Malahide Bus Corridor (QBC) Enhancements

Victor

http://www.dublincity.ie/shaping_the_city/infrastructure/quality_bus_network/public_consultation/malahide_bus_corridor_qbc_enhancements.asp

Malahide Bus Corridor (QBC) Enhancements

Junction of Annesley Bridge Road and East Wall Road to Artane Roundabout on the Malahide Road
Introduction

The Quality Bus Network Project Office, in partnership with Dublin City Council has developed a preliminary design for enhancements of the Malahide Quality Bus Corridor. The Malahide QBC was opened in December 1998 and was one of the first QBC’s to come into operation.

The corridor runs between Clare Hall and Talbot Street via Darndale, a distance of 11.4km. The route is served by up to 360 buses per day in each direction with over 30 buses inbound during the AM Peak. Monitoring of the QBC is carried out by the Dublin Transportation Office on an annual basis.



Objectives of the Scheme.

The principal objectives of the scheme are

· Provide quick and reliable bus service capable of providing consistent journey times;
· Improve facilities for cyclists;
· Improve pedestrian facilities and cater for the Mobility Impaired and Disabled; and
· Improve safety for all road users.


Brief Description of Proposals

The main proposals are as follows:

· Provide first priority bus lanes at each junction along this route.
· Widen the Malahide Road between Collins Avenue and Kilmore Road. It is proposed to provide bus and cycle lanes in both directions between the Collins Avenue and the Kilmore Road junctions by narrowing the footpaths on both sides of the road – similar to the scheme implemented in 2004 between Elm Road and Donnycarney Road.
· Ban the right hand turn from Malahide Road to Kilmore Road. With this prohibition in place it will be possible to provide a continuous bus lane on the Malahide Road through the Kilmore Road junction so that southbound buses will have first priority at the traffic signals. A pedestrian phase will also be provided across Kilmore Road. These measures will also serve to reduce the accident risks at this location.
· Redesign the Collins Avenue Junction and provide a first priority bus lane northbound.
· Provide pedestrian phases across East Wall Road at Annesley Bridge Road, across Griffith Avenue, across Copeland Avenue and across Kilmore Road. It is proposed to provide a pedestrian crossing on Collins Avenue at Clancarthy Road.
· It is proposed to regularise the operating hours of the bus lanes with all bus lanes operating between 07.00 hours and 19.00 hours, Monday to Saturday, with a loading window provided between 10.00 hours and 12.00 hours.
· Ban right turn from Marino Mart to Fairview to improve safety.
· Provide junction entry treatments at all minor side roads.
· Upgrade all bus stops through the provision of new bus shelters, kassel kerbs etc.
· Upgrade all traffic signal equipment to current DCC specifications.
· Remove the roundabout at Artane and replace with a signalised junction. This scheme would form the second stage of the project and would be subject to funding approval form the DTO Traffic Management Grants Committee.


Scheme Design

The scheme has been designed by the Quality Bus Network Project Office in partnership with Dublin City Council.

The proposal will provide improved facilities for buses, cyclists and pedestrians and improve road safety for all road users including pedestrians.

The overall proposals will provide a more equitable balance for all road users and improve safety for everyone.

Drawings for the proposed scheme will be available for inspection during normal working hours from the 15th of May to 9th of June 2006 at the following locations:
Civic Offices, Wood Quay
North Central Area Offices, Bunratty Road
Marino Public Library, Fairview


Written comments should be submitted before the 16th June 2006 to:

Project Manager
QBN Project Office
4th Floor, MCI Worldcom Building
Erne Street Lower
Dublin 2
Tel: 6860100
Fax: 6860124
Email: qbnoffice@dublincity.ie

Please click below for details.

* Malahide QBC Enhancments.pdf (423kb)

Dub13

My thoughts on this after giving it a quick read.First IMO its not a QBC unless its a Bus lane for at least 90% of its length so the Malahide road should never have been called a QBC.One thing that annoys me is the proposal to turn the roundabout at Artane and replace with a signalized junction,this junction was changed at great expense only in the last couple of years I think they made the roundabout a lot smaller.Why did they not see this back then,it would have saved a lot of extra work and money.

One thing I would add to the suggested work is I would ban right turns from the Malahide Road onto Collins Avenue,its crazy that when one car is trying to make this maneuver in the morning they are clogging up a whole lane of inbound city traffic.

mortimer33

I'm a regular user of the number 43 and I think that the change to remove the right turn onto Kilmore Road is badly needed!!! It will save a lot a time during rush hour but it should have been done long ago.

The other juction that badly needs looking at is the junction of Malahide Road and Collins Avenue. There is a little patch of road just beyond the traffic lights and before the bus lane starts where cars block the bus lane when they indicate right into the car lane.. This won't be as easy to resolve though as cars turning left onto Malahide Road from Collins Ave need to use this lane..

Btw This morning for the first time I've noticed the Gardai stopping cars that are driving along the Malahide Road QBC ..Its about time!!

popebenny16

What about the section from Griffith Avenue to Fairview Park? I seem to remember that this is quite narrow. What's the experiance there in rush hour?

Ste.phen

popebenny16 wrote:

What about the section from Griffith Avenue to Fairview Park? I seem to remember that this is quite narrow. What's the experiance there in rush hour?

IIRC there's already a southbound bus lane there, but nothing northbound.
I could be wrong though, my bus that goes that way (20b) is unbelievably slow at getting from beaumont road to malahide road in rush hour (>30 mins easily) so I've more or less abandoned that route :P

mortimer33

The stretch from Griffith Avenue to Fairview Park is usually free flowing.. There's a bus lane Southbound, but not northbound. Traffic always seems to flow freely in the mornings once you get past the Collins Avenue/Malahide road junction..

markpb

Collins ave onto Malahide road probably accounts for the biggest delay to the 20B. It'll be interesting to see if the new bus priority junction will make any difference. Beaumont road is pretty awful too but there's no much room to make any improvements there.

Malahide road southbound between Kilmore road and Collins avenue is only slightly too narrow. Vehicles in the car lane regularly sit on the dividing line leaving the bus lane too narrow for them too pass. A few inches more on the side would make a big difference but I'm not objecting to all the work DCC want to do :-)

As an aside, I see the planned works to Santry Avenue are about to start at the end of the month (June-August) so the Coolock Lane and Oscar Traynor road upgrade should happen in September. Should make a big difference to the 17A if DB make use of it.

Victor

Ironicly its the section from Griffith Avenue to Fairview often works the best - unless someone parks in the bus lane in the morning.

I took a look at the drawings the other day in the Civic Offices. The are putting bus lanes from the Artance roundabout most of the way to Griffith Avenue, mostly by cutting into the footpath. As to why they don't acquire some of the large front gardens by Killester Park, I don't know. North of Killester Park, there is a derilect space before the turnoff for Artane Castle that could be used. I wasn't able to check dimensions, but the lanes looked awfully tight.

cyclopath2001

Where did you find the drawings?

I looked around the lobby (twice) at Wood Quay and didn't find them.

Is there any plan to fix the cycle lanes in Fairview?

The previous project ignored relevant laws and DTO guidelines.

Victor

cyclopath2001 wrote:

I looked around the lobby (twice) at Wood Quay and didn't find them.

On the "bridge" between the Wood Quay reception and the Christchurch reception. It comprises of about 5 display boards and a box with leaflets.

snickerpuss

I hope this fixes (somehow) the crazy traffic jams at the goblet / donnycarny church, i get stuck there for about 20/30 minutes every morning its crazy.

Oh and if i was a cyclist i would never go on the cycle path into town past fairview park i see buses going in and out, plus it goes on road and on path...
Someday ill work up the courage to cycle on big roads.

Stimpyone

With 10,000 new houses being built around the Clarehall area and the new "urban city centre" being developed it's gonna take more than a QBC to keep the Malahide road moving, it's already a nightmare. Extend the Dart line I say.

The Malahide road is doomed I tells ya, doomed!!

Dub13

Extend the Dart were....?it already runs through this area.

Stimpyone

Dub13 wrote:

Extend the Dart were....?it already runs through this area.

Runs near the area I'll grant you but it's a long walk to Howth Junction from the Clarehall/N32/City Junction ( or whatever their calling it this week ), and this is where the majority of new homes are going and as I already mentioned it's a freekin traffic nightmare.

