Shannon Bridge Roundabout

black & white

Berty wrote: »

Problems I see with this roundabout

(1) Pedestrian Crossings should not exist
(2) There should only be 2 lanes on Mallow Street and not 3. Currently there is a lane for going out the Dock Road a lane going over the bridge and a lane which can also go over the bridge(somehow) but which also facilitates people turning right.

Accessing the roundabout from Russells Quay or Lower Mallow Street is very difficult because of the nearly constant flow coming from the bridge. The only saving grace is the pedestrian crossing but then again, like mentioned already, I disagree with it.

Traffic lights are NOT the way forward here.

Leave the roundabout as it is and tidy up the lanes on Lower Mallow Street.

I sent an e-mail to Limerick City Council previously and told them they should widen the lanes coming over the bridge because the outbound lane was far too wide anyway. They replied "we will look into it". 6 months later they did it.

I should really send them an e-mail telling them to "leave it well alone"

Speaking to a reliable source about this last night. A contractor has been appointed and is scheduled to start in 2 weeks time, working from 7.00pm to 7.00am.

phill106

black & white wrote: »

Speaking to a reliable source about this last night. A contractor has been appointed and is scheduled to start in 2 weeks time, working from 7.00pm to 7.00am.

No planning permission needed then if its the council?

black & white

phill106 wrote: »

No planning permission needed then if its the council?

Don't have a scooby doo to be honest. The person I was speaking with was sure of his info though.

Amazotheamazing

black & white wrote: »

Don't have a scooby doo to be honest. The person I was speaking with was sure of his info though.

To remove the roundabout completely? Could be a disaster, imo.

topper75

Two potential lessons from Galway (although I think we are about to relearn them anyway in Limerick:()

1. The Bodkin roundabout (Terryland) - a big messed up roundabout incorporating lights, with 5 busy exits, one is the busiest shopping centre in the city. Possibly the most inconvenient and dangerous traffic feature in Erin's green isle today. Limerick CC - please don't add lights to the Shannon Bridge roundabout.

2. The Moneenageesha roundabout - they pulled this up altogether. They put in expensive lights. It took months and months before they achieved anything near the correct cadence. There was mayhem for a long time after installation. It's still not great. Limerick CC - please don't replace the Shannon Bridge roundabout with lights.

thesimpsons

ok so how do we get campaign running - who made this decision do you think. who do we need to start contacting?? letters to council or RTA ?

Berty

topper75 wrote: »

2. The Moneenageesha roundabout - they pulled this up altogether. They put in expensive lights. It took months and months before they achieved anything near the correct cadence. There was mayhem for a long time after installation. It's still not great. Limerick CC - please don't replace the Shannon Bridge roundabout with lights.

WOW. I hate this place. It used to be awful coming down wellpark road when it was a roundabout because you could never get a chance but it has created unbelievable tailbacks along college and Lough Atalia roads and a bit on the Monnenageesha road.

Its not so much on the Dublin inbound route because they have their own problems further back because of the Renmore road lights.

That was Galway Cities biggest mistake in a long time. They have just left it alone. Now people still fly through the Huntsmann Inn. I have stopped going into the Huntsmann for Breakfast/Lunch because when you try to get out people smirk at you and some even give you the finger because they think you are trying to sneak over from the Dublin road. Assholes!

History lesson for the council here:

The parkway roundabout was not always such. It used to be a T Junction where Childers road and the Dublin road met on the old Dublin road. It got too busy so they put in a roundabout(with its own problems mind) so going backwards is hardly a solution.

Roundabouts work. Traffic lights do not.

zuroph

I think its a great idea, and can't wait for it to be implemented.

limklad

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

I think the problem is Irish drivers aren't taught how to drive on roundabouts correctly. You should never be driving "through" a roundabout at such speed as to make braking difficult if you see someone at a pedestrian light.

I lived in France for a bit and every roundabout is also an unmarked pedestrian crossing, drivers expect pedestrians to cross at them and drive accordingly.

Imo, they are the best place on a road for a crossing, except for a traffic light junction because any other place on a road will have cars slowing from a higher speed to accommodate people crossing the road, for example, if they were 200m's from a roundabout most cars would have built up considerable speed and would have other traffic travelling at speed behind them.

The fault isn't in their placement, it's in the standard of driving.

I agree with you on the poor standard of driving here.
Especially at traffic lights. In France when the lights goes green usually 6 to 10 cars are moving immediately. Here if you are the four car you have to wait upto 10 seconds+ for Drivers to react here and it a slow effect of reaction. The first move x Secs once they realise that the lights goes green and then put car in gear, then the second react after realises the car in front moved and then put the car in gear and then accelerate x secs later and then the next driver no. 2 reactions and every driver after them are repeated and then by the time 10 cars passes the lights goes red. In Genoble, it is full of Traffic light and on-street trams, bicycle lanes, bus lanes and other obstacles yet traffic moves alot better there than here.
In France they be 10 times more cars moved through traffic lights as if they are all connected like a train.

Here in Ireland driving in city and town here you expect bad driving due to the driver finally woke up and poorly reacts. In France/Italy/Spain, you be blown out of it for poor reaction to traffic infront of you. I have moved through large cities in France far easier than the small city like Limerick even through a bottle neck city like Grenoble which is surrounded by mountains was far easier with a hell of lot more cars than Limerick where their motorway was a car park during rush hour there, Driving through their city was far easier due to better drivers despite their appearance to aggressive approach to driving (actual foresight in their driving skills as they know the other light has gone red for other direction and they ready to move when the light goes green) which would horrify slow people here.

thesimpsons

fully agree with you limklad and include in that the poor quality of people's observations for moving off at junctions when you have slowed down in traffic and given them the chance to move out. The absymisal observations of drivers that there is a sufficient gap in the traffic for them to move out is a constant source of frustration. Some drivers will be looking all around them but never in the right direction to see the gap in traffic. Travelling Condel Road I virtually never fail to slow down to allow a car from Salesians Hill to enter the flow and for cars to turn right off the bridge, but 9 times out of 10, the driver is simply not paying attention and watching out. I do the exact same thing crossing over Thomondgate Bridge to allow cars out into traffic or turn onto Clancy Strand, and again they just don't see the signs. It only delays me and traffic behind me by seconds but could mean a lot of freeing up of traffic delays on the junction roads. wake up drivers.

topper75

thesimpsons wrote: »

I virtually never fail to slow down to allow a car from Salesians Hill to enter the flow and for cars to turn right off the bridge, but 9 times out of 10, the driver is simply not paying attention and watching out.

Often encounter this too. Frustrating when you try to do a favour for people and traffic flow in general and they fail to notice. Morons. If people are turning left into the traffic flow, they should only be looking one way.

langdang

topper75 wrote: »

Often encounter this too. Frustrating when you try to do a favour for people and traffic flow in general and they fail to notice. Morons. If people are turning left into the traffic flow, they should only be looking one way.

And because they are 10 secs behind the real world, they finally get themselves in motion about 3 secs after you've decided they're staying there and closed the gap yourself. Cue a big thick head on them - FFS people, you are in charge of a ton and a half of metal interacting with other cars, cyclists and pedestrians. WAKE UP!

source

In the UK they have a very simple and effective method of solving this problem, before the light turns green, they turn on the orange light as a warning to drivers that the light is about to change.

Then the red and orange change to green and everyone's ready to go.

thesimpsons

they've turned on the lights on Condel Rd at Salesians - hopefully they'll now adjust them so that they work efficiently . First the cars come from the bridge side and turn up Salesians Hill and then the cars come down from Salesians side and turn onto the bridge. Why can't these run in conjunction with each other, have to wait on Condel Rd to sit through 2 light changes before getting a turn.

source

thesimpsons wrote: »

they've turned on the lights on Condel Rd at Salesians - hopefully they'll now adjust them so that they work efficiently . First the cars come from the bridge side and turn up Salesians Hill and then the cars come down from Salesians side and turn onto the bridge. Why can't these run in conjunction with each other, have to wait on Condel Rd to sit through 2 light changes before getting a turn.

Passed out about an hour ago and there was a guy there fiddling with the box after the light changes.

highlydebased

thesimpsons wrote: »

they've turned on the lights on Condel Rd at Salesians - hopefully they'll now adjust them so that they work efficiently . First the cars come from the bridge side and turn up Salesians Hill and then the cars come down from Salesians side and turn onto the bridge. Why can't these run in conjunction with each other, have to wait on Condel Rd to sit through 2 light changes before getting a turn.

Do the lights allow for traffic to turn right onto the condell road from the salesians hill? Was never allowed before but theres an arrow for left and right on the road...

topper75

Maybe one of the functions of these new lights is to hold traffic entering the city across the bridge. This gives more balance on the roundabout to allow traffic to come down lower Mallow St.

That is why those two flows (Salesians -> city centre and city centre -> Salesians) are not done simultaneously.

phill106

foinse wrote: »

Passed out about an hour ago and there was a guy there fiddling with the box after the light changes.

Glad i wasn't stuck behind you in traffic, passing out in traffic like that. Are you ok?

kilburn

god ya dangerous move

shg101

topper75 wrote: »

Maybe one of the functions of these new lights is to hold traffic entering the city across the bridge. This gives more balance on the roundabout to allow traffic to come down lower Mallow St.

That is why those two flows (Salesians -> city centre and city centre -> Salesians) are not done simultaneously.

Just posted this on another thread.

These freakin lights backed up traffic all the way out the dock road to Raheen, and must also have backed up the city.

I left work early (about 5:40PM), and for a journey that has taken me 25-30 mins since the tunnel opened (Raheen-Corbally) now took over 50 mins. And I was lucky, the traffic stopped dead for me halfway in the Dock road. It took 20-30 mins to go the other half. God help the people who left after me from Raheen.

EDIT: Of course AARoadwatch say the apart from the Ballysimon Rd things are moving well in Limerick.

Poxyshamrock

Drove out that way tonight and yes, it's now possible to turn right onto the Condell Road from the Shelbourne Road.

BobTheBeat

Well theyve gone a fcuked up the whole city again. Passed that way this morning. 45 minutes from the coonagh roundabout to the new lights at condell road. Magic. Love waiting in traffic me.

And it wouldnt have made much of a difference even if you took the tunnel to get off at the mungret flyover. The traffic was backed up so bad that there was a queue going down the slipway to join the first of the new roundabouts on the city side of the flyover.

Worse again, the shannon traffic couldnt even pass over the bridge and through the lights, as the queue was so bad for cars waiting to go up the shelbourne road. As I passed by the junction, I could see a queue all the way up along the salesians road, which means they havent timed union cross lights either.

Absolute gomes in charge of traffic planning.

allimac

When they put the new traffic lights at the dock road roundabout things will get dramatically worse.According to Vincent Murray city senior engineer there is a demand for increased pedestrianisation in the area to reduce the volume of traffic from Mallow st?What planet do these people occupy?

munstergirl

Salesians city centre/city centre salesians should be go at the same time, there should be no turning right.

Wait till the traffic lights go in roundabout on dock road, imagine tailbacks then.

Don't think anyone living on northside likes lights at salesians, yes you get on clondell road quicker but coming home in evening you get caught in mess.

I think its just making people drive through city sarsfield bridge instead.

Still would not make me use the tunnell to get to crescent.

phog

munstergirl wrote: »

Still would not make me use the tunnell to get to crescent.

Before this mess att he bottom of Shelbourne Rd and Condell Rd I've used the tunnel to get to the Crescent and I've used it even to go back in the Dock Rd, the thing about the tunnel is barring an incident you know you'll get to the far side in a few mins and it'll cost €1.80. At times that suit me

Builderfromhell

Have been reading about plans to put traffic lights on Jury's roundabout at bridge.
What occured to me is that they only recently spent a lot of money putting one then another Zebra crossing on this roundabout. Did they not know that they would be removing these to put in traffic lights later.
Reminds me of the pedestrian lights at Barrington's pier on Condell rd. Lights put in then about 6 months later taken out again to allow for bus lane. The planned bus lane was known about at that time but they still put in the lights.
That's your money that's being wasted there guys.

highlydebased

According to the post today the abbey street/clare street roundabout is also to be replaced. Assumingly also with lights -.-

bazz26

Neon-Circles wrote: »

According to the post today the abbey street/clare street roundabout is also to be replaced. Assumingly also with lights -.-

So there will be two sest of traffic lights close to each other, one at Baals bridge and now Abbey bridge? :eek:

Also they only put up a pedestrian crossing at Abbey bridge a few months ago. More tax payer's money down the tube. :rolleyes:

445279.ie

16 new sets of traffic lights for the city :eek:

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Limerick-city-to-get-16.6550558.jp

Tech3

But tunnel general manager Tom King described this as a "conspiracy theory".

Mr Murray also dismissed the claims: "No, the lights are not designed to force people into the tunnel. We need to balance the needs of motorists commuting through the city with the needs of other people in the city, including schools and local traffic," he said.

It's a strange coincidence alright given the Tunnel has only been open a few months and already there have put a new set of traffic lights on the alternative relief road(condell rd) out of the city. :rolleyes: