Galway traffic

Mrs OBumble · 17-12-2021 3:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118336739#Comment_118336739

The solution is fewer cars and less distance travelled.

Bobeagleburger · 17-12-2021 3:30pm

There's nothing more tiring to read or listen to than a motorist v cycling back and forth. I always find it weird tbh.

I do both driving and cycling, and Galway is lacking for both. The traffic situation needs sorting out. If that means a better road system, do it. It also needs better cycle lanes, and any new roads should have cyclists in mind too.

xckjoo · 17-12-2021 3:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118337629#Comment_118337629

Yup. It's mind numbing. We should just be focused on moving people around safely and efficiently. I'd add PT and walking to the list though. Walking always gets forgotten about.

timmyntc · 17-12-2021 3:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118337790#Comment_118337790

Should be pushing for bus lanes, bike lanes and car lanes.

Each will reduce the pressure on the other 2, mainly that people on buses and bikes will reduce car traffic, making things better for those who do need to drive.

As a motorist by necessity, I welcome all spending on buses and bikes, it can only make things better for me. If only the rest of the car lobby saw it this way

17-12-2021 4:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118337381#Comment_118337381

Indeed. The vocal campaigning and propagandising, as you put it, seems to have paid off, with the trial looking to kick off from Mar if all goes well

My guess is this safe cycling infrastructure will expose thousands around Galway to what is possible and will lead to further "campaigning and propagandising" to get more of it on all the major arteries around the city.

Lord knows we need it

For example on the west of the city below,

in blue is shown the current bike lanes (paint = dashed lines, segregated = solid lines)
orange shows our equivalent to LTN's along the canal
green shows the proposed salthill & Moycullen infrastructure (my best guess, haven't seen the actual plans yet)
purple shows the proposed cross city link which will be buses and bikes only I think
red shows what would be needed if you wanted a full network of protected lanes on the main routes

If Galway got those in red I think Galways traffic problems would disappear

Obviously not all those in red are possible due to space constraints if 2 way traffic is to be maintained e.g. Taylors Hill, but its 100% doable on a lot of those routes, especially if you remove on-street parking.

For the likes of somewhere like Taylors Hill, I think the only way to improve the situation along that road for PT, bikes & pedestrians is to make it one way to free up space for other modes but its also a major artery so I'm not sure how feasible that is

CowboyTed · 17-12-2021 4:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118333365#Comment_118333365

If it is to reduce traffic then Dr Mannix rd is a far better option. If it is for leisure then get in a queue, dropping your car and going for a walk has been around for decades and is highly popular and healthy... What gives the cyclist any right to have a cycle lane when considering the lack of usage of cycle lanes already in the city...

The truth is until there can be a set of measurable objectives for cycling and a quantifiable targets set, I don't see how we can justify spending a cent on cycling... The was a travel plan that set Galway target at 20% in 2014, we are now at around 6%... What are we going to invest in this monetarily and the lack of car traffic and what are we going to get back...

Cycling seems to think it has a blank cheque when it comes to taking up road space... Where is the cost benefit... Should we not consider Dr Mannix rd to be far better investment? Where is the study showing us the answer on that?

Sorry but this is not a way to run a city... Just as example would a bus lane be a better use there? How do we know?

CowboyTed · 17-12-2021 4:28pm

CowboyTed · 17-12-2021 4:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118337155#Comment_118337155

Sorry but a very sizeable amount of the people walking the prom are too far to cycle... Also how many people want to cycle to the Prom, especially in Winter...

Dr Mannix has not got a full cycle lane and is far closer to schools... The prom would less effective transport route than the DR Mannix Rd for cyclists... Less Traffic, Less exposure and closer to schools...

CowboyTed · 17-12-2021 4:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118338037#Comment_118338037

So we don't use the bike lanes we got, we have no target for it... But you want to take up all the most valuable roads in the city with a transport the city has from the main area people live and the main place were people work... Public transport has a better claim for those roads and they don't target either...

Sorry but it is a joke to do this kind of work with out an overall strategy with targets, benefits, costs, timelines.... This is a cowboy way to do things..

what_traffic · 17-12-2021 4:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118338115#Comment_118338115

its not going to be there in Winter. The trial is for 6 months from March 2022.

Lets see how it pans out, I agree with ya on Dr Mannix but its not a high priority area IMHO

Personally I prefer small interventions - but these flagship projects like the Prom are what the Council likes.

Would much prefer to see focus on permeability of estates and areas for cycling and walking. Low cost as well.

AndrewJRenko · 17-12-2021 5:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118338085#Comment_118338085

What's the measurable objective for driving, and what are we going to get back, apart from pollution, ill-health, and vast amounts of public resources and space consumed?

?Cee?view · 17-12-2021 6:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118337629#Comment_118337629

I can't understand why any new greenfield road is built without incorporating a seperated cycleway. For instance, why would the Galway Bypass not have a two way cycle lane to its side. It couldn't be difficult with all the excavations to have effectively culverts under the roads to allow cyclists to go under the roads where needed and where bridges and similar structures are too far apart. For those that might argue that it would be too dangerous and cyclists could end up on the road, just make the separation a ten foot fence!

Surely most rail lines could get the same treatment?

17-12-2021 6:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118337198#Comment_118337198

It covers many uses - it's doesn't need to be limited to one specific usage and it's well position to hit several birds with the one stone.

It gives students at 16 schools within 1km of this route a safe independent active travel option for most of their work.

It links the residential area of Knocknacarra through to Salthill and the City Centre (nearly, a full solution would continue to the Claddagh). Commuter and local business (shops, services, bars) route.

It also services tourist and leisure users - Blackrock is already regularly full of bikes despite the current conditions.

You talk about bike lane demand, census data showed Salthill as one of the highest uptakes in cycling in the country, despite the hostile road conditions and zero bike lanes (yet).

As for routing through the residential back roads. Not a bad idea but you'll miss a lot of that leisure usage and it will be near impossible to have a safe segregated route due to junctions and entrances. A coastal route allows for a safe uninterrupted route, that's why they're common.

CowboyTed · 17-12-2021 7:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118338171#Comment_118338171

Agree with you on that one... Cycling in residential areas should be exploited better...

Doing this on the Prom seems to be about exacting control rather than what is good or not... It comes across about screwing cars... But there is no criteria for success or failure...

CowboyTed · 17-12-2021 7:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118338347#Comment_118338347

So your solution is to ban all cars forever...

Look at the cycle lanes we have, they are generally empty... They are one big white elephants... We could have made them bus corridors...

Is your criteria for success huge gridlock and one cyclist using the lane every half an hour?

Sorry, I expect higher standards than that?

CowboyTed · 17-12-2021 7:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118338959#Comment_118338959

Sorry I don't see as good route... The Prom is mainly a walking experience and now you want to expand it to a cycling experience, it is the inferior traffic relief route, it is also not the ideal solution for schools...

So in hitting all these birds we have missed a few... By trying make it some sort of leisure cycle it has miss being what could work...

if there is to be a leasure cycle track have one at the end of the prom which will continue out to Barna woods by Rusheen bay... How leisureable will the Prom be considering it is one of the main archeries of the city..

Yes this is possible in the future but I would say after a proper city bypass... At this moment it looks like it is just there to punish drivers

17-12-2021 8:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118339378#Comment_118339378

Agree to disagree, very different views on all of this.

17-12-2021 8:10pm

Just to add this is already a primary cycle route on the Galway transport strategy and development plans etc. Secondary feeder routes can link off this.

what_traffic · 17-12-2021 10:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118339301#Comment_118339301

Which ones? So few and so small are the cycle lanes Galway City - that non would be suitable for conversion. The only dedicated ones I can think of are SQR/BOD and they have a Bus Lane beside them (The N6 were for 20yrs just Service Ducts, they plastered the blue cycle lanes signs on them recently)

Bike lanes may look like white elephants to the untrained eye - but are actually way way more efficient than a regular traffic lane, they can carry multiples of the traffic on them in comparison. One hears the same arguments about bus lanes, but one full bus is equivalent to 250/300m of cars stacked behind each other.

what_traffic · 17-12-2021 10:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118339473#Comment_118339473

Very true - been there for a while in the City Plan and the Transportation Strategy since 2016. Pity really was not trailed already in 2021. Roll on 2022

AndrewJRenko · 17-12-2021 11:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118339301#Comment_118339301

Well, that escalated quickly. Who mentioned banning cars forever? Surely if "measurable objectives " are required for cycling, they should also be required for driving?

ratracer · 18-12-2021 12:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118339301#Comment_118339301

So do you think a cycle Lane should be bumped to bumper with cyclists queued behind each other, just like car traffic, as the sign of a successful cycle lane?

‘cos that’s not really how they work! I’ve seen a massive increase in cycle commuters ( as opposed to cyclists!) and e-scooter users over the past 18mths, all around the city, but then again I see them, as opposed to some motorists who don’t !

What I take from the entrenched views of some motorists, and this isn’t aimed at you, is that they just think that giving more road space to other forms of transport is taking from them, or adding extra time to their journeys. Can they not see how removing on street parking enhances traffic flow? How do we break the cycle of induced demand, where bigger roads encourage more car traffic, resulting in more traffic jams? Would it be better to be able to move around the city at 30km/h easily, as opposed to sitting in traffic as is the case now?

Homelander · 18-12-2021 2:22am

I mean it's naive to think that cycle lanes are the solution to traffic congestion. Given our climate, the uptake in cycling will only ever be medicore at best, even if the infrastructure was there. And at present, it's absolutely not.

The main problem is that the road network in Galway was never designed to take this level of traffic. Yeah, you can argue that improved public transport is the solution - and in principle it's a valid point - but where is it gonna go? The network is so constricted that it's virtually impossible to put dedicated bus lanes into most areas.

There really is no easy solution to the situation in Galway. There's a reason why it's such a car-reliant city and it's not because people are particuarly attached to their cars.

ben.schlomo · 18-12-2021 5:20am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118341178#Comment_118341178

Irish people and their cars are hand and glove. Kids getting ferried to the school gate when they live within spitting distance.

fergiesfolly · 18-12-2021 12:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118341282#Comment_118341282

This is a 21st century phenomenon. As a child I walked, cycled and bussed everywhere in the city. Walked to primary school in Mervue. Cycled from Ballybane to the Bish for school. Got the bus from Mervue to the beach in Salthill. As did every other child.

The current state with transporting children is parental laziness rather than children's needs or wants. I know there's exceptions but most people could avail of the bus, cycle or walk if they put their mind to it.

I actually believe in the ring road, but I don't see why it's an either or situation. We're 10 years plus waiting on it with funding already approved. Why can't we ALSO ask for funding for Bus Connect cycle lanes etc. And then put an integrated plan in place for transportation for all the people regardless of how they travel.

This city is choking and getting worse all the time. I think there's an opportunity here to push for long term solutions. All the interested parties should collectively approach government and demand funding for this city. The notion that there isn't money available has been dispatched with this pandemic. Billions borrowed to pay PUP and support businesses. Borrowing to fund the long term sustainable growth of this city should be a no brainer.

ben.schlomo · 18-12-2021 1:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118342012#Comment_118342012

Ya I was the same in secondary school, cycled most days from Tirellan to Mary's. Got lifts from neighbours the odd day. No bus service back then. Far more options there these days in comparison but way more parents using the car.