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Cycling on the M1

  • 28-07-2014 1:41pm
    #1
    roadster5
    Registered Users Posts: 105 ✭✭


    I travel this route on a regular basis and have seen a number of cyclists on the M1 in recent months - although all heading northbound between Santry and Airport - i suspect a lot of tourists head straight onto it after Whitehall, due to poor - non-existant signage - very sad - also saw a lady in a jeep the other day doing a u-turn on the sliproad for the M50 and heading back towards the oncoming traffic - with young kids in the car - there are a lot of stupid people out there !!


Comments

  • #2
    Shedite27
    Registered Users Posts: 9,359 ✭✭✭Shedite27


    roadster5 wrote: »
    I travel this route on a regular basis and have seen a number of cyclists on the M1 in recent months - although all heading northbound between Santry and Airport - i suspect a lot of tourists head straight onto it after Whitehall, due to poor - non-existant signage - very sad - also saw a lady in a jeep the other day doing a u-turn on the sliproad for the M50 and heading back towards the oncoming traffic - with young kids in the car - there are a lot of stupid people out there !!
    IF you're referring to stupid people doing a u-turn fair enough.

    If you're talking bout cyclists who end up there by accidents I think you've mentioned the actual problem, the lack of signs. Everywhere around the country if you're out cycling trying to get somewhere and you don't know the area, chances are signposts will only take you to the nearest motorway entrance. Every sign that includes motorway should include a "non-mtorway" alternative, for cyclists and other forbidden users.


  • #3
    godtabh
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 23,204 Mod ✭✭✭✭godtabh


    Shedite27 wrote: »
    IF you're referring to stupid people doing a u-turn fair enough.

    If you're talking bout cyclists who end up there by accidents I think you've mentioned the actual problem, the lack of signs. Everywhere around the country if you're out cycling trying to get somewhere and you don't know the area, chances are signposts will only take you to the nearest motorway entrance. Every sign that includes motorway should include a "non-mtorway" alternative, for cyclists and other forbidden users.

    Routes that bring you to motorways have the blue m symbol on them as far as I know


  • #4
    tunney
    Registered Users Posts: 12,583 ✭✭✭✭tunney


    roadster5 wrote: »
    I travel this route on a regular basis and have seen a number of cyclists on the M1 in recent months - although all heading northbound between Santry and Airport - i suspect a lot of tourists head straight onto it after Whitehall, due to poor - non-existant signage - very sad - also saw a lady in a jeep the other day doing a u-turn on the sliproad for the M50 and heading back towards the oncoming traffic - with young kids in the car - there are a lot of stupid people out there !!

    If you are talking about the N1 after Whitehall, I cycle on that twice a day.

    The M1 doesn't start until after Santry, once you get past the Port Tunnel exit/entrance.


  • #5
    Shedite27
    Registered Users Posts: 9,359 ✭✭✭Shedite27


    godtabh wrote: »
    Routes that bring you to motorways have the blue m symbol on them as far as I know
    Yeah they're big blue signs that are fairly obvious.

    My point is, if you're cycling out of say Bray, and want to get to Arklow and you don't know where you're going, the signs for Arklow will take you onto the motorway. There is a sign saying "no cyclists allowed" or something, but there's no sign saying "cyclists take this road instead"

    But yeah, we're going off topic here.


  • #6
    07Lapierre
    Registered Users Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭07Lapierre


    I think this is the worst junction for tourists on bikes.

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.402474,-6.310109,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sGfGll12BeUcyfhWl1T97xg!2e0

    If your cycling from Dublin to Slane on the N4, at FInglas you pass under the M50 and emerge onto the OUTSIDE lane of what is effictively a motorway....

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.406724,-6.312649,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sjIILih7vTsaHGJQIZLfHvQ!2e0


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  • #7
    RobertFoster
    Registered Users Posts: 9,116 ✭✭✭RobertFoster


    Trojan wrote: »
    "southbound carriageway of M1, between junctions 4 - Donabate and junction - 3 Swords"

    I'd guess that he might have come onto the motorway at the Donabate roundabout, taking the entry slip down rather than the next exit across the bridge and onto the old N1 towards Swords.
    I nearly did that when they were upgrading the roundabouts a couple of years ago. Don't think the signage/road markings were in place, my head down into the wind, and I ended up on the slip before I realised it. Luckily I copped it quickly (<20m) and traffic was light enough for me to stop and lift the bike over the island to get back into the proper lane :o
    07Lapierre wrote: »
    I think this is the worst junction for tourists on bikes.

