Bicycles, Phoenix Park and traffic

Pinch Flat

Had to get out of the park yesterday. Absolutely wedged with people and randomly parked cars on verges etc, people walking in cycling lanes, not looking before crossing.

beggars_bush

It's time some activists painted the crossings on themselves

Dr_Colossus

Little video in today's Irish Times called The Lungs of Dublin where an OPW rep talks about the park and how there are so many people using the park in these last eight weeks and enjoying the sounds of the birds singing and how that's down to the reduction in noise pollution.
Such a contradiction that same OPW are permitting and promoting through traffic increasing said noise pollution again.
One of the highlights of my commute of a quite evening was hearing the lions' roar from the zoo. As loud as they are it's pretty hard to hear over a constant stream of traffic up and down Chesterfield Avenue.

Mercian Pro

Despite it being a Bank Holiday, the perimeter roads in the Park were still pretty quiet this morning at 11.00. I counted 130 bikes and 10 cars on my first circuit although it was starting to get busier by the time I finished. Okay, there were some walkers, joggers and cyclists who didn't seem to know where they should be on the North Road but any problem ones responded to a ding of the bell! I expect for the rest of the week it will be a lot quieter.

Hopefully this won't all change in a week's time if the threatened reopening of the side gates goes ahead.

Weepsie

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Had to get out of the park yesterday. Absolutely wedged with people and randomly parked cars on verges etc, people walking in cycling lanes, not looking before crossing.

What time was this at? I was there for roughly 90mins from 11-12.30 or so.

Found it very, very busy in terms of actual people, but didn't have those types of issues.

I imagine it got worse and I've seen pics of the bins this morning which suggests maybe it's not cars or cyclists or joggers, it's just people.

No matter how friendly a place it can be, a small few will wreck it.

Mercian Pro

Weepsie wrote: »

I imagine it got worse and I've seen pics of the bins this morning which suggests maybe it's not cars or cyclists or joggers, it's just people.

Fair play to the OPW staff in the Park - by 11.00 they had most of the mess tidied up including the area around the Wellington monument. They'll have a similar task ahead of them tomorrow morning.

Sunday and Bank Holiday afternoons are always going to crazy up there and at any public park or facility in or near the city. Until people start bringing their rubbish home with them, no Council is going to be able to keep up with the volume of stuff being dumped.

Pinch Flat

Weepsie wrote: »

What time was this at? I was there for roughly 90mins from 11-12.30 or so.

Found it very, very busy in terms of actual people, but didn't have those types of issues.

I imagine it got worse and I've seen pics of the bins this morning which suggests maybe it's not cars or cyclists or joggers, it's just people.

No matter how friendly a place it can be, a small few will wreck it.

It was late afternoon. Left my house about 4pm. Fancied my usual 3 x 10km laps. The road down by the wellington monument leading to the magazine fort was particularly chaotic. Anyway, found much quiter roads out around clonee.

Mercian Pro

From today's Irish Times:

OPW reverses plan to open all Phoenix Park gates to traffic
Olivia Kelly

The gates of Dublin’s Phoenix Park, which have been closed since March in response to coronavirus travel restrictions, will not be reopened on Monday as planned, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has said.

Following the introduction of the 2km travel restrictions the OPW closed the park gates to traffic with the exception of the Castleknock and Parkgate Street entrances.

These gates remained open to allow the continued use of Chesterfield Avenue as a through-road, and to maintain access for park residences, such as Áras an Uachtaráin and the US ambassador’s residence, as well as Garda Headquarters. However, all car parking in the park was banned.

In line with the Government’s roadmap for the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the OPW reopened some car parks, including the facility beside the papal cross, on May 18th, but parking remain banned on Chesterfield Avenue with the hard shoulder instead converted into cycle lanes.

It had planned to reopen all the gates from 10am on June 8th, in line with phase two of the roadmap, but following consultation with the Garda has now decided to delay the reopening until June 29th and will be keeping this under review, a spokeswoman said.

In addition to the new cycle lanes on Chesterfield Avenue, the peripheral roads of the park have become heavily used by cyclists and walkers, particularly young families, since the gates were closed, and the side roads have largely remained free of traffic, even with the reopening of some of the car parks.

Green Party councillor Michael Pidgeon, who has campaigned against the use of the park as a throughway for traffic, said the decision was very welcome.

“It is fantastic news. It was very hard to see what need the reopening of the peripheral gates was serving. People who do need to access the park by car have still been able to do so over the last number of weeks, but having the peripheral gates closed has freed up those smaller roads for families and for kids learning to cycle, and keeping them closed is a reflection of how people are now using the park.”

Labour senator Marie Sherlock also welcomed the OPW decision and said it would allow space to be maintained for social distancing. “We have a sustainable situation in the Phoenix Park right now where people who need to use cars do have access. It is an experiment that has worked and I think there is a strong case to keep the perimeter gates closed in perpetuity.”

Thargor

Can cyclists and pedestrians still pass through these side gates when they're closed to cars?

KevRossi

Thargor wrote: »

Can cyclists and pedestrians still pass through these side gates when they're closed to cars?

Yes, they have always been open to pedestrians, cyclists, buggies, wheelchairs etc.



Here's an example of where you can go in and out to either side of one of the gates.

