Morning traffic jams in Lucan

PGL

I live in the Hansted residential development opposite Adamstown on the Newcastle Road, south of Lucan. I work in Swords. Traffic seems to be getting worse each week in the Lucan area. The route I normally take is right onto Esker Road, left onto Lynches Lane, left onto Esker Lane, left onto Grifeen Way, straight through roundabout with Ballyowen Road onto St Lomans Road, left at Fonthill Rd roundabout, onto N4 at interchange and then onto M50 etc etc. The main bottle neck is the Griffeen Way / Ballyowen Road roundabout - queues stretch all the way back to the Esker Lane roundbout on Griffeen Way, and you could be sitting in this queue for 30 - 40 mins in the morning! The Griffeen Way / Ballyowen Road roundabout is going to become a signal-controlled crossroads junction as part of Phase II of the Outer Ring Road scheme - god knows what its going to be like at this junction when this takes place!
I'm getting sick of this junction. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can avoid this junction in order to get to the M50? I have spoken to people about completely avoiding the M50, i.e. taking the back roads through Lucan, Clonee, Kilshane Cross Roads etc but have been advised that this is not advisable. Any advice would be much appreciated!!!

fletch

Leave your house at about 6am....I have an interview(2nd) in Ballyfermot tomorrow morning at 9am and I am leaving my house at 6:30am even though I live less than 6miles away. Last week it took me 1hr 45mins to complete this trip rendering me 30mins late for the first interview, I am not going to be late again.
Just park up and get another 2hrs sleep.....you're sorted....I cannot think of any other option save for buying a jet pack.

El Stuntman

fletch wrote:

I cannot think of any other option save for buying a jet pack.

where can I buy one of these? price unimportant

cast_iron

If you think it's bad now, wait till Adamstown expands.
Then all you have to wait for is the port tunnel to open forcing every truck heading for city centre onto the mess of the M50.

Disgusting planning.

kippy

Transport planning around Lucan is an absolute mess. The traffic getting in an out of the place is a disaster at the rush hours which seem to be expanding all the time.
It is a densely populated residential area yet the only transport available through it appears to be overcrowded buses which are more often than not caught up in the traffic themselves.
The planners dont look to have even been involved in the planning of the area, there should be some LUAS type system through Lucan to get a percentage of the cars of the road.
I feel sorry for anyone who has to go through there every morning.
Kippy

cast_iron

kippy wrote:

The planners dont look to have even been involved in the planning of the area, there should be some LUAS type system through Lucan to get a percentage of the cars of the road.
I feel sorry for anyone who has to go through there every morning.
Kippy

The planners are involved in all planning decisions. It just appears they are grossly incompetent at their job.

I feel for the people living out there too. But if people go out and buy houses there now, they can blame nobody but themselves.

coward

The Griffeen Way / Ballyowen Road roundabout is no longer a roundabout :mad:
The traffic lights have been turned on, and there was traffic on the ORR coming from the N7 direction.
Added an extra 5 minutes onto the bus journey waiting at the lights to cross the road.

Idleater

PGL wrote:

I live in the Hansted residential development opposite Adamstown on the Newcastle Road, south of Lucan. I work in Swords. ...

If it's any good, I commute from the other side of lucan to swords, and it takes me 30-35 mins. I leave at 0815 or so.

I would suggest a motorcycle like myself, or perhaps invest in a helicopter/jetpack as others suggested.

L.

seamus

Motorcycle is your best bet to beat the Lucan traffic. Drove one out of Lucan for four years and it was 30 minutes into the City Centre every day, regardless of traffic conditions. Every single exit from Lucan onto the N4 is bottlenecked by the inbound traffic on the N4 (and recently the roadworks for the ORR), and unfortunately this has the effect of blocking some traffic going other directions (try getting onto the Fonthill Rd. to go south in the morning).

Other alternatives are the bicycle (just started doing this myself - 40 mins into city centre, 45 minutes out) and the bus. I realise these are no use for you, but maybe for someone else in Lucan

Seth Brundle

I would suggest going via Leixlip. Trun left at the roundabout before you get to SuperQuinn (beside the paddocks?) - this brings you out towards the N4 at the Spa hotel.
Head into Leixlip, turn right up Captains Hill and make your way Northwards towards Clonee.
Then either head onto the M50 or go cross country towards Swords.

jank

Thank god i dont live and work in dublin, I made a decision thatI would never ever live in dublin.

I was in Ballsbridge today at 4:00 heading back to cork

At 6:00 I was just after passing the redcow roundabout. At 9:00 i was home

2 hours to travel about 16 miles......

Im just wondering why people put up with it?
Seriously why?

Id love to hear the answers.

Idleater

jank wrote:

2 hours to travel about 16 miles......

Im just wondering why people put up with it?
Seriously why?

Id love to hear the answers.

I gave you an answer above, as did seamus.

No one forces you to drive a car. In fact, if less people drove cars and took public transport instead then it would be better for everyone.

Why didnt you park your car somewhere outside the city and get the luas in?

All valid options without knowing why you chose to drive your car in.

If it makes any difference again, I left at 0843 this morning and got into work for 0911.

Sit in traffic if you want, otherwise make a decision and do something about it rather than complaining.

From what I hear though, Cork isn't immune to bad traffic either.

L.

jank

Totally agree with parts of that.

Next time im going to take the train to dublin and get a cab/luas to whatever hotel im staying in.

Cork does have bad traffic in places but nowhere near that bad in dublin.
Today i left for work at 9:20 got in for 9:30, in cork.

But ill ask you this why are people content in sitting in traffic for up to 4 hours a day!?

Tom Dunne

nereid wrote:

I gave you an answer above, as did seamus.

No one forces you to drive a car. In fact, if less people drove cars and took public transport instead then it would be better for everyone.

That's a very simplistic view of commuting.

What about the large numbers for whom public transport just doesn't suit? For example, in my last job, it took me over two hours to get to where I worked in Tallaght. I had no choice, I had to take the car.

People who travel across the city don't have a real alternative.

R.O.R

jank wrote:

But ill ask you this why are people content in sitting in traffic for up to 4 hours a day!?

You think we are content sitting in traffic? There is no viable alternative for some people.


P.S. Yesterday added up to almost 5 hours in traffic there and back!

markpb

R.O.R wrote:

You think we are content sitting in traffic? There is no viable alternative for some people.

And yet for others, there _are_ alternatives but they dont use them. I work in Clontarf (right beside the Dart station) and several people I work with or have chatted with drive in from Howth, Malahide and Portmarnock. They don't drive for work, they don't leave the office during the day.

There are a huge number of people working in the city centre who live beside the Dart or a decent bus service and insist on driving. They are the same people who complain about bus lanes being fitted on their roads.

seamus

tom dunne wrote:

That's a very simplistic view of commuting.

Yes and no.

By and large, most of the commuting population could very easily work out a system that would suit them best, but the car is warm, private and direct. For example, if people don't have a reasonable bus service to where it is they're going, then why don't they drive part of the way and then get a bus? Particularly if you're going into the city centre, it would make far more sense to drive to a suburb like Terenure and Templeogure, park your car and take a bus. But that's hassle.

If people are going into the city centre, a motorcycle, scooter or bicycle is far and away the best solution, yet so many people insist on driving in because there's a stigma about bikes being cold, dangerous, and again, hassle.

In reailty though, encouraging people from their cars relies a lot on backing from the Government - incentives to move from the car to another form of transport. The Government however, still encourages car use by essentially neglecting the needs of all other road users.

ongarite

kbannon wrote:

I would suggest going via Leixlip. Trun left at the roundabout before you get to SuperQuinn (beside the paddocks?) - this brings you out towards the N4 at the Spa hotel.
Head into Leixlip, turn right up Captains Hill and make your way Northwards towards Clonee.
Then either head onto the M50 or go cross country towards Swords.

Nice directions, Kbannon, thats the route I would have suggested. To finish it off and get to Swords quickly my suggestion would:
At Clonee then turn LEFT for Dunboyne and at the 2nd roundabout go STRAIGHT ahead to merge with N3 going NORTH to NAVAN.
Then turn RIGHT on N3 for RATOATH. In RATAOTH go RIGHT for ASHBOURNE.
You will come to Roundabout on old N2. Go STRAIGHT through the roundabout and this is the road to SWORDS. Its a pretty twisty road but in good condition. You will come into SWORDS near Fingal county council offices.

fletch

seamus wrote:

If people are going into the city centre, a motorcycle, scooter or bicycle is far and away the best solution, yet so many people insist on driving in because there's a stigma about bikes being cold, dangerous, and again, hassle.

A motorbike really isn't a viable alternative in Ireland's climate. I had toyed with the idea but just think it's too dangerous and impractical. Suppose I want to go shopping in town, where do I leave all my gear (safely)?

homeOwner

seamus wrote:

Particularly if you're going into the city centre, it would make far more sense to drive to a suburb like Terenure and Templeogure, park your car and take a bus. But that's hassle.

Thats a really good idea in theory but where would you park in terenure or templeogue? Outside someone's house? On a main road? There are virtually no park and ride facilities in the suburbs besides luas and dart stations which are already full. You cant have people en mass parking without facilities or roads and residential areas will be swamped with cars.

sapper

I live in the Laraghcon estate right at the back of Lucan village. I work in the IFSC and my wife works in Clondalkin. It takes me 50 mins to get to work every day while it takes her the same, even though she has to go 6 miles in a car (past Adamstown) and I go 10 miles on a bike.

I understand how people can think it's dangerous but it's not really that bad - I go along the N4 from Woodies to the M50 roundabout (all cars crawling), then at the M50 roundabout I go through the wall down the old Lucan road to the Chapelizod turn off, down into Chapelizod (cars crawling again) and then along by the park on the bicycle lane into Parkgate Street and on to the quays. I take the same route on the way back (using the footpath along the N4)

It would be really easy for the council/government to build a decent cycle track that is protected from the traffic between lucan and chapelizod, but at the moment they only build cycle tracks where there's loads of space anyway.....

seamus

fletch wrote:

A motorbike really isn't a viable alternative in Ireland's climate. I had toyed with the idea but just think it's too dangerous and impractical. Suppose I want to go shopping in town, where do I leave all my gear (safely)?

Well that's the kind of attitude I'm talking about really. With the right gear and proper training, motorcycling is enjoyable, no matter what the weather or traffic conditions. But of course, the Government isn't jumping to tell people these things (more bikes = less VRT, less VAT from Petrol, less road tax).

If you're going shopping in town, you wear your gear around, or stick it in a bike box. If you're doing some serious shopping, then you drive a car.

wwhyte

sapper wrote:

I live in the Laraghcon estate right at the back of Lucan village. I work in the IFSC and my wife works in Clondalkin. It takes me 50 mins to get to work every day while it takes her the same, even though she has to go 6 miles in a car (past Adamstown) and I go 10 miles on a bike.

Have you tried to persuade your wife to cycle? For some reason it often seems to be an uphill struggle.

comer_97

i go by motorbike from Lucan to the city centre everyday. The weather isn't really a concern unless it is absolutely appalling, which is rarely ever is.

The traffic is even getting bad for me because roadworks are making the roads narrower. Still I'm in work in under 40 minutes everyday.

Lucan is a really big place and there are not enough varied bus routes. A few more bus routes and a bit of imagination would go a long way!

Capt'n Midnight

As for the Bus the 25A and 25X both took 30 minutes to get onto the N4 (at Woodies) this morning. Almost all due to bus lanes blocked by roadworks, and cars jamming up the works.

the_syco

kbannon wrote:

I would suggest going via Leixlip. Trun left at the roundabout before you get to SuperQuinn (beside the paddocks?) - this brings you out towards the N4 at the Spa hotel.
Head into Leixlip, turn right up Captains Hill and make your way Northwards towards Clonee.
Then either head onto the M50 or go cross country towards Swords.

Takes about an hour to get from Leixlip to Swords in the morning using the back roads, if you leave at 7am or so.

seamus

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

As for the Bus the 25A and 25X both took 30 minutes to get onto the N4 (at Woodies) this morning. Almost all due to bus lanes blocked by roadworks, and cars jamming up the works.

Yeah that was pretty nasty. The traffic on St. Loman's road was backed up to the ballyowen roundabout. Then people enter the roundabout, despite not having anywhere to go, blocking the traffic going elsewhere on the roundabout because the roadworks have the road so small.

Got on a 25X at ballyowen around 7:55. Twas 8:10 before we were on the N4 (around 300m away). Flew in then

AlekSmart

Jesus...Talk about the Wesht being awake...!!
Mind you one only has to rattle off a short Dramatis Personae of "Public Representatives/Servants connected with West Dublin to answer many of the Why ? Why ? Why ? postings......

Padraig Flynn.
Liam Lawlor.
Raphael P Burke.
George (Heavy Saver) Redmond.

All of these Gents,plus a few well connected business associates,were to the forefront in taking West Dublin and particularly the Lucan/Leixlip areas from a semi-rural backwater to a vibrant,exciting and forward looking paradise which boasts some of the most advanced and intrgrated public services and facilities in Europe....

For God`s sake does no one remember the oul tune..."The Stone outside Dan Murphy`s door" ?
If yiz must sing a song lads,sing an Irish song,but just make sure to vote in the time honoured fashion,cos although many of the old guard mentioned above have passed on,their work remains ongoing......:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

You do realise that this thread is eight years old.