Lough Atalia (Moneenageisha Roundabout)

suimhneas

whats going on with this junction/roundabout/trafficlights. Its a bloody nightmare 45 mins stuck there on saturday, wont be going that side again. How on earth can galway city council be allowed to get away with such a sham? its an absolute disgrace and if i had to travel that road everyday id move house in order to avoid it.

tonyhiggins

I don't like the alternative way I have to drive from town every day, it's much more awkward, but I haven't driven via Lough Atalia since they changed it and I got caught once while in a rush...

Des Hynes

A taxi driver was telling me yesterday that someone from the council was on the radio calling the lights a success!

biko

Background

heinze

i unfortunatly hav to pass by this disaster of a junction every day going in and out of work, the only way around for me is too do a lap of the city the other side and this takes roughly the same amount of time.... its a complete joke, and they are all burying their heads in the sand over this in the city council.

The traffic manager's head should roll over this but instead they are coming out saying its a success.... morons.. maybe they should sit in traffic for 45 mins extra every morning & evening and see how they feel..

sorry rant over guys...

Greaney

I was in Galway city council (on other buisness) when I pointed out to the civil servant i was dealing with that the lights were a disaster. I pointed out that there were lights there over 20 yrs ago and they were changed to a roundabout for a reason.

He said it was to make pedestrians a priority.

I still don't get it!!

MargeS

I was queueing at these lights one day last week. I was on the Monivea road heading towards lough Atalia/College road (going straight on)

It's my understanding that this is a single lane regardless of whether you are going straight ahead or turning right.
Anyway, some guy behind me decided he didn't want to wait, so he mounted the footpath with two wheels and under took me. Forced his way passed me and two cars in front and plonked himself at the white line of the traffic lights. WTF?? Talk about making up your own rules!

LadyMayBelle

Got great practice with clutch/brake control/traffic driving in my last lesson...stuck in the queue for a good twenty bloody minutes at 11am on a Wednesday morning? That's a joke..

diverdriver

I passed there late Sunday afternoon, came down the Moneengeisha Road onto the Dublin Road, no problem whatsoever, looking right I pointed out to my wife the backlog of cars up towards Lough Atalia. I had driven across the whole town without any problems. But there it was Lough Atalia gridlocked as usual. Last time I drove towards town on that road, most of the cars stuck outbound were registered outside Galway, poor fools have been funnelled there. Those of us living in this one road town have mostly copped on.

What will be done about it? Sweet feck all. The morons who run the town have been shown to be fundamentally incapable of doing anything right again and again. But the apparently no one has to take responsibility. Lough Atalia road is becoming famous throughout the country because it features heavily on every traffic bulletin. I'll bet it's gridlocked now at 12:24 on Monday.

James Forde

Aren't there going to be changes to be made to it?

I read that somewhere right?

KevR

Apparently there will be 2 right lanes from Lough Atalia onto the Dublin Road. Not sure how it's going to work exactly and I can definitely see the potential for a few crashes - 2 lanes side-by-side turning right + Galway people not having a clue how to drive = accidents. Traffic should improve from the Lough Atalia side despite the risk of accidents though.

Spending time in a queue for any traffic lights I can just about deal with. The person at the front of the queue pulling off slowly when they get green after queuing for ages - I can't even describe my rage. When at a red light I'm always ready to pull off quickly, even when I haven't spent time queuing. When I have spent a while queing and I get a green light, I'm gone extra quickly. Some people in Galway are so slow in pulling off and then they hesitate in the middle of the junction - could they not have made their mind up about where they were going while sitting in traffic for ages and not when they finally get the green light/are in the middle of the junction.

soundbyte

bryanjf wrote: »

Aren't there going to be changes to be made to it?

I read that somewhere right?

Yep,

http://www.galwayindependent.com/local-news/local-news/monie-changes-on-the-way/

Webbs

KevR wrote: »

Apparently there will be 2 right lanes from Lough Atalia onto the Dublin Road. Not sure how it's going to work exactly and I can definitely see the potential for a few crashes - 2 lanes side-by-side turning right + Galway people not having a clue how to drive = accidents. Traffic should improve from the Lough Atalia side despite the risk of accidents though.

Spending time in a queue for any traffic lights I can just about deal with. The person at the front of the queue pulling off slowly when they get green after queuing for ages - I can't even describe my rage. When at a red light I'm always ready to pull off quickly, even when I haven't spent time queuing. When I have spent a while queing and I get a green light, I'm gone extra quickly. Some people in Galway are so slow in pulling off and then they hesitate in the middle of the junction - could they not have made their mind up about where they were going while sitting in traffic for ages and not when they finally get the green light/are in the middle of the junction.

Am amazed at the number of people in Galway particularly who when in a queue of traffic like at those dreaded lights, wait until the car in front is moving before you see them taking off the handbrake and slowly moving off. Surely these people look further than one car in front of them!
If each driver takes a couple of seconds longer that necessary and you get 15 cars going through a set of lights per change then thats approx 30s wasted, which may seem like not a lot of time, but think how many cars could get through a set of lights in that time!

tonyhiggins

Does this mean two lanes turning into one lane then? Same as there was sort of with the roundabout? I'm always watching that slip road too when turning right as I just don't trust people...

finlma

It's a complete and utter joke. Heads should definitely role and the roundabout should be reinstated.

Since it was done the traffic all over the city has gone to pot. People are avoiding the junction and going other ways - making all routes extremely congested.

The council are planning to make some changes but the only change that will work is to put the roundabout back. Perhaps they will improve the current situation with these changes but the only reason is because people are avoiding the junction and going other routes.

I avoid going to town any more at peak periods cause its 40 mins in and out.
The council should hang their heads in shame.

tonyhiggins

Another aspect I think about the old roundabout that was there was the removal of the grass and flowers etc that was there. The day they removed it that area seemed a hell of a lot more grey and grim..

Wompa1

I live on Lough Atalia...it is awful!! I had a friend stay over recently and he said on the Friday traffic started building up around 11 and it was there pretty much constantly until 8'ish..I go through Eyre Square anymore to get out to Ballybrit or Headford Road. If I'm coming home at a peak time I'd drive down to Dyke Road go all the way around to end of the road..drive straight across up the hill to Bohermore near Galway Properties and turn right...just to get to the end of Lough Atalia. In fairness its not even that bad coming home most of the time. But going towards the junction is a nightmare

Also doesn't Parkmores junction have two lanes going right?...it seems to work ok there so maybe that would help. would they be adding a slip road left then or how would that work?

Mrs OBumble

I've gone through the junction (on a bus) on average ten times a week for the last month, and I haven't noticed anything like the problems people are reporting here. Mostly to/from work, but some mid-afternoon times at the weekend too. Even when there's been a queue on College Rd, it's been a fast-moving queue (for a queue, that is!).

I've used the intersection a few times as a pedestrian since the lights went in, and it's a dramatic improvement.

Yes, traffic was messed up the day the water-main went in Newcastle, but you can't blame this on the Moneenageshia intersection. (Yes, I did in another thread, but I thought it was pretty clear that I was JOKING!)

Someone commented on drivers mounting the footpath on Monivea Rd (Wellpark I guess). This isn't new, and wasn't caused by the lights: I spent most of 2008 travelling to/from work this way, foot-path mounts to form two lanes were pretty common in the afternoons - sometimes even the bus-drivers did it! The main flow at the roundabout was from Moneenageshia to the Dublin Road, so traffic trying to get out of Wellpark really struggled. On a wet day, it was common for the trip from the Crown Living site to just after the roundabout to take 20+ minutes.

Last week, someone turning right from College Rd to the Dublin Rd got a green, moved off slowly and turned. But then they saw the red light for the traffic coming from Moneenageshia - and promptly stopped at it! A horn-blast from the bus-driver (who had to stop behind 'em in the intersection) got things moving again, but if this is typical behaviour, no wonder we have problems.

I think that to put a roundabout back there would be absolutely the most stupid thing that could be done.

Sponge Bob

KevR wrote: »

Apparently there will be 2 right lanes from Lough Atalia onto the Dublin Road. Not sure how it's going to work exactly and I can definitely see the potential for a few crashes - 2 lanes side-by-side turning right + Galway people not having a clue how to drive = accidents. Traffic should improve from the Lough Atalia side despite the risk of accidents though..

They propose to merge the consequent 2 lanes around Bradleys meaning that 1/3 of the new bus lane in Renmore is to be abolished out the Dublin Road .

The 'green' minister of the environment is not amused and has stalled on allowing the changes so far because he gave them a big grant to build the bus lane only a year back but it is the only way to get two lanes of traffic out of College Road and merged in an orderly manner.

?Cee?view

...and remember, this junction is part of the "Intelligent Traffic Management System" that's been lauded by those who oppose the Galway City Outer Bypass, and say it's unnecessary, particularly one former Green City Councillor (who for some reason still refers to himself as a Councillor on his website, nearly 3 months after being kicked out).

finlma

JustMary wrote: »

I've gone through the junction (on a bus) on average ten times a week for the last month, and I haven't noticed anything like the problems people are reporting here.

That's because people are avoiding the junction. I'd say a huge percentage of people who have used the roundabout in the past now use an alternative route, I certainly do. There's no other reason for it.

KevR

Sponge Bob wrote: »

They propose to merge the consequent 2 lanes around Bradleys meaning that 1/3 of the new bus lane in Renmore is to be abolished out the Dublin Road .

The 'green' minister of the environment is not amused and has stalled on allowing the changes so far because he gave them a big grant to build the bus lane only a year back but it is the only way to get two lanes of traffic out of College Road and merged in an orderly manner.

I wonder could they manage to tweek it so that traffic coming from Cemetary Cross could have 2 lanes forward then?

Have the left lane approaching the lights for left turning and straight ahead traffic and the right lane for right turning and straight ahead traffic. Obviously this side would then always need a dedicated sequence, rather than sometimes sharing with the Dublin Road.

Sponge Bob

KevR wrote: »

I wonder could they manage to tweek it so that traffic coming from Cemetary Cross could have 2 lanes forward then?

They could because they will have plenty of space to aim them at and they can also shorten that sequence a tad .

Have the left lane approaching the lights for left turning and straight ahead traffic and the right lane for right turning and straight ahead traffic. Obviously this side would then always need a dedicated sequence, rather than sometimes sharing with the Dublin Road.

It would need a dedicated but shorter sequence and should follow the Monivea road one with the Renmore inwards sequence to follow it .

I feel they should complete remove pedestrian access on one side , ideally where there was none before between the Huntsman and the G . Most peds do not walk past the G on the pavement , they walk on the far side.

I would put a zebra crossing on the Huntsman entrance opposite the G while I was at it .

kinetic

Ive noticed a lot of cars speed through the huntmans carpark to avoid the lights,some 1 will get hurt there in time.

Sponge Bob

kinetic wrote: »

Ive noticed a lot of cars speed through the huntmans carpark to avoid the lights,some 1 will get hurt there in time.

Same as that , I blame the bloody corpo for it though .

ronnie3585

kinetic wrote: »

Ive noticed a lot of cars speed through the huntmans carpark to avoid the lights,some 1 will get hurt there in time.

Absolutely, was coming out of the Huntsman last week after a feed and saw a taxi that was doing at least 30mph through the carpark nearly cream a Corolla that was reversing out of a space. It's become a very popular rat run when the lights are red.

kippy

I have to say, its an absolute pain in the hole getting in and out of the Wellpark shopping center since they put those lights in. It was bad enough before, but far worse now. It takes a LOT longer to get out of the center onto the road and when you do you cant actually head to the "roundabout" to go right around and head back up the wellpark road again, you've to head any other of the directions available. Its also a pain getting into the center from the Old monivea road side. This really wont be bad for any business in the center over the next while.
While its all well and good to say this will get more people out of their cars and using public transport etc etc, public transport in the majority of the city is completely useless for the majority of the people that would use it, otherwise they would use it.

Sponge Bob

kippy wrote: »

I have to say, its an absolute pain in the hole getting in and out of the Wellpark shopping center since they put those lights in. It was bad enough before, but far worse now. .

They should have had two clear lanes between that shopping centre and the traffic lights and the pavement is pretty wide there so again, no excuses

yourmano

Wait til 9am tomorrow, the school is back! Good luck, adds half an hour on to my damn journey!

_ZeeK_

Thank you city council for wasting our money and decreasing our quality of life. Incompetent gombeens! :mad:


It just makes absolutely no sense to replace a roundabout with traffic lights ... the purpose of a roundabout is to increase traffic flow! This is a critical junction in Galway and the traffic lights have just backed traffic up everywhere~!

_ZeeK_

facebookers - http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=Lough+Atalia&init=quick#/group.php?gid=119845166055&ref=search&sid=607401377.3989488135..1

Mrs OBumble

Sponge Bob wrote: »

I feel they should complete remove pedestrian access on one side , ideally where there was none before between the Huntsman and the G . Most peds do not walk past the G on the pavement , they walk on the far side.

Pedestrians coming out of Eye Cinema or the shops there (Maplins/PC World spring to mind) won't thank you for that: buses go down Wellpark every 1/2 hour at best, whereas there's more than one every 15 mins along the Dublin Rd - and it's only a 20 minute walk to town anyway.

(I've seen quite a few lately coming out of the complex with a printer in a box, and smiled nostalgically: I remember making that trip, around about a year ago.)

Webbs

I have been driving down Lough Atalia out of town for the past 2 years in the evenings to get home, and I always had a landmark along Lough Atalia where if cars were backed upto I knew traffic was pretty bad, since the lights went in if the traffic is backed up to that point its now a good day! I have started using College Road now though that is only slightly better depending on time of day

Pedestrians at Moneen junction should have been accommodated with overpasses so that there would have been no holdups for pedestrians or cars alike.

I would have liked to have seen the land in front of the huntsman (not the car park) used to enlarge and reposition the roundabout enabling slip roads etc to be put in which would help with the traffic flow.