The new trafic mess on the Quay.

Wanderer78

Burning Bridges wrote: »

I work in the emergency services.

I have had to deal with several fatalities as a result of RTCs along the Quays.

are the changes on the quays having a serious negative affect on you guys in doing your job?

7upfree

Road-Hog wrote: »

If someone died in an ambulance en route to the hospital then it would be all over the media......surely the ambulance driver assesses the severity of the case on route to the hospital and decides on the quickest way to get there based on a number of factors eg picking up a severely injured person from a road traffic accident on the M9 north of knocktopher what route would make sense? Via the new bridge and ring road surely the cost of the toll would hardly result him opting to go along the quays?

It's not the cost. It's the time. Particularly if coming from the ferry bank direction.

Cabaal

aziz wrote: »

Would there not be some potential to build a emergency lane up thru the car parks.

This isn't the first time an emergency services lane has been suggested, I'm curious about this. Is there any city in the world that has a purpose built lane that is ONLY for emergency services?

I'm not aware of any myself, but if people are demanding that one be constructed in Waterford I'm guessing these people know several citys where it is a thing?

They don't appear to be a thing in new york as this video just shows dumb drivers who make no attempt to move, they're not a thing in any USA, UK, Belgium, German or French city I've been in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3hOBeQvc3M

What you're demanding is to have several valuable meters of the quays consigned to a lane that can only be used by emergency services. Nothing else. This idea will never fly.

If you're proposing some sort of shortcut down through the car parks that emergency services can use then this seems to ignore that the car parks are privately owned and are not joined,

In addition it also ignores the fact that car parks have a specific layout to maximize car spaces but that means that they'd be no straight run down through one (this would waste time).

Also joining privately owned carparks would create the issue of motorists from one carpark driving into another, how do you propose to stop this and who pays for it?

Cabaal

7upfree wrote: »

Bill the motorist. Not the Council who caused it in the first place.

If the motorist is in the way and you believe the priority of the emergency services is to save lives then nudging a car out of the way that either won't move or is illegally parked causing an obstruction is fair game imho. Maybe I just see the persons life as more important then a slow nudge.

In relation to parked cars, see this video for dealing with parked cars (though ironically it doesn't look like the BMW was illegally parked):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bqkDjVyu80

Ok fair enough if you have concerns about a car with somebody in it. But nudging a car that is illegally parked is perfectly reasonable, then bill the motorist for any damage and for illegally parking.

If a car won't move out of the way then there needs to be seriously big fines for such an idiot motorist. Otherwise we end up with situations like this on the quays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nniD_KGkYLI

All the room in the world and all it takes is a idiot driver, the fire brigade was only able to move after the red van moved forward.

Burning Bridges

Wanderer78 wrote: »

are the changes on the quays having a serious negative affect on you guys in doing your job?

Don't drive the "busses" , the ambos do say it holds them up, but the distance is short as you have bus lane for most of the way there is only 200mt where it is down to single lane plus cycle lane.

O Riain

Burning Bridges wrote: »

Don't drive the "busses" , the ambos do say it holds them up, but the distance is short as you have bus lane for most of the way there is only 200mt where it is down to single lane plus cycle lane.

So you would say that while it does hold you up a bit, it is not the major catastrophic issue that everyone in the city makes it out to be?

Wanderer78

Burning Bridges wrote: »

Don't drive the "busses" , the ambos do say it holds them up, but the distance is short as you have bus lane for most of the way there is only 200mt where it is down to single lane plus cycle lane.

doesnt sound too bad then but it must annoy you guys. i think the changes on the quays have been great but im just a little concerned about access for emergency vehicles. i know somebody that was in an emergency situation a few weeks ago. ambulance was stuck in traffic trying to get to them but this was not on the quays. not a nice situation for somebody to be in.

dougal

I see that the 5 axle restriction signs are now unveiled.
Plus the signs for the Bus lane operating hours 7:30-19:30

Still no-one paying any heed to the bus lane ones - will these be policed I wonder?

Wanderer78

dougal wrote: »

I see that the 5 axle restriction signs are now unveiled.
Plus the signs for the Bus lane operating hours 7:30-19:30

Still no-one paying any heed to the bus lane ones - will these be policed I wonder?

knew that ban was on the way long time ago. feel sorry for the hauliers and truck drivers but its probably the best thing for the town. we should never forget this tragedy:

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/child-2-in-pram-killed-after-being-hit-by-truck-on-way-to-montessori-30756483.html

jasus waterford will never accept these changes will we?

JohnC.

dougal wrote: »

Still no-one paying any heed to the bus lane ones - will these be policed I wonder?

