Phoenix Park main road closed for up to 3 months

trellheim · 26-09-2011 3:29pm

What do I need to have here, a panacea ?

I'm just making a point. if you charged 2 euro to traverse the park in a car then very quickly people would have an incentive not to use it, or if they did then it would start paying for some maintenance.

Throwing a large extra flow down chapelizod or Blackhorse/Navan Road corridors won't help either. But that doesn't change the fact that the Park is a park, i.e. a leisure space, and why not think about matters to improve that ?

BostonB · 26-09-2011 3:41pm

I think, we're really talking about a different issue if we talk about the bigger picture.

The only issue I have with that they are doing is that summer time is a better time to do road works. Better weather, longer days, less road traffic. They could also close half the road at a time, instead of all of it.

That would help all users commuters and park users alike. But the OPW agenda seems to go out of its way to disrupt ALL traffic.

BostonB · 26-09-2011 3:48pm

I'm not against them closing the park for commuters, but its stops a lot of other journeys too.

Considering the limited space for bigger roads, and public transport isn't fantastic. I always wondered could they not build a ring road around the park, even losing some land to it, they could then, make the park a non through road. Lose the battle but win the war kinda thing. I realise no ones want to lose land, as once its gone, you can never get it back.

monument · 26-09-2011 3:57pm

BostonB wrote: »

I'm not against them closing the park for commuters, but its stops a lot of other journeys too.

I would be against a sudden closure of the park to rush hour commuters, but the park should be closed to through traffic outside of peak times.

It would not stop any journeys, and there's less traffic on other roads outside peak times.

BostonB · 26-09-2011 4:36pm

It might as well as stop them as it makes them so long and awkward. I would guess that its till considerable traffic even if greately reduced from peak.

monument · 26-09-2011 4:43pm

BostonB wrote: »

It might as well as stop them as it makes them so long and awkward. I would guess that its till considerable traffic even if greately reduced from peak.

Closing the park off-peak will make which journeys so long that it might as well stop them?

BostonB · 26-09-2011 5:47pm

For example my sat run if I didn't use the park would bring me through so many lights and queues, it would add 20 mins at least to my journey each way. The Navan RD is especially bad on a saturday for example. You can be stuck on that for ages. We usually stop in the park on the way back, go to the zoo or the playground. If the park was closed I'd have extra traffic on any alternative route, making it even longer than it its now. And I avoid it now with less traffic on them.

There was a study before and theres a lot of cross traffic in the park, north south, not just up the main road.

monument · 26-09-2011 5:52pm

20mins each way to how long of a journey?

BostonB · 26-09-2011 11:21pm

That really doesn't matter. It would have considerable impact. That said they close the park for events and everyone survives.

jack presley · 04-10-2011 12:18pm

So what was it like yesterday then? I was off so didn't have to go through but will be heading home that way later. How bad were the delays?

Heroditas · 04-10-2011 12:29pm

jack presley wrote: »

So what was it like yesterday then? I was off so didn't have to go through but will be heading home that way later. How bad were the delays?

I go home via the Ashtown and Knockmaroon entrances. A slight delay in turning right at the Ashtown entrance because of all the traffic coming through the park from the Cabra gate direction but, to be honest, it was grand.

This morning I entered the park through the Chapelizod gate and it was a mess. All the traffic going through the park was refusing to allow people onto the "roundabout" so there was a big long queue of cars trying to actually get in through the Chapelizod gate.

I had intended going out through the Cabra gate and went up by the Papal Cross and across Chesterfield Avenue. I had forgotten that you can't then swing a right and sneak out the Cabra gate so instead went around to the Castleknock gate and out through there.

I'd say it added about 5mins to my journey time this morning but that was at 8am. I shudder to think what it will be like later than that, particularly if it's a wet morning.

I think they would have been far better to do Chesterfield Avenue in two sections. It would have minimised the disruption.

bk · 04-10-2011 1:15pm

trellheim wrote: »

Then the challenge is to find a method to charge the through driver and not the stop-and-parker. Entry and Exit time-based charging is one method (e.g stay more than 1 hour and it's free ) but I can't think of an easy way of doing it.

Video tolling like the M50?

Enter and leave the park in under an hour and you are tolled, otherwise free.

BostonB · 07-10-2011 1:47am

I was listening to Dublin City 103.2 FM and its sounds IMO, like the bulk of the traffic is avoiding the park which is why the park itself is so quiet. I think people are taking big circular routes to avoid the park, as 103.2 FM were remarking on unusual heavy traffic in other areas. They didn't seem to notice the connection.

I travel usually off peak. For me its been great, but the ramps will take their toll on the car eventually. Usually I avoid them. They are pretty severe near the Zoo. Traffic for me around town has been much heavier then usual but as I get near the Park it melts away. Less cyclists than I expected, but then its been very windy lately.

homerjay2005 · 07-10-2011 3:20pm

3 million is a serious amount of euro, how the hell does resurfacing cost that much?

BostonB · 07-10-2011 3:22pm

AFAIK it not simply resurfacing. They are going to fix the substructure.

It wasn't built to carry the massive amount of traffic it does.

Heroditas · 18-10-2011 4:36pm

I reckon it's added on about 12 minutes to the journey time in the morning.
I used to enter the park through the Knockmaroon gate and nip out the Ashtown gate but now I have to drive all the way around the park and exit via the Castleknock gate and double back past the Racecourse apartments.
Very frustrating. I don't know why they didn't let traffic drive from Knockmaroon past the Ordnance Survey buildings and out the Castleknock gate.

In other news, it seems that some people just won't obey traffic signs. I watched a taxi sit and wait by the turn out of the park to the Ashtown gate unti t he way was totally clear and then, completely ignoring the "do not enter" signs, drive out that gate. :rolleyes:

Meanwhile there was a long string of cars backed up behind him. Inconsiderate git

BostonB · 18-10-2011 5:05pm

I've meet a good few just ignoring the one way aright.

If anything its improved my commuting journey time, as so many are avoiding it. Buy about 10~15 mins. Except on a Saturday, its adds about the same 10~15 minutes on a sat, as I go Knockmaroon and out Cabra gate. The reverse journey isn't effected though.

The traffic was backed up on the Navan Rd, almost to the old cabra (I assume from the N3) on saturday. But I can avoid it using the park.

Man the ramps outside Garda HQ are just gigantic. I'm kinda avoiding that myself as much as I can now.

nells123 · 17-12-2011 10:42pm

They've found the remains of an old fort on the main road of the PP. This is going to delay the completion date of the works.

thomasj · 17-12-2011 11:06pm

nells123 wrote: »

They've found the remains of an old fort on the main road of the PP. This is going to delay the completion date of the works.

I heard they found bones as well.

BostonB · 18-12-2011 1:16am

Well I say one thing, you won't be bothered by the noise of the works, most mornings I've past it they are working on small section at a time. Say 5% with nothing happening on the rest of it.

Heroditas · 10-01-2012 9:45am

nells123 wrote: »

They've found the remains of an old fort on the main road of the PP. This is going to delay the completion date of the works.

This would explain why the work hasn't been completed yet.
I was hoping they would have finished the second stretch by now and reopened the whole of Chesterfield Avenue by the beginning of January.
Hopefully it'll get re-opened soon enough.

Very interesting to hear about the fort/bones.
Any idea from what period in history?

nells123 · 10-01-2012 12:58pm

No idea what period of history they might be from. Passed there this morning and the road is beign prepared for tarmac - I think we are near the end of our hardship.

dublinman1990 · 10-01-2012 7:50pm

Have the old fort and bones being passed on to the OPW?

Heroditas · 10-01-2012 9:37pm

There's enough old farts in the OPW. Oh wait ... FORTS!

nells123 · 10-01-2012 9:46pm

Don't know anything about the OPW wanting the old forts or farts - I'd imagine they have enough of both.

Phoenix Park main road closed for up to 3 months

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