Back to basics - The Conor Pass

DWCommuter

Just for a laugh.

Have any of you ever driven through the Conor Pass on the Dingle penisula?

This crazy mile or so of "laneway" bookended by a fairly decent road is a popular tourist route. Should we once and for all widen this section and open it to coaches and perhaps commercial traffic?

How big would the engineering have to be?

Mc Love

Here is the "laneway"
http://www.google.ie/maps?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Limerick,+County+Limerick&ll=52.186037,-10.191708&spn=0.061463,0.186081&z=13&layer=c&cbll=52.18593,-10.19273&panoid=Zm-oPYQR66r1TMu8kixCUQ&cbp=12,264.09,,0,2.92

I think it would be very expensive to widen this section

finbarrk

It's fine the way it is.

Holybejaysus

If it ain't broke, don't break it. You would destroy its charm if you widened it.

And more importantly, I have that road pencilled in as a shooting location for an as yet un-named, un-scripted, un-written movie. So don'tcha go fookin' with me fillum, right?

yermanoffthetv

They could make it one way so not to spoil the "charm" and then build a new access road somewhere else. Probably cheeper than widening but I wouldnt hold your breath waithing for funding.

Holybejaysus

yermanoffthetv wrote: »

They could make it one way so not to spoil the "charm" and then build a new access road somewhere else. Probably cheeper than widening but I wouldnt hold your breath waithing for funding.

They have these little 'pull in' areas every 200 yards or so where two vehicles can get by. Not exactly flashy, but it does the trick.

Sponge Bob

Leave it alone.

Deedsie

Leave it alone, it's charm is it's windyness. I like it as it is. Maybe consider windening the road out to slea head. Coumeenole is the most beautiful beach in Ireland in my opinion. Actually leave it all is it is. My favourite part of the country. Bypass Tralee and leave it at that.

marmurr1916

Holybejaysus wrote: »

They have these little 'pull in' areas every 200 yards or so where two vehicles can get by. Not exactly flashy, but it does the trick.

Every single-track road in Scotland has these passing places, marked with a white diamond:

http://www.google.ie/maps?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Limerick,+County+Limerick&layer=c&cbll=57.309367,-5.486325&panoid=lg0c-zF3dsiz0WD0icKNcg&cbp=12,33.76,,0,8.84&ll=57.309367,-5.486325&spn=0,1.352692&z=10

Jayuu

There's no need to do anything to this road as its not the main road between Tralee and Dingle so there's no need for commerical vehicles to use it. The N86, which is the main road, is pefectly fine.

Rabble Rabble

Widening this would be a act of sheer vandalism.

murphaph

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

Widening this would be a act of sheer vandalism.

Hardly.

Sheer vandalism is what passes for sustainable development in Ireland, ie bungalow blitz.

Not far from the Conor Pass you can find plenty of examples of hideous homes that have defaced our once beautiful countryside a million times worse than a widening of this road ever could.

I was in Andalucia (sounds posher than the Costa Del Sol eh?!) on hols this summer and we hired a car and explored the interior a bit. Stunning mountain scenery abounds. It was clear that the old road had been massively upgraded over the years and it didn't take away from the scenic valleys below one iota.

The Conor Pass is not screaming out for upgrade though as it is very low on the national and regional priority list (and rightly so) but I wouldn't be against an upgrade on aesthetic grounds. The bit of blast/cut rock would rapidly weather in the Kerry Climate and you'd be hard pressed to tell which bits were newly cut/blasted and which bits where done a hundred years ago.

Davy

DWCommuter wrote: »

Should we once and for all widen this section and open it to coaches and perhaps commercial traffic?

Im pretty sure I have seen coaches up there? Are they allowed up, and back down the same side?

KoNiT

is that ice-cream van still up there?

leave it alone btw...

Mc Love

it sure is! Wonder how windy it would have been today?

ArtSmart

Davy wrote: »

Im pretty sure I have seen coaches up there? Are they allowed up, and back down the same side?

there has been. it's a pretty harum scarum, but cool journey.

DWCommuter

Davy wrote: »

Im pretty sure I have seen coaches up there? Are they allowed up, and back down the same side?

Thats right. Coaches can only access the viewing point at the top from the Dingle town side.

Zoney

murphaph wrote: »

Hardly.

Sheer vandalism is what passes for sustainable development in Ireland, ie bungalow blitz.

Not far from the Conor Pass you can find plenty of examples of hideous homes that have defaced our once beautiful countryside a million times worse than a widening of this road ever could.

I was in Andalucia (sounds posher than the Costa Del Sol eh?!) on hols this summer and we hired a car and explored the interior a bit. Stunning mountain scenery abounds. It was clear that the old road had been massively upgraded over the years and it didn't take away from the scenic valleys below one iota.

The Conor Pass is not screaming out for upgrade though as it is very low on the national and regional priority list (and rightly so) but I wouldn't be against an upgrade on aesthetic grounds. The bit of blast/cut rock would rapidly weather in the Kerry Climate and you'd be hard pressed to tell which bits were newly cut/blasted and which bits where done a hundred years ago.

Ireland is not Spain. Whatever about destroying the countryside with bungalows, stuff like the Conor Pass is what sets Ireland apart. There are plenty of places with more extravagant scenery.

There are few places as "quaint", and really, although some natives seem to feel it's so bad they have to emigrate, it is the charm of Ireland. Strangely it seems particularly people from Kerry and the likes that feel they need to get as far away from it all as possible. I can't understand that mindset.

I think in theory it should be possible to allow traditional cottages or even plainer bungalows in the countryside without aesthetically ruining it. Again it is part of Ireland. But of course McMansions have been a disaster, and there is a lack of property tax/service charges to dampen demand and make up for increased costs to the state/society (no need to ban one-offs, just properly regulate it and make people pay).

People need to get over the things they don't like about this country and work on fixing them instead of denouncing them as abominations that must be abolished. Really, it's hard to pick out a country that doesn't have characteristics that at one end degenerate into really bad things! It's not realistic for any country to get rid of those things - they just need kept in check and the positive aspects worked on.

DWCommuter

murphaph wrote: »

Hardly.

Sheer vandalism is what passes for sustainable development in Ireland, ie bungalow blitz.

Not far from the Conor Pass you can find plenty of examples of hideous homes that have defaced our once beautiful countryside a million times worse than a widening of this road ever could.

I was in Andalucia (sounds posher than the Costa Del Sol eh?!) on hols this summer and we hired a car and explored the interior a bit. Stunning mountain scenery abounds. It was clear that the old road had been massively upgraded over the years and it didn't take away from the scenic valleys below one iota.

The Conor Pass is not screaming out for upgrade though as it is very low on the national and regional priority list (and rightly so) but I wouldn't be against an upgrade on aesthetic grounds. The bit of blast/cut rock would rapidly weather in the Kerry Climate and you'd be hard pressed to tell which bits were newly cut/blasted and which bits where done a hundred years ago.

Like many discussions on the Fantasy...opps! Infrastructure forum;), its worth looking at attitudes towards upgrading the route. Lets call it the "Virtual Conor Pass Upgrade". Yes the budget isn't there and priority is low (didn't Jackie Healy Rae miss the boat on influencing this one:D) but it is a credible project that would certainly allow greater access to this particular beauty/tourist mecca as part of a broader tourist route.

Now some reality (its my theme for tonight).

Its easy for people to think that its a few KMs of quirky road and part of the charm associated with the area. Ive heard the phrases, "leave it alone" and "vandalism". So let me offer my experience of the Conor Pass.

I first drove it on my honeymoon in 2003. Saw it on the map and had heard part of it was mad. So up I go from the Dingle side. It looked good until on the way down the other side. Holy ****! For a first timer, it was daunting. Rain and mist didn't help. Nor did the lunatics coming at me assuming they could pass! Since that induction Ive driven it many many times in both directions. I know the ropes now! However other people don't. I can only assume that no fatality has taken place due to a combination of slow speeds and little traffic. But Ive had many conversations with tourists in many hotels in the region and I can honestly say that the majority avoided the full experience of the drive because of its infamy. Some never even bothered through the fear induced by heresay. It one thing to drive up to the viewing point from Dingle, but the real experience is driving the entire route. Up and down in one direction or the other. Incredible scenery. Wonderful isolation. A real complete package. But does the feckin road have to be so dangerous and unsuitable for larger touring vehicles? It shouldn't be.

So the Virtual Conor Pass upgrade is in play now. Cut away at the cliff face. Make the road safer and capable of two vehicles passing each other. Get the tour buses along the entire route and let people have every opportunity to experience it. I've seen routes in Tenerife near the volcano and in Switzerland that are similar, (and at vastly higher altitudes) but upgraded to an extent that can take a coach and car safely without impacting on the natural beauty. So why does Kerry persist with this rediculously antiquated attraction that many miss out on due to either a reluctance or laziness in adapting it to a safe standard?

Sponge Bob

Get out of it DW. Nobody with any sense goes up the Conor Pass unless the weather is clear. Then you can see the problems up ahead.

If it is misty or raining just don't do it, the bus drivers don't. Personally I once made it from Castlegregory Village to Dingle in 15 mins over that road and that was nearly 20 years ago. I left early though

Mc Love

I have never seen buses up there, probably due to this sign:

http://www.google.ie/maps?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Limerick,+County+Limerick&ll=52.158638,-10.242981&spn=0.001922,0.005815&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=52.158814,-10.242977&panoid=a98lKmBjBJEfOjCpt_M42A&cbp=12,257.63,,0,0.68

KevR

Out of curiosity, what's the speed limit? I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Conor Pass had the same speed limit as the Lucan Bypass....:pac: