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Bicycles, Phoenix Park and traffic

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    #692
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,767 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    he states
    "Phoenix Park is the largest ENCLOSED PUBLIC park in a CAPITAL city in Europe."
    he mentioned richmond park. which is enclosed, public, and in a capital city.

    the phoenix park still doesn't come first even by those narrow criteria. unless you take distance from the city centre into account. the phoenix park is 2.5km from o'connell bridge, richmond park is over 12km from the centre of london.



    Yeah, I'm not taking issue with debunking the claims about the size of the Phoenix Park, just the comparison with the airport in a capital city beginning with 'd', using the euro and having a spire. The string of qualifiers for the Phoenix Park isn't that silly, though the "enclosed" bit is surely special pleading.

    But, as you say, it doesn't even seem to be the biggest one with a wall in a capital city in Europe.


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    #693
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,767 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    It is a pretty big park, and a valuable public amenity though!

    I still don't understand why it can't have some pedestrian crossings and traffic calming on the main drag, even if the OPW and the government decide against restricting access from the side gates.


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    #694
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 49,572 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    the main drag seems to be the big untouchable. i suspect most progress would be made by closing peripheral gates or roads.


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    #695
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,767 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    But even dual carriageways have pedestrian crossings.


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    #696
    buffalo
    Registered Users Posts: 8,079 ✭✭✭buffalo


    tomasrojo wrote: »
    But even dual carriageways have pedestrian crossings.

    I asked the local CoCo about a pedestrian crossing on the d/c near me recently because it's tricky to cross via the refuges when so many drivers are speeding. They replied that a pedestrian crossing wouldn't be appropriate because there were too many speeding drivers.


    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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    #697
    MangleBadger
    Registered Users Posts: 545 ✭✭✭MangleBadger


    Looks like London Cycling is trying to get Richmond Park to ban through traffic also...

    https://twitter.com/London_Cycling/status/1327972522290270209?s=20


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    #698
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 49,572 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    buffalo wrote: »
    I asked the local CoCo about a pedestrian crossing on the d/c near me recently because it's tricky to cross via the refuges when so many drivers are speeding. They replied that a pedestrian crossing wouldn't be appropriate because there were too many speeding drivers.


    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    was that pre or post lockdown?


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    #699
    buffalo
    Registered Users Posts: 8,079 ✭✭✭buffalo


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    was that pre or post lockdown?

    Post-lockdown, just last month.

    In fairness, they said the "road is too wide and too fast", and suggested a footbridge - for a 60kph kilometre piece of road between two roundabouts.

    The recently did some work at one end and added an extra filter lane, so now there's five lanes leading into that roundabout. As part of this work, they actually removed the dished access for crossing, so good luck to you if you have a buggy and are trying to run the gauntlet across the five lanes. Off one kerb, across two off-lanes, up another kerb, down another kerb, across three downhill on-lanes and up the final kerb and across the grass verge.

    I put in a FOI request for any records relating to pedestrian or cyclist safety for the design of the recent work.

    Anyway, this is all a bit off-topic, sorry. Tangentially, I guess it goes to show that for some public bodies, pedestrians and cyclists are still the bottom of the list for consideration.


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    #700
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,648 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    MangleBadger wrote: »
    Looks like London Cycling is trying to get Richmond Park to ban through traffic also...

    https://twitter.com/London_Cycling/status/1327972522290270209?s=20

    FYI - That park is bigger than Phoenix Park. Seems similar to the issues in the Phoenix park except most of the Richmond park doesn't seem to have roads in the first place.


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    #701
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 14,267 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    This is pretty horrible

    https://twitter.com/BehanNiall/status/1329902622812286978


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    #702
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,767 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    It's underappreciated just how much time motorised vehicles spend colliding with things that aren't humans. Animals, lamp posts, barriers, wands, buildings, post boxes, gates ... If you look carefully you can see signs of it everywhere.


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    #703
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,648 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    Bit of context. They cull the deer on regular basis...

    "...Almost 120 deer culled by marksman in Phoenix Park since the start of 2019..."

    I know a hit and run is completely different and no one wants to see any animal left suffering. I'm not comparing the two. But one person doing a bad thing doesn't mean everyone will do bad things.


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    #704
    Weepsie
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 20,420 Mod ✭✭✭✭Weepsie


    Culling is done humanely and quickly at leastm hitting an animal and driving off is a callous and cowardly thing to do.

    Call opw and say there's been an accident. That's all it takes.


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    #705
    Thargor
    Registered Users Posts: 17,942 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    tomasrojo wrote: »
    It's underappreciated just how much time motorised vehicles spend colliding with things that aren't humans. Animals, lamp posts, barriers, wands, buildings, post boxes, gates ... If you look carefully you can see signs of it everywhere.
    Twisty windy roads out near my parents all have big fluorescent chevron signs on each turn and its a full time job for the council replacing them as they're wrecked on a weekly or monthly basis, never any wrecked cars in the mornings though, people must be limping home in damaged cars all the time.


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    #706
    a148pro
    Registered Users Posts: 2,205 ✭✭✭a148pro


    I've always wondered how they shoot deer in the park without endangering people?


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    #707
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,648 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    Thargor wrote: »
    Twisty windy roads out near my parents all have big fluorescent chevron signs on each turn and its a full time job for the council replacing them as they're wrecked on a weekly or monthly basis, never any wrecked cars in the mornings though, people must be limping home in damaged cars all the time.

    Maybe it's not cars but someone getting kicks from damaging them...


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    #708
    Thargor
    Registered Users Posts: 17,942 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    No theres broken glass and hubcaps/skidmarks/shards of bumper etc all over the place, this has been going on since before I was born.


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    #709
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 49,572 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    Thargor wrote: »
    Twisty windy roads out near my parents all have big fluorescent chevron signs on each turn and its a full time job for the council replacing them as they're wrecked on a weekly or monthly basis, never any wrecked cars in the mornings though, people must be limping home in damaged cars all the time.
    my brother used to work with a chap who on an icy morning, slid the car off the road on a bend and punched a hole in a hedgerow and ended up in a field. commiserating with him, another colleague offered him the use of his (late) mother in law's car, which was just taking up space on the driveway. within a week, he'd landed in the same field in that second car, going through the hole he'd already punched in the hedgerow.


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    #710
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,648 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    I expect they didn't invent black spots and such signs for the crack.


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    #711
    tomasrojo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,767 ✭✭✭✭tomasrojo


    Somebody told me that they had a Swedish friend who was puzzled by black-spot signs in Ireland and wondered why they just didn't fix the junction or bend.


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    #712
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,648 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    They used to very common. Don't see them much anymore. I guess as roads improved they aren't needed.


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    #713
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 28,497 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    beauf wrote: »
    They used to very common. Don't see them much anymore. I guess as roads improved they aren't needed.

    Or they simple don't want to draw attention to an issue, like they did before


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    #714
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,648 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    Cabaal wrote: »
    Or they simple don't want to draw attention to an issue, like they did before

    Yes very likely.


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    #715
    De Bhál
    Registered Users Posts: 2,917 ✭✭✭De Bhál


    Don't go near it in a car today. Looks like an hour from gate to gate


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    #716
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 14,267 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    De Bhál wrote: »
    Don't go near it in a car today. Looks like an hour from gate to gate

    Bull island was a total mess too earlier. Who are these geniuses that think it's a good idea to drive to these places on a pleasant Sunday?


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    #717
    cletus
    Registered Users Posts: 7,994 ✭✭✭cletus


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    Bull island was a total mess too earlier. Who are these geniuses that think it's a good idea to drive to these places on a pleasant Sunday?

    I'd imagine mostly people who don't live close to pleasant places like those, but would still like to experience pleasant places.


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    #718
    Stark
    Registered Users Posts: 20,993 ✭✭✭✭Stark


    Well with current public health guidelines, you're only supposed to visit if you live close.


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    #719
    cletus
    Registered Users Posts: 7,994 ✭✭✭cletus


    Stark wrote: »
    Well with current public health guidelines, you're only supposed to visit if you live close.

    Sorry, I meant in a general sense


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    #720
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 14,267 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    cletus wrote: »
    I'd imagine mostly people who don't live close to pleasant places like those, but would still like to experience pleasant places.

    I don't live near the park, prob about 10k away, but wouldn't go near it in a car on a day like this because it would be traffic/parking hell. If I was to drive, park somewhere away a bit from the park and walk, to avoid the hassle. Lots of parking around Bull Island without actually driving over onto the island, get out and walk. Idiots.


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    #721
    cletus
    Registered Users Posts: 7,994 ✭✭✭cletus


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    I don't live near the park, prob about 10k away, but wouldn't go near it in a car on a day like this because it would be traffic/parking hell. If I was to drive, park somewhere away a bit from the park and walk, to avoid the hassle. Idiots.

    Covid aside, when should they go? When we were able to travel freely, I would decide on a fine Saturday or Sunday morning to go somewhere nice for the day with my family. I live in a small midlands town with little to no public transport. I'd have to drive somewhere else to get a train or bus to get to our destination. I'll be honest, it's much easier to just drive there.

    For a number of years I held a yearly pass to the Zoo. When my kids were smaller (buggies etc) I would drive to the Park, and park in the carpark beside the zoo. I make no apologies for that.

    Now that my boys are older, I'll normally take a train and Luas if we are going to the park/city centre etc. as it's much easier now


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