I understand that theres a new station being constructed near the hole in the wall road but it's still some distance away from ground zero. The ideal solution imo would have been to extend a Dart spur line to the airport and run it through this area.

As a layman it seems to me that it would have been quite easy as a lot of the area is green field, but it'll never happen.

Why does the Northside of the city and in particular the Northeast seem to be the dogs body in regards to public transport and well, mostly everything.
I've already writen to the Dept of Transport and they have assured me that everything is fine the way it is

*whinge over*

murphaph

Rather than extending DARTs and so on, it would make much more sense to provide orbital bus conections to the existing DART lines, errrmmmmm, much like the original 1984 idea which has pretty much disappeared!

Victor

There will be a QBC along the main avenue from the Malahide Road to a new station at the town centre at the new railway station.

Stimpyone

Victor wrote:

There will be a QBC along the main avenue from the Malahide Road to a new station at the town centre at the new railway station.

But will there be any buses ( thinking N32 situation )?. *holds breath*

Cheers for the info anyway Victor. Any idea where I could find out about future plans for the area?.

Dub13

N32 thing does my head in.People go mad when they here there are no buses running on it while they sit in one lane of traffic.The N32 was never a two lane road,if the bus lane was not there it would be (and was) a hard shoulder so it would not speed you up on min.

People don't want to here this as they like to give out about the bus lane with no buses,its so Irish etc etc.Even if no bus ever uses the N32 Bus lane I can tell you one thing loads and loads of taxi's use it,in fact they are starting to use it as the main fast route out the the airport.

Stimpyone

Dub13 wrote:

N32 thing does my head in.People go mad when they here there are no buses running on it while they sit in one lane of traffic.The N32 was never a two lane road,if the bus lane was not there it would be (and was) a hard shoulder so it would not speed you up on min.

People don't want to here this as they like to give out about the bus lane with no buses,its so Irish etc etc.Even if no bus ever uses the N32 Bus lane I can tell you one thing loads and loads of taxi's use it,in fact they are starting to use it as the main fast route out the the airport.

Thats great for taxi's:rolleyes: which aren't public transport!. Sure lets build them special roads every where, that would be great:rolleyes: I'll just have to take out a second morage to get to work.

I think the issue with the N32 is that when it was a hard shoulder people said far enough. When they changed it to a bus lane for the airdart and then with drew the service people sort of said ( whilst they sat in traffic and watched taxi drivers and the odd checky monkey wizz by ) why can't I use that lane?! theres no buses anymore!.

Anyway the N32 thing has been discussed to death, and we have wandered way off the topic.

shltter

Stimpyone wrote:

Thats great for taxi's:rolleyes: which aren't public transport!. Sure lets build them special roads every where, that would be great:rolleyes: I'll just have to take out a second morage to get to work.

I think the issue with the N32 is that when it was a hard shoulder people said far enough. When they changed it to a bus lane for the airdart and then with drew the service people sort of said ( whilst they sat in traffic and watched taxi drivers and the odd checky monkey wizz by ) why can't I use that lane?! theres no buses anymore!.

Anyway the N32 thing has been discussed to death, and we have wandered way off the topic.

Taxis are public transport

Ste.phen

Surely only Taxis with currently paying passengers can be considered public transport?
(NB: I'm not actually sure how the distinction is made, maybe taxis without passengers are still allowed use the bus lane?

अधिनायक

Taxis help make public transport more viable by allowing journeys such as arriving in a city by train and completing the journey by taxi. They help make it possible for some people not to own cars and thus help cut down on the needless journeys carried out by people who bought cars for essential journeys but end up using it for every journey beyond 3 minutes walk.

Dub13

I believe that Taxis can only use the bus lane if they have a passenger,not sure how true this is and I am sure if they were stoped they could just say they are on a call out.

Victor

Taxis can only use bus lanes when carrying passengers. They may not use contra flow bus lanes at all.

mikemac

Victor wrote:

Taxis can only use bus lanes when carrying passengers. They may not use contra flow bus lanes at all.

And on their way to pick up a fare.

Ste.phen

micmclo wrote:

And on their way to pick up a fare.

Or when they say they're on their way to pick up a fare? :P

markpb

*bump*

The PDF seems to have disappeared from the DCC website. Would anyone happen to have a copy of it?