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.402474,-6.310109,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sGfGll12BeUcyfhWl1T97xg!2e0

    If your cycling from Dublin to Slane on the N4, at FInglas you pass under the M50 and emerge onto the OUTSIDE lane of what is effictively a motorway....

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.406724,-6.312649,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sjIILih7vTsaHGJQIZLfHvQ!2e0
    I imagine that'd be a scary place to find yourself on a busy day. They could always bunny hop to cross the road using the 5(!) toucan crossings to get to the pedestrian/cycle bridge. I normally turn right towards Charlestown, and yield at toucan #5. Others suggest this detour to get through the junction.


    There really isn't much in the way of signage when it comes to alternative routes for cyclists, especially for major M50 junctions like the N2/N4/N81. The only one I can think of is this one coming from Clonee on the N3. That's the extent of the signs AFAIK, if you don't know the area after that, then what chance have you of continuing on?


  • #8
    lennymc
    Registered Users Posts: 6,457 ✭✭✭lennymc


    07Lapierre wrote: »
    I think this is the worst junction for tourists on bikes.

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.402474,-6.310109,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sGfGll12BeUcyfhWl1T97xg!2e0

    If your cycling from Dublin to Slane on the N4, at FInglas you pass under the M50 and emerge onto the OUTSIDE lane of what is effictively a motorway....

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.406724,-6.312649,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sjIILih7vTsaHGJQIZLfHvQ!2e0

    I got stuck on that one day and had to cross the main road. crazy. Another time I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get across the junction before finally spotting the cycle lane on the opposite carriageway.


  • #9
    godtabh
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 23,204 Mod ✭✭✭✭godtabh


    Trojan wrote: »
    Another example is the N4->M4, cyclists can go as far as Leixlip on the dual-carriage way and then need to exit there, which could be missed.

    No one should get caught there. If you follow the cycle lane (not necessarily in it) it takes you up to the fly over and back down and then in to the segregated Leixlip lane. Its well signed posted.

    I do this route regularly and its straight forward


  • #10
    07Lapierre
    Registered Users Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭07Lapierre


    lennymc wrote: »
    I got stuck on that one day and had to cross the main road. crazy. Another time I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get across the junction before finally spotting the cycle lane on the opposite carriageway.

    I think @Robertfoster's alternate route should be better sign-posted for cyclists. Its only a matter of time before something happens. Is this Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council or the NRA responsible for this junction?


  • #11
    Ole Rodrigo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,013 ✭✭✭Ole Rodrigo


    Outside Mullingar the N4 morphs straight into the M4. By the time you realise the M sign means you're ON the Motorway - as opposed to a Motorway is approaching - its too late to get off.


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  • #12
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users Posts: 19,609 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    07Lapierre wrote: »
    I think this is the worst junction for tourists on bikes.

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.402474,-6.310109,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sGfGll12BeUcyfhWl1T97xg!2e0

    If your cycling from Dublin to Slane on the N4, at FInglas you pass under the M50 and emerge onto the OUTSIDE lane of what is effictively a motorway....

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.406724,-6.312649,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sjIILih7vTsaHGJQIZLfHvQ!2e0

    Wow that is bad, I drive that way sometimes and never thought that a cyclist was permitted there but I guess there are.

    In any case I think that the above is an instance of bad signage because when the m50 interchange was built they also installed a huge cycle/pedestrian bridge to link it with the old n2 (now called r135 on maps). So as things stand if you cycle underneath the m50 interchange you're going to have to move from the fast lane to the middle to the slow lane and then to the hard shoulder. Then, as far as I know, you have to take the first exit to Coldwinters on the old N2, it comes out at where Dogs Trust is. I think you have to take that exit as the road becomes all motorway before the next exit.

    But the difference in distance between the two routes is almost identical and you can't go any further on the M2. It makes zero sense at all to go underneath the m50 as you'll end up in a fast lane, potentially in a lot of trouble. The council really need to address this and put signage in telling cyclists to use the cycle bridge to get onto the old n2 rather than risk crossing three lanes of fast moving traffic to only then have to take an exit 1km later where you end up on the old N2 in any case.

