast service. Any time I have attempted to use it I have been stuck waiting 40 minutes for a bus to turn up.

What you said earlier was that there is "nowhere to put the public transport without the bypass".

Your current commuting pattern is that you travel by car off-peak, correct? Roughly from where to where? You don't have to be precise.

Are you also saying that if the proposed motorway is built, which will supposedly allow car commuters to drive straight across the city in around ten minutes (18 km at 100 km/h), that you will leave your car and switch to a "fast" bus service that will cross the city, but will first go through Eyre Square?

In other words, you support the building of a cross-town ring road because it will enable you to stop driving to work? Is that the gist of it?

Do you think many other commuters will change their commuting habit in the same way? Because it would be a first for the entire developed world.

It would be a truly remarkable road that would be regarded as successful because its existence enabled drivers not to actually use it.

what_traffic

Ruhanna wrote: »

In other words, you support the building of a cross-town ring road because it will enable you to stop driving to work? Is that the gist of it?

Do you think many other commuters will change their commuting habit in the same way? Because it would be a first for the entire developed world.

It would be a truly remarkable road that would be regarded as successful because its existence enabled drivers not to actually use it.

but but Galway is different. NOT.

McWilliams covers this as well in above article and podcast l

The more roads we build, the more cars will be bought to fill them. This is what economists call “induced demand”, meaning the extra demand for cars is induced by the extra road space. Bigger/wider/more roads means more cars and traffic.

Ruhanna

donvito99 wrote: »

Can someone point to a city that has actually reduced congestion having built a bypass?

It's not just about congestion. The key point is that adding road capacity does relieve congestion in the short to medium term. In fact if you add huge amounts of road capacity and don't have a local economy and geography that creates a lot of car traffic then you may have no congestion at all. There are a few cities in the USA like that.

The problem is that building new roads for cars always generates traffic. Always. Unless you live in North Korea.

So if your planning and transport system encourages car dependence (as it has done for decades in Ireland), and if a large proportion of the population habitually travels by car, then road-building relieves congestion for a shorter time. Not only that but there's a rebound effect. In other words the road enables longer commutes, encourages more driving and tends to increase the proportion of people driving (modal share).

This is what has been happening in Ireland for many years, probably since the 1970s. It certainly got worse since the proliferation of motorways. The M50 is perhaps the prime example. Successive governments have based nearly all their economic ambitions on road-building. The inevitable result is nationwide sprawl and a large majority of commuters driving everywhere. It's a situation we can't easily get out of, and the only solution that government ministers can think of is more of the same. Of course that suits them because it's a big win for their pals (and political donors?) in the construction industry, and shiny new highways are popular with many voters.

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/m50-blues-ireland-s-busiest-road-dublin-s-biggest-car-park-1.3259694

Johnny_BravoIII

Have you seen councillor Crows sign outside the huntsman.... "Build the buypass now". Real Trump-like simplification into a neat catch-phrase.

JCX BXC

You can see why it would work though, the traffic issues just get worse and worse while any resolutions come in dribs and drabs.

Small bit by bit solutions clearly haven't ever worked for this city. This is what rings in everyone's heads.

Some here don't think the bypass is the solution, some do think it's the solution. Whatever the solution is, drastic action is required and anyone promising it will of course be seen as more attractive.

Johnny_BravoIII

We need to rethink things at a national level. I passed the M50 at 5pm yesterday. Northbound was a car park for many miles. Is this really the lives we want for ourselves?

My home was a very rural place when I was growing up. It's not now. Bungalows as far as the eye can see. We have urbanised the countryside to the point where I don't think there is much actually countryside left.

People don't seem to want to have this conversation.

JCX BXC

Johnny_BravoIII wrote: »

We have urbanised the countryside to the point where I don't think there is much actually countryside left.

You're talking about Galway here, a city of 80,000 people which is the most populated in this province?

Yeah, there's no countryside left.................................

Can I have what you're taking?

Johnny_BravoIII

JCX BXC wrote: »

You're talking about Galway here, a city of 80,000 people which is the most populated in this province?

Yeah, there's no countryside left.................................

Can I have what you're taking?

Take an ariel snap shot of Galway county 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 00'ss, etc. What do you see? A massive increase in 1 off housing. This is where the cars are coming from. We need to encourage people back into urban living through sensible planning. E.g, congestion charges and investment in public transport.

JCX BXC

Johnny_BravoIII wrote: »

Take an ariel snap shot of Galway county 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 00'ss, etc. What do you see? A massive increase in 1 off housing. This is where the cars are coming from. We need to encourage people back into urban living through sensible planning. E.g, congestion charges and investment in public transport.

That's not the same as "there's no countryside left", not even close. You can make that point, or you can use tabloid, daily mail type statements. Utterly false and bizzare to state that there's no almost no countryside left in Ireland, a country of under 5 million people yet having 84,000km2+ of land.

The country side is a place to be lived in and enjoyed not to be admired by people on a day trip out from the city from their tiny houses build on top of their neighbours tiny house.

Scienceless

Jazmin Harsh Gold wrote: »

The county side is a place to be lived in and enjoyed not to be admired by people on a day trip out from the city from their tiny houses build on top of their neighbours tiny house.

I live in the city. My house isn't tiny. It's not built on top of my neighbour's house, which isn't tiny either. I have a car which I sometimes use to go to the countryside where I came from. Does that bother you? Get used to it.

I've been reading this thread for a while, you seem to think you have all the answers. You don't, you just established that with this petty, narrow minded, insulting post.

zell12

Johnny_BravoIII wrote: »

Have you seen councillor Crows sign outside the huntsman.... "Build the buypass now". Real Trump-like simplification into a neat catch-phrase.

I fear it will work!
Those 4.5m billboards are going up at all the main junctions in Galway, where traffic builds

ChewyLouie

zell12 wrote: »

I fear it will work!
Those 4.5m billboards are going up at all the main junctions in Galway, where traffic builds

Wouldn't be surprised if a couple of cars broke down around the city at rush hour the day before the election...