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but there was a motorbike cop parked by the bus lane around Dooleys who looked like he was keeping an eye out yesterday. I saw the car behind me was going to pull into that lane but changed his mind too.

wmpdd3

dougal wrote: »

I see that the 5 axle restriction signs are now unveiled.
Plus the signs for the Bus lane operating hours 7:30-19:30

Still no-one paying any heed to the bus lane ones - will these be policed I wonder?

Friends of mine have all had their jobs moved from 9 to 2 pm to 7 to 12 am, because deliveries have been moved due to the truck ban.

Wanderer78

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Friends of mine have all had their jobs moved from 9 to 2 pm to 7 to 12 am, because deliveries have been moved due to the truck ban.

they get shift allowance for that or is it a case of get over it?

this will be a headache for delivery companies

7upfree

Cabaal wrote: »

What you're demanding is to have several valuable meters of the quays consigned to a lane that can only be used by emergency services. Nothing else. This idea will never fly.

Yeah you're probably right. Sure a few trees are far more valuable than any life. Sweet Jesus.:rolleyes:

Chip Whitley

7upfree wrote: »

Yeah you're probably right. Sure a few trees are far more valuable than any life. Sweet Jesus.:rolleyes:

That's not what he said. he said the idea would never get past a suggestion phase and he's right.

Burning Bridges

7upfree wrote: »

Yeah you're probably right. Sure a few trees are far more valuable than any life. Sweet Jesus.:rolleyes:

Should they knock down some houses along the Dunmore road, especially the bit with the bollards to stop drives pulling into the footpath?

danjo-xx

I think the truck restrictions are a 3 month trial.

Burning Bridges

cycled along the quay this morning, 4 HGVs as well as usual roadstone trucks.

allthedoyles

The quay was designed with pedestrians in mind , and its obvious that trucks are not wanted , and it looks like the authorities expect shoppers to park in far-away car parks and walk to the centres .

Traffic lights at the bus station , and came across the bridge yesterday evening along the quay and cars were backed up to near the bridge .

I could not see a pedestrian in sight , and the lights were red .

Why stop the traffic when there are no pedestrians .- A zebra crossing with flashing amber light would to same job .

TheQuietFella

allthedoyles wrote: »

Why stop the traffic when there are no pedestrians .- A zebra crossing with flashing amber light would to same job .

A fine idea in theory!

eagerv

Just been through Waterford a few times over night and early this morning.

Many of the lights go through the whole cycle, even when there are no people around to press the pedestrian button. Surely a bit of repairing of the existing lights and road sensors would speed up the traffic flow.

Otherwise I thought the quays looked very well, a hundred percent better than before. And feel a lot safer. I remember well the 4 lane speedway previously, when usually taxis would overtake around the pedestrian crossing by the bus station, only to be one car ahead by the time you got to the Tower.

wellboytoo

Burning Bridges wrote: »

cycled along the quay this morning, 4 HGVs as well as usual roadstone trucks.

It's a five axle ban, roadstone are three to four axle, essentially rigid trucks can use it Artics can't.

Max Powers

7upfree wrote: »

Yeah you're probably right. Sure a few trees are far more valuable than any life. Sweet Jesus.:rolleyes:

Lets try and keep this thread with a passing semblance of common sense, that crazy idea wont fly as one said for numerous reasons plus the ambulance driver said the quays are not a big deal for drivers...of course, people on here who saw an ambulance delayed for a few seconds know more than the drivers themselves. Even after the ambulance driver had said its not a big issue, people persist the non-sensical complaints, its been a feature of this thread from day one, complaints about number of new lights, poles etc etc.

hardybuck

This thread is going in circles.

I think my position will remain as is, and most people will be the same regardless of how they feel about it.

I'll always be uphappy about the fact that measures have been taken to actively slow down my journey to my home. There's no getting away from that, it's inconvenienced thousands of people. There needed to be a river crossing joining the Dunmore Road area with the Kilkenny/Wexford area 25 or 30 years ago, it'll never happen now.

Getting away from myself, the job took an inordinate time to complete. I know contractors went out of business etc., but it took years to do work that should have taken a couple of months.

I'd love to see the final cost for the job if anyone has that. It's also totally slapdash - maybe the trees will eventually mature and look great, but the surface isn't up to scratch at all.

Despite all this, I hope the Council continue to attempt to make the city look more visually attractive. Waterford has a fairly poor image nationwide currently, and it's got a reputation now for being dead and lifeless. I am heartened by comments made by a number of people from around the country commenting on how nice the Viking Triangle is.

Max Powers

hardybuck wrote: »

This thread is going in circles.

