Roadworks Trim - Kiltale

dixiefly

A bit of a nightmare the last few mornings on the road between Trim and Kiltale.

Does anyone know how long will they be going on for? The display just shows that roadworks are ahead. In Dublin the displays often indicate how long the roadworks will be continuing for.

PauloMN

dixiefly wrote: »

A bit of a nightmare the last few mornings on the road between Trim and Kiltale.

Does anyone know how long will they be going on for? The display just shows that roadworks are ahead. In Dublin the displays often indicate how long the roadworks will be continuing for.

My wife got caught in it on the way into Dublin yesterday morning at Kiltale, I got caught in it on the way home from Dublin at Scurlockstown.

No idea how long they are going on for though. There seems to be a mixture of works - the new bus stops and paths, and I think Eircom might also be laying new cable.

My only real gripe is the timing of the temporary lights. Obviously they should take rush hour into account, it's clear they don't. I was stopped at the red for ages yesterday with loads of traffic behind me, while there was nothing coming the other way.

pullandbang

For a country with no money it seems a complete waste of money to be building footpaths in the middle of the countryside where no one uses them! Surely they could spend that scarce money on something more useful!

chewed

pullandbang wrote: »

For a country with no money it seems a complete waste of money to be building footpaths in the middle of the countryside where no one uses them! Surely they could spend that scarce money on something more useful!

Totally agree! The roads are falling to pieces and they're building these stops. I think it's EU regulations that they have to have these stops and pull in sections for the buses. I can only hope the EU are also paying for the stops.

Colm R

chewed wrote: »

Totally agree! The roads are falling to pieces and they're building these stops. I think it's EU regulations that they have to have these stops and pull in sections for the buses. I can only hope the EU are also paying for the stops.

To be fair, the standard of the road from Dublin to Trim is quite good. And creating space for a bus to pull in and safe place for people to wait for a bus is a bad thing because.......?

Eircom are laying a fibre cable to connect Trim to the fibre network.

Inspector Dhar

Got caught there TWICE this morning. It may not be so frustrating if their temporary traffic lights were actually working correctly. It's just a free-for-all.

pullandbang

Colm R wrote: »

To be fair, the standard of the road from Dublin to Trim is quite good. And creating space for a bus to pull in and safe place for people to wait for a bus is a bad thing because.......?.

No one mentioned the state of the Trim-Dublin road. We know it's quite good even if it took the guts of twenty years to complete it.
I'm talking about the waste of money we don't have, (emphasis on "money we don't have")in creating useless footpaths in the middle of the countryside that no one will ever use. These stops have been perfectly safe for the past thirty years. In fact there was a handy parking space opposite Jack Quinns which is now gone and has been replaced by ugly concrete paths.

PauloMN

I think the spaces for the buses to pull in are definitely required. It's a busy road, with increasing traffic, and a main route into Dublin. Standing at the side of that road on a dark winters morning can't be considered safe, and it's much safer to have proper paths and somewhere for the bus to pull in. I'm surprised that someone already hasn't been killed given how some people drive on that road.

As for the space at Jack Quinns, I'm open to correction here but I guess that was never intended to be a car park. It looks to me like it was designed for the bus to pull in but then everyone decided to park there, forcing the buses to stop on the road again.

Colm R

pullandbang wrote: »

No one mentioned the state of the Trim-Dublin road. We know it's quite good even if it took the guts of twenty years to complete it.
I'm talking about the waste of money we don't have, (emphasis on "money we don't have")in creating useless footpaths in the middle of the countryside that no one will ever use. These stops have been perfectly safe for the past thirty years. In fact there was a handy parking space opposite Jack Quinns which is now gone and has been replaced by ugly concrete paths.

Are you a driver or a bus user?

I'm a driver, but this morning I saw 5 people waiting at one of the new bus stops further along the route. These people were waiting on a dry concrete footpath about 5 or 6 meters back from the road safely. Before the work was done, they would have been waiting either on wet grass, or on the very edge of the road.

Meath Co. Council have done a lot of work on rural bus stops over the past number of years. Most notably on the old N3. Meath, due to its location is a commuting county.

On the money side, I would assume Meath Co. Council paid for this work. I understand that all counties received funding, probably to a lesser extent than before - but are you suggesting the council should bank this money rather than spend it?


As for the car spaces near the pub, fair enough. It does raise an interesting point - these are rural bus stops so most likely the users have access to a car, but probably do not have access to a parking space in Dublin. It would by nice if little car parks were built near or beside these stops.

pullandbang

Colm R wrote: »

Are you a driver or a bus user?

I'm a driver and have been driving that road since 1983

Colm R wrote: »

I'm a driver, but this morning I saw 5 people waiting at one of the new bus stops further along the route. These people were waiting on a dry concrete footpath about 5 or 6 meters back from the road safely. Before the work was done, they would have been waiting either on wet grass, or on the very edge of the road.

I'm sure it was nice for them to be standing on fresh concrete, but the point I'm making is that at this point in time the country is broke. In case you hadn't noticed we are having to pay massive extra taxes to pay back the bankers/gamblers/developers debts that were not our doing. Our politicians are telling us on a daily basis that we are broke so we have NO money!
The commuters have been standing on verges, road edges, grass banks for donkeys years and no one was ever killed. They could stand for a few more years or at least until the country gets back on it's feet.

Colm R wrote: »

On the money side, I would assume Meath Co. Council paid for this work. I understand that all counties received funding, probably to a lesser extent than before - but are you suggesting the council should bank this money rather than spend it?

No I'm not suggesting they bank it but if they are going to spend money, do it wisely and spend it on more urgent projects like the appalling condition of some of our rural roads. If they want to put in hard standing for commuters to wait for the bus, then surely 5 people don't need a hundred yards of footpath? What's wrong with a little slab at the bus stop and then spend the rest of the money repairing the rural roads.

Colm R wrote: »

It would by nice if little car parks were built near or beside these stops.

....or spend the money putting useful car parks beside the bus stops, charge a nominal all day parking fee and actually generate some small bit of revenue.

chewed

pullandbang wrote: »

....or spend the money putting useful car parks beside the bus stops, charge a nominal all day parking fee and actually generate some small bit of revenue.

#

I agree on all your points except the last one! I don't agree that commuters should have to pay to park to get a bus (which we're already paying through the nose to use), because we can't afford the petrol to drive. The main reason why Scurloughstown bus stop was packed with cars before was because people were trying to avoid the car park fees in Trim. I believe this is €3 per day! This is a complete rip off, especially when you add it to your bus fares each day.

pullandbang

chewed wrote: »

I believe this is €3 per day! This is a complete rip off, especially when you add it to your bus fares each day.

TBH €3 for all day parking in a town is not too bad. However I was thinking more along the lines of €1 - €1.50 or maybe a weekly ticket for a fiver but only on the park n ride rural stops - not the ones in town. For example at Jack Quinns, if you had even 20 cars a week @ €5 per car, that's €100 a week income which adds up over the year and would pay for the upkeep of the car park.

chewed

€3 per day is not bad if you're parking there every now and again, but if you're using it to get a bus every day, then this adds up (€60 per month, €700 per year!!!!) and on top of a bus ticket.