Getting around Galway

3 o’clock on a Wednesday and the whole town is blocked.

I’m so sick of this town.

All schoolkids on Easter holidays so traffic everywhere and it's raining!!

Agree I don't see much demand. I don't see they're spending money on this, the fishy bridge or the new pedestrian bridge at Spanish arch (keeping the footpath).

These feel like "legacy" projects from the previous chief exec, once he realised the ring road wasn't happening.

Would much rather see the money spent on connecting up active travel bits and pieces on busy routes across the city.

Agree 100% - I am in the same boat. Do the "hard" stuff first Galway City Council. Knock a few walls here and there, take out kissing gates.

What are the new school bus rules?

I don't think I've ever seen/noticed a school bus in Galway City.

Thanks to everybody on this thread who contributed to the #Barriers2Galway

Need to eliminate a pile of kissing gates and knock many walls to free up the NETWORK.

Ya challenging alright, all those left turn filters on this junction.

Cars blocking these ultra efficient cycle lanes is common at all hours of the day on all arms of this junction.

Am going to buy the POSTER!!

They are going to do this

http://dataphys.org/list/congestion-visualization/

Its based on this 1991 poster from Múnster, DE

If ONLY they had seen this in City Hall in the 1990's we would NOT be in the CAR traffic mess we are currently in.

Yes it is true - Colm lost his car on this bog road he was driving on when visiting Connemara. He took a wrong turn and what he calls a pothole was actually this bog lake: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vmznGSPWda8ZoMSU7

How one would drive into that I wonder?

Tractor with the double bog tyre extensions was able to pull it out no bother.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0508/1448026-bus-committee/

mostly discussing Dublin in this article but this line popped out:

"

At present, just 2% of the kilometres travelled by Bus Éireann vehicles in Co Cork are in bus lanes, the committee heard.

"

I 'd say the Galway City figure is somewhat similar ? Anybody have the percentages?

I walked across the Quincentenary Bridge yesterday from the Headford Road direction towards Westside. When I got to the Newcastle Road junction and waited for the pedestrian light to turn green, I had to wait even longer as 4 drivers went through my crossing after the light had turned red for them. That's not counting at least as many who ignored the 'amber means stop' law and who would easily have been able to stop safely.

Then, as I was approaching the Browne Roundabout, I saw an elderly lady with a walking stick waiting on the island on the Thomas Hynes Road exit with no one letting her cross. She was still standing there when I got to that island so my blood was boiling at the lack of consideration and I stepped into the road and held up my hand to get the next driver coming around the roundabout to stop and let her cross. He was good natured about it, and we gave one another a nod of acknowledgement, but it was clear that he, like the drivers before him, had no intention of stopping for her if I hadn't stepped out.

It's maddening that this crossing has been allowed to exist like this for so long, that drivers display such a lack of consideration for their vulnerable neighbours, and that even when some pedestrian crossings are added to this roundabout next year, this arm will be left as it is.

It will still exist "post upgrade" of the Roundabout the N59 Thomas Hynes and N6 are not getting any pedestrian crossings at all.

@GBXI I honestly wouldn't blame the drivers in this scenario - drivers can come around the roundabout, exit onto the road your referring to and to stop could be seen dangerous to them in terms of being rear-ended.

It's a judgement call. I wouldn't stop if there was another driver right up my rear but, if there was a reasonable gap between me and the following driver, I would.

It wasn't the case when I did my driving test but I know that more recent learners are told that they shouldn't stop to let pedestrians cross in this case. There's no legal basis for it, and in fact it could be viewed as illegal advice as pedestrians have priority at junctions if they've already started to cross, but it seems to be the received wisdom these days.

It a minority of 2 at the minimum, because I feel the same.

You are only taught not to stop to let pedestrians cross 2 lanes - because you cannot be sure the other lane is free or that the other driver will stop.

Do posts like that make you feel good?

Those menacing pedestrians will probably set up a toll to cross.

The city council have removed the main pedestrian crossing to the Spanish Arch overnight. Forcing everyone around to the new crossing. One step forward, one step back.

Two steps back. Or ten.

Most people who want to cross to Spanish Arch come down Quay Street, not along the river walk. So most people now have to cross without lights, or do a silly loop to get to them.

Same as the madness at Dominick St / Raven'sTce: the most commonly used point to cross the road is between Monroes and the Centra. So they put the pedestrian crossing in line with the canal walkway instead.

So, who's been on the new WTB walkway, looks narrow, was expecting more for the money spent

I still think the best solution down there is zebra crossings/shared street space, but maybe people driving can't be trusted anymore.

In other news, night time street closures started again last night in the west end. Car diversions in place but lovely place for a stroll in the evenings now.

Traffic lights have a built in inefficiency by virtue of how they work. Every sequence change involves a period where both sides are red/stopped. This is compounded with every sequence change. Then add in the human things like drivers being slow to start moving, pedestrians pressing the button but then crossing before the green man, etc. They have their place but in the middle of a city where the road space is shared so evenly, a zebra crossing is far more efficient.

Traffic lights that change to flashing amber at peak times when traffic is crawling anyway could be a good approach. I've never seen that anywhere though

I feel strongly that you should, in general, not stop to let pedestrians cross because it is dangerous driving. Especially in the example of the roundabout above. Obviously if there is no car near you, it is not a problem.

Tacit admission that drivers don't know how to use roundabouts? How many 'near misses' has there been?