I think my position will remain as is, and most people will be the same regardless of how they feel about it.

I'll always be uphappy about the fact that measures have been taken to actively slow down my journey to my home. There's no getting away from that, it's inconvenienced thousands of people. There needed to be a river crossing joining the Dunmore Road area with the Kilkenny/Wexford area 25 or 30 years ago, it'll never happen now.

Getting away from myself, the job took an inordinate time to complete. I know contractors went out of business etc., but it took years to do work that should have taken a couple of months.

I'd love to see the final cost for the job if anyone has that. It's also totally slapdash - maybe the trees will eventually mature and look great, but the surface isn't up to scratch at all.

Despite all this, I hope the Council continue to attempt to make the city look more visually attractive. Waterford has a fairly poor image nationwide currently, and it's got a reputation now for being dead and lifeless. I am heartened by comments made by a number of people from around the country commenting on how nice the Viking Triangle is.

you prob right certainly on the unemployment front, it has improved a bit, new shops opening and other stuff on the horizon but I also think it is to large extent unjustified, plenty to do around. i think the biggest complainers about Waterford are Waterford people who more than likely have never lived outside of Waterford and have nothing to compare it to. A weekend in Galway, KK or whatever doesnt really count for making quality of life comparisons. From experience, the biggest complainers are the ones who never do anything different in Waterford, never go to see bands, shows, theatre, art stuff, cinema, sea, mountains etc etc, happy to sit on their ar$e in their local (outside of the city centre) and whinge. Gone off the quays topic, apologies.

hardybuck

Max Powers wrote: »

you prob right certainly on the unemployment front, it has improved a bit, new shops opening and other stuff on the horizon but I also think it is to large extent unjustified, plenty to do around. i think the biggest complainers about Waterford are Waterford people who more than likely have never lived outside of Waterford and have nothing to compare it to. A weekend in Galway, KK or whatever doesnt really count for making quality of life comparisons. From experience, the biggest complainers are the ones who never do anything different in Waterford, never go to see bands, shows, theatre, art stuff, cinema, sea, mountains etc etc, happy to sit on their ar$e in their local (outside of the city centre) and whinge. Gone off the quays topic, apologies.

In the last month I've happened to speak to four different people from Cork, Limerick, New York and Toronto who all ended up spending periods from 3 months to a year in Waterford with their work. Each of them were really surprised about how dead things were, in the city centre particularly, during the week and in the evenings.

Kilkenny on the other hand is doing great business. Good shops, both boutique and chain, pubs doing roaring trade. The Paddy Wagon tours and the like stop there instead of coming 45 mins further down the road.

I think we need to take this feedback on board. Some of it has been circumstances beyond our control - the generation in their 20s/early 30s more or less had to go elsewhere, so a lot of life went out of the place as a result. But the efforts to develop the Apple Market area are a good idea.

katydid

hardybuck wrote: »

But the efforts to develop the Apple Market area are a good idea.

This mad notion of overroofing it, that's going to cost millions? While businesses close down due to the exhorbitant rates, and people avoid the city centre because of expensive parking?

Not much joined up thinking there.

hardybuck

katydid wrote: »

This mad notion of overroofing it, that's going to cost millions? While businesses close down due to the exhorbitant rates, and people avoid the city centre because of expensive parking?

Not much joined up thinking there.

I'm not 100% convinced about the roofing element yet, but I'm generally positive about it. It would be interesting to see further detail on it.

Parking is another issue. Buses are another - the service isn't really good enough to be able to leave the car at home.

Cabaal

7upfree wrote: »

Yeah you're probably right. Sure a few trees are far more valuable than any life. Sweet Jesus.:rolleyes:

You should take up a consultancy job for the HSE, as you seem to know more about what the issues are then the actual drivers who drive the roads you're complaining about so much.

First thing first on your plan, level half the Dunmore road so you can put in an emergency services only lane. Live are more important then trees and houses after all.
:rolleyes:

wmpdd3

Isnt it very telling that the ambulance doesnt use the ring road when you think about it.

I have no idea if the driver has the power to make the call to use it or weather they follow a route to the emergency. I'm presuming they dont pay, so it must just not be time saving.

7upfree

Cabaal wrote: »

You should take up a consultancy job for the HSE, as you seem to know more about what the issues are then the actual drivers who drive the roads you're complaining about so much.

Oh there is so much irony in that post. Especially coming from YOU!

Cabaal wrote: »

First thing first on your plan, level half the Dunmore road so you can put in an emergency services only lane. Live are more important then trees and houses after all.
:rolleyes:

Little geography lesson dear. We're discussing the Quay. Have a look at the thread title. Or are we a little confused? Again?:)