N20 missed opportunity

corktina

i'm sad to see that the road layout at Rathduff is being relaid in it's original form.
This was a chance to install a roundabout at this dangerous junction . What a shame this was not done. Hopefully they will include some measure of traffic calming and improve the woeful speed limit signs which many people don't see as they are so small and have no islands etc associated with them

_Kaiser_

I hate roundabouts - I'd much rather a proper signalled junction in every case with proper timing settings for that particular intersection

Irish people can't use roundabouts, don't give way, don't signal (or signal incorrectly) and most of them are so badly overgrown or obscured by those rectangular directional signs that you can't see what's coming.

veryangryman

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I hate roundabouts - I'd much rather a proper signalled junction in every case with proper timing settings for that particular intersection
Irish people can't use roundabouts, don't give way, don't signal (or signal incorrectly) and most of them are so badly overgrown or obscured by those rectangular directional signs that you can't see what's coming.

Traffic lights on an inter urban? You have to be joking. Bad enough they messed galway up recently

GerardKeating

veryangryman wrote: »

Traffic lights on an inter urban? You have to be joking. Bad enough they messed galway up recently

Actually the new junctions are a vast improvement on the roundabouts they replaced.

veryangryman

GerardKeating wrote: »

veryangryman wrote: »

Traffic lights on an inter urban? You have to be joking. Bad enough they messed galway up recently

Actually the new junctions are a vast improvement on the roundabouts they replaced.

Not in my experience but ill agree to disagree

Victor

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I hate roundabouts - I'd much rather a proper signalled junction in every case with proper timing settings for that particular intersection

On a road with a 100km/h speed limit?

niloc1951

Victor wrote: »

On a road with a 100km/h speed limit?

It's 60km/h through Rathduff

corktina

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I hate roundabouts - I'd much rather a proper signalled junction in every case with proper timing settings for that particular intersection

Irish people can't use roundabouts, don't give way, don't signal (or signal incorrectly) and most of them are so badly overgrown or obscured by those rectangular directional signs that you can't see what's coming.

It's a safety issue. I wouldn't like to be a local trying to pull out across that road at busy times!

AugustusMinimus

Roudabouts are should be used as much possible as they are self regulating.

However, if traffic levels get too high, the self regulating effect wears off and the junction becomes mainline dominant.

I seriously doubt that traffic on this route has hit this level and so a roundabout is the clear option to have been taken. As well as self regulating traffic, the chance of T bone accidents with a roundabout is severely reduced.

antoobrien

GerardKeating wrote: »

Actually the new junctions are a vast improvement on the roundabouts they replaced.

They're terrible, I haven't hit one green light at Briarhill since they put the lights on it last December - not matter what direction I'm travelling I'm waiting for at least 1 minute (more often up to 3). They're also badly marked for right turns - it's too easy to turn into oncoming traffic when turning right (turning right from the DC to the Monivea rd outbound is particularly bad for this and scares me more than anything I've ever done in a car or on a bike) - something I have seen on numerous occasions if there isn't a car in the rightmost lane (going to town on the DC).

dee2dee

Locals ‘run gauntlet of death’ on road

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/locals-run-gauntlet-of-death-on-road-208669.html

charlemont

dee2dee wrote: »

Locals ‘run gauntlet of death’ on road

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/locals-run-gauntlet-of-death-on-road-208669.html

Its the Irish way. :rolleyes:

TBi

I'd prefer a roundabout than lights, although not if it will turn out like in Waterford with roundabout every 5k!

Why didn't they just put a flyover for local traffic? Much safer for locals and then can keep speed up for main road traffic?

More expensive but less time lost, less fuel/brakes wasted speeding up and slowing down, and safer road.

corktina

you don't need traffic lights or a flyover, neither is in in a city like in Waterford. For not much more than they are spending , a simple roundabout could have been installed, slowing traffic and allowing local traffic a better and safer chance to access the road.

AugustusMinimus

corktina wrote: »

you don't need traffic lights or a flyover, neither is in in a city like in Waterford. For not much more than they are spending , a simple roundabout could have been installed, slowing traffic and allowing local traffic a better and safer chance to access the road.

This really isn't rocket science at all is it.

To make it worse, having traffic lights will bunch up traffic on the N20, possibly making it less safe than it already is.

Someone told me that Cork Co Co have an excess of traffic lights that they are trying to use. Decisions like this, and removing both the roundabouts outside St Finbarr's GAA Club and the one outside the Silver Key in Blackrock only lends credence to this notion.

Victor

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

Someone told me that Cork Co Co have an excess of traffic lights that they are trying to use.

Urban legend. How come the new ones being put up are new models?

The only reason there are more traffic lights is that there are more cars.

Irish and Proud

corktina wrote: »

you don't need traffic lights or a flyover, neither is in in a city like in Waterford. For not much more than they are spending , a simple roundabout could have been installed, slowing traffic and allowing local traffic a better and safer chance to access the road.

I'd rather the flyover - a roundabout would not be suitable for pedestrians or cyclists - grade separation would eliminate conflict between long distance traffic and locals going about their business - whether they do so by car, bike or foot. The flyover would satisfy smarter travel objectives as well as motoring needs. I may be wrong, but I'm of the impression that there are enough local residents to justify such a measure. Bear in mind that the M20 will not be built for a very long time - motorways such as the M17/M18, M11, M6 GCOB will probably be built before then - the first of these hasn't even gone to construction yet - I'd say you'd be talking about 2020 at the very earliest for the M20.

Regards!

AugustusMinimus

Victor wrote: »

Urban legend. How come the new ones being put up are new models?

The only reason there are more traffic lights is that there are more cars.

Well, the engineers did quite well with the one outside of St Finbarr's GAA Club. They turned on the lights and it caused traffic chaos. They altered the sequence and still traffic chaos.

They then turned all the lights onto flashing amber - less chaos. Eventually they realtered the junction and put the roundabout back. Total cost to do nothing for the taxpayer, well over €300,000. :eek:


No one has any idea why they have put traffic lights where there was a roundabout at the Silver Key. There was literally no traffic congestion there at all and there was pelican crossing to allow for paedestrians. This solution allowed basically no stopping for either cars on people at the junction (save a car stopping for a person on a crossing. Since the lights went in, there's traffic queueing everywhere. It's a nightmare.

lucernarian

Victor wrote: »

Urban legend. How come the new ones being put up are new models?

The only reason there are more traffic lights is that there are more cars.

I'd like to add, that post discounts the possibility of incompetence or poor decision making:)

RikkFlair

Irish and Proud wrote: »

I'd say you'd be talking about 2020 at the very earliest for the M20.

Regards!

Leo Varadkar said 2023 at the earliest there a while back

corktina

Irish and Proud wrote: »

I'd rather the flyover - a roundabout would not be suitable for pedestrians or cyclists - grade separation would eliminate conflict between long distance traffic and locals going about their business - whether they do so by car, bike or foot. The flyover would satisfy smarter travel objectives as well as motoring needs. I may be wrong, but I'm of the impression that there are enough local residents to justify such a measure. Bear in mind that the M20 will not be built for a very long time - motorways such as the M17/M18, M11, M6 GCOB will probably be built before then - the first of these hasn't even gone to construction yet - I'd say you'd be talking about 2020 at the very earliest for the M20.

Regards!

it's in the middle of nowhere, you don't need a flyover!

TBi

corktina wrote: »

it's in the middle of nowhere, you don't need a flyover!

There are loads of flyovers on small roads in the middle of nowhere over the motorway.

Might be in the middle of nowhere but it slows down traffic on a major road between the second and third largest cities in Ireland. There should be a motorway but the least we could expect is a good road that bypasses the small towns on the way.

corktina

1. It's not a Motorway (wish it was)
2. The idea is exactly to slow down the traffic to let locals on and across it
3. It will not be before 2020 that a Motorway is even considered on this route.
4. It's a dot on the map, not a small town.
5. Did you notice we have NO MONEY and yet CCC have wasted €2million on a few kerbs and tarmac that doesn't solve the problem at this junction.

TBi

Got stuck in Rathduff for about 30 mins yesterday at 5.30. You'd think they'd stop working before 5 to allow proper traffic flow for people going home after work!

corktina

there are Rat runs,

heading south, turn left after the 2+1 sections on the new road built for BottleHill dump. AFter about 2 miles turn right signed Whitechurch, follow that all the way past Whitechurch, turn right at the crossroads you hit, and it brings you out on the old N20....turn left and immediately right and it beings you out on the new N20 at the Commons Inn.

If you are heading north for MAllow or points west turn left after the picnic area and follow your nose to Bweeng...turn right there for Mallow or left then 2nd right for Lombardstown, Kanturk and the N72...