    For locals it probably isn't too much of a problem and I see quite a few cyclists using the cycle bridge. But for a tourist who has in their mind that green signs mean they can cycle there it could end up being what kills them. That part of the road where lanes merge to form a three lane road is already dodgy as hell because those who are in the lane that is soon to become the fast lane are typically doing approx 75-80kph as they come around a slight bend to merge whilst those to the inside of them have no such bend to kill their speed and they're already doing 90-100kph as the lanes merge. So suddenly the people in the fast lane are not going very fast and their instinct is to get into the middle lane ASAP but the people in the middle lane are going faster than them and undertaking them. It's a recipe for disaster IMO.


  • #13
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,234 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    how do you get to the cycle bridge if you're northbound on the N2?
    it seems to be designed for people coming southbound on the old N2 to drop them near enough to joe duffy motors, which is not where you'd expect to go if you're heading northbound:
    https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4044941,-6.3108304,466m/data=!3m1!1e3


  • #14
    Darkglasses
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 14,526 Mod ✭✭✭✭Darkglasses


    Split to new thread


  • #15
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users Posts: 19,609 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    07Lapierre wrote: »
    I think this is the worst junction for tourists on bikes.

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.402474,-6.310109,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sGfGll12BeUcyfhWl1T97xg!2e0

    If your cycling from Dublin to Slane on the N4, at FInglas you pass under the M50 and emerge onto the OUTSIDE lane of what is effictively a motorway....

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.406724,-6.312649,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sjIILih7vTsaHGJQIZLfHvQ!2e0
    magicbastarder wrote: »
    how do you get to the cycle bridge if you're northbound on the N2?
    it seems to be designed for people coming southbound on the old N2 to drop them near enough to joe duffy motors, which is not where you'd expect to go if you're heading northbound:
    https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4044941,-6.3108304,466m/data=!3m1!1e3

    The cycle lane that goes underneath the M50 at the N2 interchange (denoted by red paint and mounted on the footpath) on the same side as the beginning of the cycle bridge to get to the old n2 has two way cycle arrows painted on it and the cycle lane itself is wider than you'd normally expect. It appears to me that the cycle lane to the cycle bridge is a two way cycle lane, however what is missing in the equation is some signage at the major junction outside Joe Duffy to tell northbound cyclists that they have to cross over to the far side of the junction to get onto the two way cycle lane that runs in front of Joe Duffy BMW forecourt that leads onto the cycle bridge 50m later. If they don't do that and head straight on (which they can legally as it's a green sign) then they're going to end up in the fast lane of a three lane quasi motorway when the lanes merge, it's insanity.

    The signage to tell cyclists to cross over the junction is non existent but my guess is that it should have went in because the engineers designed a two way cycle lane leading right to the foot of the bridge. Locals might or might not know to cross over the junction but there isn't a chance a tourist would and the lack of signage telling them the safest route is likely to end up in a cyclists death someday


  • #16
    07Lapierre
    Registered Users Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭07Lapierre


    godtabh wrote: »

    I do this route regularly and its straight forward

    I don't think its straight forward at all. Having to cross the road to get to the bike lane is inconvenient to say the least. look at it through the eyes of a tourist who is cycling from Finglas northbound...Its LETHAL!


  • #17
    Jawgap
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,297 ✭✭✭✭Jawgap


    when I head out that way, this is how I deal with that junction......

    https://goo.gl/maps/30fMe

    .....by avoiding it completely!


  • #18
    the.red.baron
    Registered Users Posts: 1,632 ✭✭✭the.red.baron


    07Lapierre wrote: »
    I don't think its straight forward at all. Having to cross the road to get to the bike lane is inconvenient to say the least. look at it through the eyes of a tourist who is cycling from Finglas northbound...Its LETHAL!

    Well if you are coming from Finglas Northbound and you end up at the N4->M4 exit to Leixlip, then road design is the least of your worries :pac:


  • #19
    07Lapierre
    Registered Users Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭07Lapierre


    the.red.baron wrote: »
    Well if you are coming from Finglas Northbound and you end up at the N4->M4 exit to Leixlip, then road design is the least of your worries :pac:

    Doh! My mistake..wrong junction sorry!


  • #20
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,234 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    maybe that can be the first practical application once they invent the portal gun.


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