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.366267,-6.3511528,3a,19.8y,284.9h,88.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st6c3zLYh4KhaZlsOpWx_bA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Stark

Thargor wrote: »

Can cyclists and pedestrians still pass through these side gates when they're closed to cars?

Yes.

MojoMaker

PP away from Chesterfield Avenue is a real pleasure at the moment. The odd car down the sided roads but not enough to worry anyone, and those that are around seem courteous.

This is what a city park should be.

magicbastarder

"traffic the entire length of chesterfield ave"

https://twitter.com/mostlydrinking/status/1271810508576956418

the boom is back, baby

Weepsie

It was much the same on the way to and from howth.

I've been there on busy days before, but today it seemed busier than I can really recall

magicbastarder

i did chuckle at the roadworks they were doing on the coast road where they parked the mini digger on the cycle path to work out into the road, rather than block the road.

KevRossi

Better video of it here, well over 2 Km in both directions.

https://twitter.com/CiaranCuffe/status/1271855869630787590

magicbastarder

they're properly bumper to bumper at times; wonder how fast it was moving.

Pinch Flat

Sure if there were no cyclists in the park the traffic would flow much better:rolleyes:

That has to be one of the most beautiful and depressing sights I've seen in a while. The smile I'd have passing that amount of cars.

One of the comments mentioned 45 minutes to get through.

I'm not overly familiar with the area as it wasn't local to where I've lived in Dublin , but what is the alternative for traffic if through traffic was closed there?

Stark

Main alternative would be N3 (navan road). Through Chapelizod and Blackhorse avenue are also options. Drivers don't like Blackhorse avenue because of all the speed bumps. Gets very narrow with quite a few speed bumps going through Chapelizod as well though it opens out into a race track once you get past Chapelizod onto the Chapelizod Road.

Birdie Num Num

[Deleted User] wrote: »

That has to be one of the most beautiful and depressing sights I've seen in a while. The smile I'd have passing that amount of cars.

One of the comments mentioned 45 minutes to get through.

I'm not overly familiar with the area as it wasn't local to where I've lived in Dublin , but what is the alternative for traffic if through traffic was closed there?

Not much alternatives. All other gates are currently closed so traffic from 5pm on heading towards Castleknock is nuts at the moment. The Navan Rd / N3, Blackhorse Ave and Chapelizod Are the only other options. If the park was shut off to through traffic, Dublin traffic would come to a standstill. The M50 and N3 would stop moving at Junction 6.

magicbastarder

Deleted User wrote: »

One of the comments mentioned 45 minutes to get through.

i'd walk that faster.

buffalo

Birdie Num Num wrote: »

If the park was shut off to through traffic, Dublin traffic would come to a standstill. The M50 and N3 would stop moving at Junction 6.

Or plenty of people would switch to other modes like cycling, and motor traffic would continue at its current slow speeds?

magicbastarder

my mother's friend drove into the park yesterday (obviously when the traffic was lighter) to go for a walk, and it took her 45 minutes to drive home from the car park at the visitor's centre; she lives near roselawn shopping centre in blanch, 3km from the castleknock gates.
just strikes me as a bit counterproductive that some of the main car parks for people to use when they get to the park are a reasonable distance in - both the visitor centre cark park and the papal cross cark park are 2km in, if coming from either end of chesterfield avenue.

MojoMaker

On the other hand, Roselawn to the visitor's centre would have been a nice walk for a lot of people. 5km each way with a coffee in the middle

10km might be a bit daunting for some I accept.

magicbastarder

she's in her 70s and has some health issues, so i'll allow the drive.
not that nice a walk yesterday; i suspect the castleknock road was picturesque with fuming cars and fuming inhabitants.

Birdie Num Num

buffalo wrote: »

Or plenty of people would switch to other modes like cycling, and motor traffic would continue at its current slow speeds?

Plenty do switch to other modes. I am one of them but it’s not always practical in certain circumstances or practical to all people.

eeeee

There's no excuse for using a public park as a through road.
It's a destination, full stop.

Birdie Num Num

eeeee wrote: »

There's no excuse for using a public park as a through road.
It's a destination, full stop.

It is currently very much a through road. Plenty cycle through it and drive through it. Most summer weekends the Park is closed from Mountjoy roundabout to Phoenix Monument to vehicles which is great. That is not practical right now with all other gates closed.

Geographically it is also a massive park to one side of the city with a huge population to the NW and as a result it is by default and has evolved as a route used by thousands of people per day. Unfortunately, closing it off entirely would have negative traffic impacts in surrounding areas. The alternative routes don’t have the capacity for the volume of traffic.

I very much use the Park as a destination several times a week and have done for years. I do also have to use it on occasion as a through road. Circumnavigating it is not always an option. Although I am supportive on the ban of commercial vehicles, if I drove one I might have a different opinion.

appledrop

I've news for people. The Phoneix Park belongings to everyone. Current restructions on cars parking +gates closed are ridiculous. Its grand for people who live near to walk or cycle but it belongs to all Dubliners + people come from all over Ireland to visit park or zoo.

We went to zoo today + took about 40 mins to get out the gate. There was enough parking beside zoo today but that's because very restricted numbers allowed in zoo. Where are people going to park when zoo fully reopens? No parking whatsoever allowed now along the road.

Fair enough it shouldn't be used as road for commuting daily but you will always need to allow cars access park, zoo, presidents house etc.