Cycling/Walking around the city

pmasterson95

Iwannahurl wrote: »

A short documentary about the ethnography of Irish transport culture perhaps?

Louis Theroux Jr, if one exists, could direct.

Maybe if thats what you think.
I'm suprised you were driving considerinh your staunch anti driving views. Why weren't you cycling?

Iwannahurl

pmasterson95 wrote: »

I'm suprised you were driving considerinh your staunch anti driving views.

Why weren't you cycling?

Because I didn't have my bike, and because my "staunch anti-driving views" are also a figment of the imagination.

Redhairedguy

Christ lads, get down off your high nellies and stop bickering. It makes baby Jesus cry.

Iwannahurl

what_traffic

What's latest status here? Are the pedestrian crossings fully completed?

Iwannahurl

There are/were two separate (and uncoordinated) schemes.

The plan to modify the Threadneedle/Kingston/Taylors Hill junction has gone phut. It is no more, in the sense that the annualised funding allocated to the project in 2013 has presumably been lost, because nothing was done. Par for the course in City Hall, where threatened loss of funding is routinely used by officials to railroad pet projects through the chamber.

The other project -- titled "Threadneedle Road Cycleway and Pedestrian Improvement Scheme" iirc -- is proceeding at a pace that could be described as an average of one shovel of tarmac per day. There is no indication of a finishing date, and work is sporadic, interrupted by long periods of inactivity. Maybe they're waiting for the holidays. The summer break might also give them an opportunity to work out what they're going to do about bus and car parking. So far the main purpose of the widened footpaths is for the parking of cars and buses, yet the plans show the proposed "cycleway" on the same side! I'll bet there's a fair bit of head-scratching about this aspect of the scheme.

There are now a couple of ramps in place, plus a few small pull-in bays for cars. There is to be a zebra crossing near Maher's shop. Poles in place but nothing else. The plans show a Toucan Crossing near the junction with Dr Mannix Road, but what has been installed so far doesn't seem to fit that description. It's a bit narrow, and the colour of the tactile kerbing suggests an uncontrolled crossing. I have a feeling the Council may try to do a switcheroo, bunging in one of those cheap and meaningless "courtesy crossings" instead. Cynical? Paranoid? Moi?

what_traffic

Iwannahurl wrote: »

The other project -- titled "Threadneedle Road Cycleway and Pedestrian Improvement Scheme" iirc -- is proceeding at a pace that could be described as an average of one shovel of tarmac per day.

Very slow alright but not surprising.

Iwannahurl

Galway City Comhairle na nÓg, supported by Galway City Council, Youth Work Ireland Galway and An Taisce's Green Schools programme, have announced a competition for school-aged students between 12 and 18 called ‘Make Your Own Way- How do you travel?’

The competition aims to create a vision of what a car-free Galway would look like, and is seeking images of how young people could travel to and from school, by walking, cycling or using public transport.

Students can do this through various media, such as a short video project, photography or a poster/painting.



Links:

http://youthworkgalway.ie/?p=379
https://www.facebook.com/GalwayCityComhairleNanOg

snubbleste

"supported by Galway City Council"

Iwannahurl

snubbleste wrote: »

"supported by Galway City Council"

As a building or bridge is "supported" by the text in an Engineering textbook, perhaps.

The City Council also "supports" Access4All, the Barcelona Declaration, the Healthy Cities Forum etc.

But let's not get too technical or literal, eh?

snubbleste

How am I supposed to walk through this? Footpath closed to facilitate motorists.

snubbleste

snubbleste wrote: »

How am I supposed to walk through this? Footpath closed to facilitate motorists.

Amazing how man managed to sail the earth hundreds of years ago but some cant walk around a sign in 2015, you dont even have to walk on the road as there is a big cycle lane to walk on (which is really just an extension of the footpath anyway).

snubbleste

Camilo Tight Shrew wrote: »

Amazing how man managed to sail the earth hundreds of years ago but some cant walk around a sign in 2015.

It's a footway. Not a place to plonk an obstructive sign.

snubbleste

snubbleste wrote: »

It's a footway. Not a place to plonk an obstructive sign.

Its not obstructing anyone, there is enough room to drive a car between it and the edge of the road. Its being pedantic on a monumental level. If I were walking there I wouldn't even notice it I'd just walk around it without thinking.

It wouldn't even make the slightest difference to a wheelchair or person with a buggy.

pmasterson95

I'm just reminded of that scene from The Simpsons Movie where Cletus is dumbfounded by the anti-pollution wall. Its not that complicated bloody hell.

MarysCurtins

snubbleste wrote: »

How am I supposed to walk through this? Footpath closed to facilitate motorists.

where is the sign saying the footpath is closed? How does this footpath "closure" facilitate motorists exactly,Are they allowed to drive on it now that it's "closed"? Why do you single out motorists, what about other road users?

Camilo Tight Shrew wrote: »

Its being pedantic on a monumental level.

boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=86940576&postcount=382

Mrs OBumble

I find that a photograph on Twitter tagged with @GalwayCityCo and a pithy message about "watch out pedestrians on Headford Rd" tends to get things like this sorted the next day.

Even just a "Footpath closed, please walk in cycle lane. Cyclists beware pedestrians" sign would be a lot more polite than just plonking it there.

snubbleste

MarysCurtins wrote: »

where is the sign saying the footpath is closed? How does this footpath "closure" facilitate motorists exactly,Are they allowed to drive on it now that it's "closed"? Why do you single out motorists, what about other road users?

The footpath is physically blocked off to prevent access. The same way if the sign was put across a road - that road would be closed.
The sign is clearly aimed at motorists - data included "slow down" "belt up"

snubbleste

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I find that a photograph on Twitter tagged with @GalwayCityCo and a pithy message about "watch out pedestrians on Headford Rd" tends to get things like this sorted the next day.
Even just a "Footpath closed, please walk in cycle lane. Cyclists beware pedestrians" sign would be a lot more polite than just plonking it there.

wha? You mean boards is not good enough for those in CityHall?

pmasterson95

Snub how did you overcome the sign?

snubbleste

pmasterson95 wrote: »

Snub how did you overcome the sign?

I walked onto the cycle lane. I shouldn't have to do that though - neither should a cyclist have to put up with pedestrians weaving into the lane. The QB is a heavily used thoroughfare.
There was space off the path further on to stick the sign where t'would be just as effective.

zarquon

snubbleste wrote: »

I walked onto the cycle lane. I shouldn't have to do that though - neither should a cyclist have to put up with pedestrians weaving into the lane. The QB is a heavily used thoroughfare.
There was space off the path further on to stick the sign where t'would be just as effective.

The west bound cycle lane is empty most of the time. The majority of cyclists on the bridge (which tend to be students) use the other side of the road anyway (including the footpath) whether they are going east or west so you can thank the salmon cyclists for having a nice clear empty cycle lane path for you to walk around the sign.

It's a bit rich for someone to say that cyclists shouldn't have to put up with pedestrians weaving into the cycle lane with the amount of cycling on the footpath that occurs across the quincentennial bridge.

Mrs OBumble

snubbleste wrote: »

wha? You mean boards is not good enough for those in CityHall?

They appear to find Twitter more publically embarassing.

(And I have over 1000 followers, some quite high profile, so my tweets get a bit of attention.)

Crumbs868

pmasterson95 wrote: »

Snub how did you overcome the sign?

Like a robot bumped straight into the sign, completed a 360deg turn and had to take a 2hr detour of "unclosed" and "unbroken" footpaths. As a result the dinner was burned

dastardly00

Crumbs868 wrote: »

Like a robot bumped straight into the sign, completed a 360deg turn and had to take a 2hr detour of "unclosed" and "unbroken" footpaths. As a result the dinner was burned

If you did a 360 degree turn then you would have just kept bumping into the sign :P

Crumbs868

dastardly00 wrote: »

If you did a 360 degree turn then you would have just kept bumping into the sign :P

Maybe he is still there

pmasterson95

Crumbs868 wrote: »

Maybe he is still there

galwaycyclist

zarquon wrote: »

It's a bit rich for someone to say that cyclists shouldn't have to put up with pedestrians weaving into the cycle lane with the amount of cycling on the footpath that occurs across the quincentennial bridge.

Ah so are you telling us that the fact that some citizens break the law and behave in an inconsiderate manner means its ok for everybody else to do so as well?

Eye for an eye and all that?

snubbleste

snubbleste wrote: »

I shouldn't have to do that though - neither should a cyclist have to put up with pedestrians weaving into the lane. The QB is a heavily used thoroughfare.

In that case motorists shouldn't have to deal with pedestrians crossing the road.

This is essentially what you are saying re pedestrians walking for 3 or 4 yards in the cycle lane. Also its not as if cycle lanes are busy an odd bike passes every now and then people walking and cyclists will not need to interfere with each other whatsoever.

snubbleste

This is a Walking thread.
The point is that the authorities supposed to safeguard our safety view us as expendable - less important than vehicular traffic in this instance. Why refer to it is a footway at all, why not just call it a mixed-use bit of concrete?
If the footway is viewed by relevant authorities as a depository for such signs and assorted street furniture, it is clear that pedestrian navigation is something to pay lip service to.