Forster St - when is a clearway not a clearway?

buzz11

Clearway: a road marked where you are not allowed to stop.

But doesn't really apply in Forster St, where the city tourbus picks starts it tour every hour....

(do traffic wardens ever pass this way....)

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BhoscaCapall

Jaysus I'd love a Subway right now

12 element

What about the kirwan roundabout, the only roundabout I've ever seen where people seem to think its okay to use the left hand lane when turning right! (Headford rd to Bothar na Dtreabh)

biko

No offence but let's stick with a single traffic issue here before thread derails.

BhoscaCapall

No offence taken.

The traffic on that stretch of road does be mad.

Iwannahurl

It does be indeed.

A clearway is not a clearway when (a) it's an Irish clearway and perhaps especially (b) it's a Galway City clearway.

Parking control in Galway City works at a snail's pace and, according to the Council's own figures, is significantly focused on vehicles which may actually be parked in legal spaces. Half of all 'parking' fines are for Motor Tax and expired parking tickets, and much of this enforcement activity is carried out in municipal car parks, perhaps for convenience.

A lenient approach to certain offences (eg parking on double yellow lines) is taken in some streets, and Forster Street may be one such location.

Finally, the number of Traffic/Community Wardens has reduced in recent times (eg because of retirement) and so the overall level of enforcement has decreased.

If you are concerned about the abuse of clearways, or if it is directly affecting you, my suggestion is to phone the Council's Traffic department repeatedly until they take notice. Try Mill Street Garda Station also. They're not much bothered about obstruction of pedestrians, I find, but they may be more inclined to deal with obstructions to traffic.



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Fey!

@ Iwannahurl ~ the wardens have taken on a couple of new people recently.

The city council will do nothing about clearways; we have one outside our business, and it is constantly full of vans. This means that anyone with a business there can't be seen by potential customers, and therefore can't do business. The stretch of road is a loading bay from 6am to 1pm, a clearway from 1pm to 6pm, and undesignated at all other times.

The warden's manager, Marcus Keane, refuses to respond to emails, phone calls, or visits to city hall (every time you go to city hall he is conveniently "on leave").

The last time I went to city hall looking for him I was told by the lady on reception I spoke to that she was the customer service manager and that she would make sure he contacted me that day (this was after I explained to her that I had sent a letter in to them in November 2011, followed up by 2 more letters, numerous phone calls, and that I was on my 4th visit to city hall). That was in March, and I'm still waiting for a call.

@ OP ~ there are wardens on Forster Street from 4pm to 7pm each day to monitor the bus lane on the other side of the street. If you're down there, perhaps you could mention it to them. MOST (there is at least one exception to this) of the community wardens (grey uniforms) do their best to accomodate everyone, and will genuinely try to sort out any complaints made to them directly. They are very approachable and polite, too (at least in my experience).

Iwannahurl

Thanks for that. I wasn't aware the Council had employed new Wardens.

In my experience the Community Wardens (who also have a traffic/parking function) are much more efficient, professional and approachable than the Traffic Wardens.

Your experience of intransigence and lack of accountability in Galway City Council is depressingly familiar.

We're supposed to be in the era of public service reform, yet the Cryptocracy in City Hall now seems to be more entrenched than ever.

I have been told that the Council now has about 100 fewer staff than before the cutbacks, and I'm wondering whether that is leading them to stage some sort of 'silent protest', whereby citizens and businesses are left in the lurch in order for them to make some point about being over-stretched.

The deliberate lack of response is the worst I've ever encountered, in a local authority that already had an abysmal record in terms of customer service.

snubbleste

Wardens are very proactive about parking in that area particularly outside the coach station and the bus lane. I presume they are turning a blind eye towards the city tour buses..tourism trumps illegal parking?

Fey! you should consider contacting Corporate Services regarding the Traffic section if that's the response you get. http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/CorporateServices/CustomerService/

swiftman

there is a bus eireann bus stop next to that sign also

pleasant Co.

swiftman wrote: »

there is a bus eireann bus stop next to that sign also

For bus eireann buses to allow passengers alight and board i'd imagine, right? :pac:

buzz11

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Your experience of intransigence and lack of accountability in Galway City Council is depressingly familiar.

We're supposed to be in the era of public service reform, yet the Cryptocracy in City Hall now seems to be more entrenched than ever.

I have been told that the Council now has about 100 fewer staff than before the cutbacks, and I'm wondering whether that is leading them to stage some sort of 'silent protest', whereby citizens and businesses are left in the lurch in order for them to make some point about being over-stretched.

The deliberate lack of response is the worst I've ever encountered, in a local authority that already had an abysmal record in terms of customer service.

I suspect you are spot on with this observation and its a very short sighted approach they appear to be adopting.

The council has such a bad reputation, they should be working to repair it, not digging in further.

Iwannahurl

My guess is that they don't care.

Some of the brassiest necks and thickest skins are to be found around College Road. No disrepect intended towards the local residents!

Sponge Bob

The ad hoc taxi rank tailing back around Garveys from Eyre Square is another pain in the hole. Just wait till race week.

Galwayps

Afaik the buses are allowed to pick up there as they were using that before it got the sign.For about a 6 week period you have 3 open top buses (healy,lally,naughton) using that stop as opposed to two other times. I am not sure if Burke bus still stop there if it they were moved
I saw one of the buses being moved on by gardai during the volvo ocean race during a particularly busy evening.

Mrs OBumble

Galwayps wrote: »

Afaik the buses are allowed to pick up there as they were using that before it got the sign.For about a 6 week period you have 3 open top buses (healy,lally,naughton) using that stop as opposed to two other times. I am not sure if Burke bus still stop there if it they were moved.

Burkes bus stop has moved twice since it was there, first to Bothar What's-it up the road, and now to Eyre Square.

However, as someone said, the tour buses operate from there, and there's a bus-stop sign. Even tour buses have to be licensed to operate. The licence requires garda approval of their bus stops. Therefore I'm pretty sure that the people to be asking about this situation are AGS, rather than GCC. And the question is "why have you approved a bus stop on a clearway?" - and I suspect the answer is "where else can we put it near the tourist office?"

I'd a guess that the lads in the council are as frustrated as the rest of us about this. And probably mad with their colleagues in Planning(*) who approved both a tourist office on that corner with nowhere for tour buses outside, and a bus-station on the other side of the road with no taxi rank.

(*) or the councillors who overturned the planner's recommendations. (I have no idea which is was, either case is possible.)