Castleknock - Traffic Nightmare

JupiterKid

This afternoon I had a half day in work and after I left work, I went to call in on my Dad who lives in Castleknock. Indeed, I grew up in Castleknock and remember when the Castleknock road had hardly any traffic back in the days of yore.

How things have changed - for the worse. The traffic is almost always backed right up to the Phoenix Park gates every afternoon, not just rush hour but from lunchtime onwards. It is a disaster and a disgrace. It seems like all the explosive growth in Carpenterstown and Clonsilla in recent years has put an intolerable burden of the road network in and around Castleknock and it simply cannot cope. Today, I was 45 minutes getting from the Phoenix park gates up to Laurel Lodge. Grrrrr!!

Castleknock must now be one of the worst traffic blackspots in Dublin.

What can be done? Well, it seems to me that most of the traffic funneling into Castleknock from the city direction turns left at Myos pub to travel onwards to Carpenterstown past Castleknock College. What would obviously relieve congestion in Castleknock would be to reopen Whites Gate and allow Carpenterstown-bound traffic to bypass Castleknock village to the south. It was an incredibly stupid and short sighted decision to close Whites Gate in the first place IMO. Also, a better bus service might also help.

What do others think?

Bluetonic

Close the park to through traffic. That would soon sort it.

Random

You're coming from the Park toward Castleknock, right? It's just you mention turning right at Myos so wanna make sure it's just a typo!

I guess most of the problem is like everywhere in Dublin .. roads are mental anytime from 8am-8pm and you should avoid driving during that time ..

The problem with a lot of Castleknock is poor junctions and traffic lights etc. The ones at the top of Auburn Ave onto Castleknock Road .. you can't get off Auburn unless you illegally sit in the yellow box.

After coming through the village heading toward Laurel Lodge if you want to turn right onto Beachpark then you block half the road .. plenty of room at that junction to put a little right turn lane in but nothing there.

Coming from Blanchardstown past the Bell toward Laurel Lodge. Traffic backed up over that bridge because of the volume of traffic turning right .. and the light sequence / lanes / something not allowing it all to run smoothly.

I could go on ...

JupiterKid

Random wrote: »

You're coming from the Park toward Castleknock, right? It's just you mention turning right at Myos so wanna make sure it's just a typo!

I guess most of the problem is like everywhere in Dublin .. roads are mental anytime from 8am-8pm and you should avoid driving during that time ..

The problem with a lot of Castleknock is poor junctions and traffic lights etc. The ones at the top of Auburn Ave onto Castleknock Road .. you can't get off Auburn unless you illegally sit in the yellow box.

After coming through the village heading toward Laurel Lodge if you want to turn right onto Beachpark then you block half the road .. plenty of room at that junction to put a little right turn lane in but nothing there.

Coming from Blanchardstown past the Bell toward Laurel Lodge. Traffic backed up over that bridge because of the volume of traffic turning right .. and the light sequence / lanes / something not allowing it all to run smoothly.

I could go on ...

Sorry - I meant turning left of course (OP edited):o Castleknock is a total disaster traffic wise and your observations of some of the problems are correct. More needs to be done about sorting the junctions and traffic light sequences out.

But surely if White's Gate/White's Road is reopened, much of the Carpenterstown bound traffic would use this route and take pressure off Castlerknock village itself? Something needs to be done - it's growing worse by the day.:(:mad:

Random

Let's get started on the Auburn / N3 roundabouts and everything linked to them as well - all poorly thought out ... hopefully will all be solved when they get rid of the roundabouts and make it all traffic light controlled when the M50 junction upgrade is complete - although they could make a balls of it too and it'll turn into somethiing like the junction between the Shell garage and the Blanchardstown SC in Blanchardstown.

Gaspode

CAstleknock has been a nightmare for many years now. Closing the park might help a little in Castleknock, but really would just puch the problem elsewhere.

Having had a look at the plans for the new M50/N3 junction, I think it will only get much worse for the village!

confused-dazed

totally agree, once you get past myo's heading for laurel lodge it's plain sailing.the problem seems to be just two junctions myos of course but the main factor is traffic coming from auburn ave onto castleknock road.
on your bit about the bus services. heres a few quotes from one of the local councillors flyer ,on her record it states the following
" she was the only councillor who voted against the crazy bus lanes planned for castleknock road,auburn ave and laurel lodge.
yet in the next line it goes on to say.
"she has been active on planning issues in diswellstown, the racecourse and the campaign for better bus and train services across dublin 15.
no matter where you are in the dublin area we are agreed in that the bus services needs to be improved drastically.

Turbulent Bill

I regularly cycle through Castleknock, and while the traffic is fairly easy to filter through (usually stopped or very slow during rush hours), the road surface itself is in bits. There are numerous potholes, cracks and bumps so it's like an offroad track to cycle on. I'm a responsible cyclist, but sometimes you have to weave in the lane just to find a safe route, which to drivers probably looks like I'm messing around.

Will have to get on to Fingal about this.

CrazyRabbit

What traffic?

<---motorcyclist.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

athtrasna

The council changed the lights at Myo's last year and traffic in Castleknock has gone rapidly downhill. Most mornings it's back almost to the Bell in Blanch and evenings back to Castleknock gate at rush hour. Clear Myo's and it clears hugely.

Another problem is the cluster of shopping centres and garages along the Main Street, lots of entrances for cars to turn in and out of. This is necessary I know but I often think these should be left turn only at rush hour, that way they'd only block 1 lane not 2.

LoonyLovegood

Castleknock is terrible, I get the bus to school in the morning, and it's so annoying waiting just past Myos for it. The amount of traffic heading the other way is incredible, and Laurel Lodge is blocked up almost to Scoil Thomais in the mornings. But nobody standing for the council wants to do anything about it!

athtrasna

Some Cllrs are pushing for bus lanes in Castleknock but tbh I think that will only make things worse. Bus lanes are abused by the arrogant anyway if the lanes around the Bell in Blanch are anything to go by :mad:

BostonB

I dunno what alternate reality some of ye of from. But traffic has been always been bad in Castleknock, going back 15~20yrs. Its a natural bottle neck, and pure greed has allowed massive uncontrolled development in the catchment area. Theres people coming from Navan heading through Castleknock in the mornings. Even if that was removed the Quays is only single lane in parts. Where will the traffic go. No where.

Thinking of it logically, since over development is the problem, more development (roads) is just going add to the problem. The entire road network in D.15 doesn't have the capacity for the traffic going through it. Thats simply not going to change. You need less people in cars and buses. Move them to trains and bicycles.

Slighly off topic, but its completely daft theres a massive park there, a huge resources and no cycle lanes from D.15 into it.

BostonB

athtrasna wrote: »

Some Cllrs are pushing for bus lanes in Castleknock but tbh I think that will only make things worse. Bus lanes are abused by the arrogant anyway if the lanes around the Bell in Blanch are anything to go by :mad:

Zero enforcement.

horse7

anyone know what happened today because auburn ave was a car park,we parked up in woodpark and walked home,about 3 pm.

who_ru

I don't really know what was going on today.

i entered auburn ave from the village end at 3pm, by the time i got to the roundabout at the other end of the ave it was 3.48pm :eek:

just seemed everybody who has a car got into it today and decided to congregate in the castleknock area, right through the village and down to the bell pub was bumper to bumper - it must be to do with all the road works going on - everywhere you go there's bloody roadworks!!

horse7

just walked back for the car in woodpark,traffic ok now.