M50 Ballymount junction

Guy:Incognito

Anyone know what th edeal is with the Ballymount junction changing from semi free flowing with 2 small roundabouts to going backwards and having traffic lights? Why are they upgrading all the other junctions and essentially downgrading thi sone?

http://www.m50.ie/index.php?page=phase-1

BluntGuy

Because idiocy always prevails in this world.

In all seriousness, as much as I HATE roundabouts (we love them way too much here), those annoying box junctions next to motorways/dual carriageways can be a hell of a lot worse. If you've ever tried to get into Mahon Point off the N25 on an even vaguely busy day you'll know the misery I'm talking about.

The left-turning slip roads are a good idea, but introducing traffic lights to a motorway junction is usually a sign that something got seriously messed up.

I honestly don't know whether the traffic flow at the junction will improve. Trying to squeeze loads of traffic round a dummbell-type interchange just doesn't work (that's why they're upgrading it). And signallised junctions like the one described above have proven to be nightmares in some cases.

I don't know how they can solve the problem...

Victor

In peak conditions, traffic lights can handle more traffic than roundabouts.

but only when correctly configured, some lights are a complete joke.

BluntGuy

some lights are a complete joke.

The Kinsale Road Interchange lights are a fantastic example of this. They vary from mildly annoying to utterly atrocious. Some of the lights literally give you all of two seconds to move before going red again. Utter rubbish. Who came up with that system? I hope they've fixed it.

(The situation isn't helped by how badly signposted the whole roundabout is. I had to squint to find the signpost for my exit and then quickly change lane as there was no indication as to which lane I should be in.)

godtabh

Victor wrote: »

In peak conditions, traffic lights can handle more traffic than roundabouts.

By managing the queues better.

They are also safer.

Guy:Incognito

Victor wrote: »

In peak conditions, traffic lights can handle more traffic than roundabouts.

Well s it is there are ques of traffic down the off ramp and onto the carrigeway.

I know the onto ther carriageway bit will change when the lane between the Tallaght on ramp and Ballymount off ramp is reopened but haveing that lane full of stationary traffic is anything but ideal. Surely a proper free-flowingjunction could have been sorted, especially seeing as so many trucks use the junction.At least on one side there seems to be plenty of space

antoinolachtnai

At the end of the day there must be a problem with the capacity of the surrounding roads, no? I would have thought that the local roads can only cope with a certain amount of traffic and upgrading the motorway junctions is only going to bring you so far.

AlekSmart

Antoin astutely spots the core of the Ballymount conundrum....:P

The R838 "Embankment" road which links Ballymount Industrial Zone and Cookstown Industrial Zone Via the M50 is an outstanding example of official planning indifference if not downright incompetence on a massive scale.

If one looks closely at the R838 lane configuration approaching the M50 from the Belgard one see`s a very odd kidney shaped central reservation surrounded by a sea of solid bordered cross hatching.

This curious arrangement has the effect of forcing M50S bound traffic to stop and queue well short of the actual overpass and its twin sets of (short phased) traffic signals.

Therefore,any traffic counts being conducted ON THE JUNCTION will convienently fail to include the long line of bemused drivers sitting immobile back up to the Kingswod Luas (Observe this next Monday).

The essential question here is to investigate why SDCC and the Dept of The Environment felt that linking two of the largest Commercial zones in the State with a Motorway bisecting them with a SINGLE CARRIAGEWAY road was acceptable.

Personally I feel that this form of muppetry calls for a thorough investigation and the naming of the Senior Officials who signed off on the original plan,if only to ensure that the clot has their CV suitably endorsed which might just save some other community from having to endure (and pay for) similar madness as they continue on the promotional ladder :eek: