Cycling/Walking around the city

Iwannahurl

snubbleste wrote: »

It is a gross misuse of space. It is not as though there is a heavy footfall at that location.
Farmers market location :cool:

Boulevard of broken dreams perhaps?

I think there's lots of footfall in that location, and there ought to be more. If you build it, they will come.

It does look like overkill, but may there are plans for something to fill the void. A work of art or some other feature, perhaps, which is not unheard of in these settings. Galway's many talented artists would find a use for the space PDQ.

what_traffic

WallyGUFC wrote: »

As for the disappearing cycle lane, not the only example in Galway unfortunately. Tis a very narrow road with the island, would probably need to take a bit of footpath or just move the path in to make room for a cycle lane. Poor design it's fair to say.

Agree - if you took out the concrete island would allow Motorists overtake cyclists here and also allow the cycle lane to be continued further in towards Woodquay.

Iwannahurl

Perhaps the Sean Mulvoy Junction, imperfect though it may be, will now show up just how bad this section is.

That concrete island is there instead of a proper crossing, imo. I don't see why the exit from the retail park can't be redesigned, and proper crossings put in for pedestrians to allow free movement on foot between both shopping areas. While they're doing that they could create some space for a cycle lane as far as here at least. There are plans to revamp Woodquay, so why not devise a joined-up plan that would tie in with what's being done around the ex-Bodkin?

joeKel73

On a side note - came across 15 fellow cyclists on my commute to work this morning. 4 were salmon cycling the QB, 5 were on footpaths and 6 were on the wrong side of roads with no cycle lanes.

Lads...

(I know I'm much less likely to meet cyclists who are traveling on the same side of the road as me and going in the correct direction, but still)

what_traffic

J o e wrote: »

On a side note - came across 15 fellow cyclists on my commute to work this morning. 4 were salmon cycling the QB, 5 were on footpaths and 6 were on the wrong side of roads with no cycle lanes.

Lads...

(I know I'm much less likely to meet cyclists who are traveling on the same side of the road as me and going in the correct direction, but still)

Can ya remember the gender/age breakdown?
That is pretty bad. Locations can tell alot though.

On 11km Commute today @ 11h00 had one elderly lady(mid 60's) Salmon Cycling on SQR on the footpath and another lady(50ish) cycling on the footpath inbound on Lough Atalia Road. All other cyclists(4) men were on road. I would say they were all under 35.

Lundar.

J o e wrote: »

On a side note - came across 15 fellow cyclists on my commute to work this morning. 4 were salmon cycling the QB, 5 were on footpaths and 6 were on the wrong side of roads with no cycle lanes.

Lads...

(I know I'm much less likely to meet cyclists who are traveling on the same side of the road as me and going in the correct direction, but still)

Hi Joe,

I use the new bridge daily, I use the cycle lane following the direction of traffic (From Newcastle). I meet a lot of cyclists going the wrong but I cross over at the traffic lights by Dunnes store and go down the cycle lane the wrong way heading towards the headford road round about(on the dunnes side of the road), as it is the safest option for me.

If I cross over at the round about it is an extremely busy crossing and it’s dodgy to go around using a bike. Till it is safer for me to cross over at the round I'm forced to use the cycle lane for a short distance the wrong way. I try my best to cycle defensively and obey the rules of the road. But I will do what is the safest for me.

On a another note:

The cycle lanes on the new bridge are uneven and have lump of concrete in some places that are dangerous. There is also some kind of traffic counter by the Gym on the newbridge which has a cable cover by a black protective cover that is dangerous at night as it’s hard to see.

snubbleste

The new bridge. Howrya

Yeah the traffic counter has been mentioned. I really don't know how the Council get away with such a dangerous contraption, repeatedly. And yeah the paths are a bit of a disaster, particularly the dished beige panelling.

As regards the Headford Rd, you should stay on the left and move from the cycle lane onto the road at Dún na Coiribe entrance and then behave as a motorist until you clear Kirwan.

Lundar.

Hi snubbleste,

I already use Dun Na Coiribe traffic lights to cross over and I use Dun Na Coiribe to cycle home in the evening. But I do not feel it is safe to use the headford roundabout when using a bike(the crossing). I cycle through the Loisban industrial estate. So the route I have chosen is the safest and fastest for me. I do not like that section of the road. At the times i cycle it is usually quiet on that part of the cycle lane.The lights can take up to 5 minutes to cross at times.

BeardySi

On a side note is it actually salmon cycling if it's a pavement cycle path as opposed to an on-road cycle lane? Was always under the impression that the pavement paths were non-directional...

Iwannahurl

Lundar. wrote: »

I already use Dun Na Coiribe traffic lights to cross over and I use Dun Na Coiribe to cycle home in the evening.

But I do not feel it is safe to use the headford roundabout when using a bike(the crossing).

I cycle through the Loisban industrial estate. So the route I have chosen is the safest and fastest for me. I do not like that section of the road. At the times i cycle it is usually quiet on that part of the cycle lane.

The lights can take up to 5 minutes to cross at times.

Do you mean the Kirwan Roundabout?

If so, it is my impression that many other cyclists do the same. Significant numbers of them cycle on the 'wrong' side coming from the Tirellan direction, and in my view this is because they are understandably trying to avoid the Kirwan. I was at a meeting in the Menlo Park Hotel on a very wet day a couple of weeks ago, and when cycling westbound through the Kirwan a car failed to yield properly (driver on his mobile phone also). Motorised traffic is intimidating enough on roundabouts, and the problem is compounded by all too frequent careless or dangerous driving.

Unfortunately a chain is only as good as its weakest link, so the new Sean Mulvoy Junction (ex-Bodkin) will not function optimally for cyclists until continuity is established and safety maximised for cyclists on all routes leading to it.

I have had the same experience with delay when crossing as a pedestrian at the new signals. It took me several minutes to cross near the Galway Shopping Centre recently.

Lundar.

Aye,

sorry i never bothered with learning the names of the roundabouts as they just rename them again.So i just used there old names.

Anyway's that roundabout is hard to cross at peak times, i was clipped by a car at that round about while trying to cross there(Sept this year), i was lucky and only had my panniers damaged and minor damage done to my bike.So i avoid that round about since then.
But i find there is a lot of Psychic driver around Galway, that fail to use a indicator's and but let you know via Psychic thoughts when they are going to turn.
I find a lot of driver do not give a sugar where they park and so on as long they get there way.(Not ranting or anything like that). The only thing i wish for is for more garda's to be around when they introduce new lights or changes to a road system that monitor and stop idiot/bad driver's for a week or so ie around prime times.(I drive a few times a week and cycle daily.)

jkforde

what's the story with the hook boxes on Bodkin? have they decided not to install them? anyone know the presiding engineer in charge so we can ask? and what are people doing without them?... stopping at the junction with the crossing cycle lane and orientating with it?

Iwannahurl

A couple of weeks ago I approached the junction from the Kirwan Roundabout direction, and just waited in the cycle lane as if it was a hook turn. It worked fine, actually, far better than the Bodkin Circus of Horrors.

Perhaps a hook turn box will make the procedure more obvious and a bit easier.

jkforde

Iwannahurl wrote: »

A couple of weeks ago I approached the junction from the Kirwan Roundabout direction, and just waited in the cycle lane as if it was a hook turn. It worked fine, actually, far better than the Bodkin Circus of Horrors. Perhaps a hook turn box will make the procedure more obvious and a bit easier.

yeah, did the same and it worked fine, it just felt unofficial and a tad vulnerable. ta

snubbleste

Iwannahurl wrote: »

A couple of weeks ago I approached the junction from the Kirwan Roundabout direction, and just waited in the cycle lane as if it was a hook turn. It worked fine, actually, far better than the Bodkin Circus of Horrors.
Perhaps a hook turn box will make the procedure more obvious and a bit easier.

Were you going right across the bridge?
How did you go from a stopped position on the cycle lane when the lights turned green - across a bus lane, the straight ahead lane to the right-turning lane?

Iwannahurl

Sorry, I should have made that clearer. I was turning right onto the Quincentenary Bridge, having come from the Kirwan Roundabout direction.

It was lashing rain that day, and I'd just had a driver fail to yield properly on the Kirwan (while yapping on his mobile phone).

As I recall, I went straight ahead on the green light and stopped on the cycle lane (there being no hook turn box) which goes from Sean Mulvoy Road through the junction and onto the QB. I waited for the green light and then proceeded over the QB. Does that make sense?

snubbleste

I see.
You waited an age till the lights performed their anti-clockwise sequence.

Iwannahurl

It didn't take long, as I recall, and it was a lot better than the Bodkin farrago.

The signal timings may have changed since. Also, the day in question was a Sunday, so traffic (though still substantial, as per my unpleasant experience on the Kirwan immediately beforehand) was lighter than on weekdays.

I'm assuming that the signals favour traffic on the road, which might mean that bikes get through more quickly. I have crossed a few times as a pedestrian, and in my opinion that really does take an age, which is why it appears that some pedestrians are circumventing the lights. That will need to be looked at and revised, imo.

Iwannahurl

Prompted by a thread elsewhere in this forum, I did a bit of googling and found this photo of Shop Street in the 1960s:



And another:



No shortage of pedestrians, cyclists and shoppers, it would appear.

More old photos here: http://www.oldgalwaypics.co.uk/Pages/StreetsOfGalway.aspx

snubbleste

We have hook boxes people!
Installed at Bodkin recently

Iwannahurl

I'll be driving by there later. Will have a look.

what_traffic

From the Ceannt Station thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=87816392&postcount=38

3rd photo shows the bike parking

Iwannahurl

snubbleste wrote: »

We have hook boxes people!
Installed at Bodkin recently

I drove through there twice yesterday.

Is it my imagination or are those hook turn boxes in an odd position?

I would have guessed that the boxes would be closer to the left of the 'perpendicular' junction, but they appear to be right in the centre, across two lanes. Perhaps the position is to maximise cyclists' visibility?

The video below is the Copenhagen version. I expected something similar. Will cyclists feel a bit exposed on the Galway version? Will they be able to get going before the 'perpendicular' traffic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0FRzkx33Zs

Iwannahurl

This week I noticed another flaw in those stupid "courtesy crossings" on Irish roundabouts.

If pedestrians are waiting (and waiting) to cross at the dished kerb, they are obstructing access to the "cycle path".

Not sure why I didn't notice this before. Possibly because I never used the "cycle paths" and have only recently been using the "courtesy crossings" in a way that revealed the access issue for cyclists.

irisheddie85

Council have put in a pedestrian crossing point on shangort road beside Joyces. And it looks like a traffic calming lump of concrete down the road beside the playground at knocknacarra park.

Along with the new speed bumps/crossing on bothair stiofan it seems they are trying to slow down traffic round knocknacarra and improve safety for pedestrians

Iwannahurl

Seems to be a real flurry of traffic calming works in progress throughout the city at the moment.

Here's an example of what's being implemented on Dr Mannix Road, in this case at the DMR/Dalton Drive/Dalysfort Road junction:

Iwannahurl

This was the situation at the junction of Dr Mannix Road and Glenard Road on 28th November.

The markings show the extent to which the junction will be narrowed after completion. This will have the effect of slowing down traffic entering and exiting Glenard Road, as well as reducing the crossing distance for pedestrians.

WallyGUFC

Pedestrian not walking between the lines there!!!

Iwannahurl

It's how Archimedes would do it.

Also known as a "desire line" or desire path.

jkforde

irisheddie85 wrote: »

Council have put in a pedestrian crossing point on shangort road beside Joyces. And it looks like a traffic calming lump of concrete down the road beside the playground at knocknacarra park.

Along with the new speed bumps/crossing on bothair stiofan it seems they are trying to slow down traffic round knocknacarra and improve safety for pedestrians

yeah, it's great and good quality work to boot. ... and they're on the ball maintaining the playgrounds too as can be seen at Cappagh Park and Toft Park..... perhaps a good time for folks to drop the Council an email and praise them for jobs well done since all they usually hear is condemnation.