Bus lane N3 Clonee - 24 hours

Just The One

Can anyone shed some light on the N3 bus lane at Clonee/Bracetown. Up to yesterday, they were in use between 1600hrs and 1900hrs.

Yesterday on my way home there were workers putting up new signs displaying "bus lane 24 hours" and then the gardai were out enforcing this later in the evening.

Who decides that they become 24 hour lanes and do they not need to apply for planning permission to do this?

markpb

As far as I know, the Local Authority decide the operational hours, nothing to do with planning permission at all.

I presume this is because there was a thread here bitching about whether or not the bus lanes (which were previously hard shoulder) because hard shoulder or normal car lanes when the bus lane wasn't in service. See... bitching on boards does solve problems!

Nuttzz

24 hour bus lanes are put in place to stop people parking in them, according to a guy i know in SDCC's traffic department

January

Why would you want to park in the middle of a dual carriage way though??

Hotblack Desiato

Why not just paint double yellow lines then? It all boils down to enforcement in the end, or lack thereof.

Ham'nd'egger

adrieanne__x wrote:

Why would you want to park in the middle of a dual carriage way though??

In this case, the section is just after the Clone by pass.

I must say, the benefit of having a 24/7 buslane around this bit of road will be a boon to buses as the traffic on the road can be heavy all the time; it will also be appreciated on race days at Fairyhouse.

BrianD

To be fair there was a lot of confusion about these bus lanes - particularly with the confusing signage and the words "hard shoulder suspended". Furthermore there was no consistency between the signage at Bracetown and further north at Dunshaughlin. Most people using the N3 assumed that they were regular buslanes and could be used out of hours.

Making it a 24hr bus lane makes far more sense (cue the but buses don't operate 24hrs brigade) - there's no loss of road space for other vehicles and buses can use the lane all the time.

Victor

Old thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055088247

johnnyrotten

Are there any buses running 24 hours? Don't think so!

_Kaiser_

BrianD wrote:

Making it a 24hr bus lane makes far more sense (cue the but buses don't operate 24hrs brigade) - there's no loss of road space for other vehicles and buses can use the lane all the time.

With all due repect, I think it's you that's missing the point.

True, car users are not losing any space, BUT presumably the reason the buslane was installed in the first place was heavy volumes of traiffic on the particular stretch of road.

There is therefore no legitimate reason why an extra (bus) lane can't therefore benefit both public transport users at peak times, and other drivers (who also pay to use the roads remember) at other times - especially when there aren't even buses running at all!

I'm sure many people here would like us all to ditch our cars and start cycling, walking, or bussing it to work or wherever we need to go, but the facts are that public transport in this country does not - and this being Ireland most likely never will not - serve enough people, and at times THEY need them, to be a viable alternative (especially in the country).

jlang

johnnyrotten wrote:

Are there any buses running 24 hours? Don't think so!

Aircoach, for one. Not sure if it runs on any 24 hour bus lanes, though.

Wishbone Ash

Kaiser2000 wrote:

There is therefore no legitimate reason why an extra (bus) lane can't therefore benefit both public transport users at peak times, and other drivers (who also pay to use the roads remember) at other times - especially when there aren't even buses running at all!

I can never understand the logic of that argument. At off peak times, traffic is generally light and there is no need for an extra lane. Why would anyone need to be in a 24 hour bus lane at 4am?

BrianD

Kaiser2000 wrote:

With all due repect, I think it's you that's missing the point.

True, car users are not losing any space, BUT presumably the reason the buslane was installed in the first place was heavy volumes of traiffic on the particular stretch of road.

There is therefore no legitimate reason why an extra (bus) lane can't therefore benefit both public transport users at peak times, and other drivers (who also pay to use the roads remember) at other times - especially when there aren't even buses running at all!

I'm sure many people here would like us all to ditch our cars and start cycling, walking, or bussing it to work or wherever we need to go, but the facts are that public transport in this country does not - and this being Ireland most likely never will not - serve enough people, and at times THEY need them, to be a viable alternative (especially in the country).

me thinks that you have missed the point entirely. The purpose of the bus lane is to give priority to public transport. This will not be achieved if two normal lanes were created plus the situation for car users would not be improved whatsoever by allowing dual usage. The route would have to be a proper dual carriageway to get this benefit for car users.

Checking the Bus Eireann web site, Route 109 that serves Dublin-Kells on the N3 there is a bus leaving Kells peak times every 15 minutes and 30 minutes off peak. This is a good level of service and offers a viable alternative to car use. The big issue is delays due traffic and the two short stretches of bus lane at key pinch points will help to aliveate this. Thus the bus lanes are justified.

While the N3 is a busy route, the volumes outside of peak hours are not an issue that would prompt the use of bus lanes by all traffic. Buses are using the route from 0520 in the morning right up to 0030 at night and the benefit of opening two short bus lanes to all traffic outside of these hours is absolutely zero.

Ultimately, there is no change for car commuters and a (hopefully) boost for bus commuters and in theory the "efficiency" of the N3 in terms of moving people has improved. In any case, it's a "short term" measure until the M3 is constructed

Victor

BrianD wrote:

Ultimately, there is no change for car commuters

Well, if more people use the bus because the bus lane makes it more reliable, then there are fewer cars to compete with in the traffic lane.

HonalD

24 hour bus lanes are proposed for a number of different reasons - One likely important reason is that it removes all doubt about whether you can drive in it or not - it is off limits to cars. Also, cyclists can use it 24 hours a day even at 4am!

Can't see the argument that it is depriving car users - especially if it was a hard shoulder........:rolleyes:

Navan Junction

The problem is that motorists are zooming up the bus-lane outside the previously stated hours - if you take the stretches at Dunshaughlin, you could be sitting in the lane in slow-moving traffic, and a number of cars would fly past on the inside lane

Hotblack Desiato

BrianD wrote:

The route would have to be a proper dual carriageway to get this benefit for car users.

<pedant>Dual carriageway means that there is one carriageway in each direction with a median between them. Nothing to do with the number of lanes.</pedant>

mackerski

Navan Junction wrote:

The problem is that motorists are zooming up the bus-lane outside the previously stated hours - if you take the stretches at Dunshaughlin, you could be sitting in the lane in slow-moving traffic, and a number of cars would fly past on the inside lane

Out of bus lane hours, traffic should be in the leftmost lane anyway. Any cars overtaking would then do so in the outside lane.

That said, congestion in this case is probably eased by preventing this kind of two-lane usage (consider the merge point).

highdef

I sometimes use the bus lane on the way to Trim and turn off at the exit for Trim so only use a short stretch of it.....well not any more it seems!!! Anyway, for some reason, I have never driven on this stretch of the N3 at anywhere near the speed limit!!! Yes, the limit is not a target but I often find traffic travelling at 60 or 70 KMPH along this stretch for no reason at all. People just drive slowly. They may be driving near enough to 100 up to the end of the dual carriageway when heading out of the city but then suddenly feel the need to hit the brakes as soon as the dualler ends. I've never had to slow down to such an extent at the end of a dualler. Anyway, I would drive on the bus lane (when legal to do so of course) at bang on 80 KMPH and get past a load of cars trundling along so now I will have to sit behind these dawdling drivers :-( It's the same heading city bound too. Cars trundle along at 60 or 70 and as soon as they hit the dualler, everyone puts the foot to the floor. Like WTF?!?!?!?!

_Kaiser_

highdef wrote:

I sometimes use the bus lane on the way to Trim and turn off at the exit for Trim so only use a short stretch of it.....well not any more it seems!!! Anyway, for some reason, I have never driven on this stretch of the N3 at anywhere near the speed limit!!! Yes, the limit is not a target but I often find traffic travelling at 60 or 70 KMPH along this stretch for no reason at all. People just drive slowly. They may be driving near enough to 100 up to the end of the dual carriageway when heading out of the city but then suddenly feel the need to hit the brakes as soon as the dualler ends. I've never had to slow down to such an extent at the end of a dualler. Anyway, I would drive on the bus lane (when legal to do so of course) at bang on 80 KMPH and get past a load of cars trundling along so now I will have to sit behind these dawdling drivers :-( It's the same heading city bound too. Cars trundle along at 60 or 70 and as soon as they hit the dualler, everyone puts the foot to the floor. Like WTF?!?!?!?!

Yea that annoys me too, and - roadworks at Ratoath junction aside - it means you're stuck behind them till at least that junction, or the stretch just beyond the speed camera (if heading towards Dunshaughlin).

Why these people can't drive at the limit (when safe/appropriate to do so) is beyond me. If they're not comfortable doing this then frankly they shouldn't be on the road, or at the very least shouldn't be impeding others from doing so.

Navan Junction

mackerski wrote:

Out of bus lane hours, traffic should be in the leftmost lane anyway. Any cars overtaking would then do so in the outside lane.

That said, congestion in this case is probably eased by preventing this kind of two-lane usage (consider the merge point).

No, out of hours, the Dunshaughlin bus lanes revert to hard shoulders

BrianD

Navan Junction wrote:

No, out of hours, the Dunshaughlin bus lanes revert to hard shoulders

the situation has changed, they are now apparently 24 hr bus lanes.

Navan Junction

BrianD wrote:

the situation has changed, they are now apparently 24 hr bus lanes.

Hadn't noticed that - hasn't kept cars from trying to zoom up it though..........

highdef

So it has been said that out of hours, the Dunshaughlin bus lanes revert to hard shoulders. Does a hard shoulder not have to be marked with a broken yellow line to be legal? I dont think you could be done for driving on the bus lane. If you look up the rules of the road, its a bus lane, plain and simple. Well its 24 hours now so all that is gone