Roadworks Littlepace and phibblesown

nomesc

Anyone know what the roadworks on the roundabout atMary Mother go Hope and at the roundabout on the phibblesown road at turn for Scoil Grainne and Setanta ar for?

Drop the Ball

Not sure about Littlepace, but in Phibblestown Fingal have taken ownership from the developers of the road leading to Scoil Setanta. They are upgrading the roundabouts, and adding ramps and a cycle lane. Hopefully they will add a pedestrian crossing too.


http://leovaradkar.ie/2013/02/e1-8m-for-cycle-pedestrian-bus-projects-in-d15-varadkar/
Ongar Cycle Network – €1 million
Construction of Cycle Network in Ongar-Castaheany area, comprising: Toucan crossing at west end of Old Hansfield Road; pedestrian/cyclist facilities along western side of Hansfield Road; access to Scoil Pobail Setanta/Phibblestown Centre from North West; Littlepace/Castaheany, Rosedale/Hazelbury, Manorfields and Blackwood/Ongar roundabouts to be redesigned to improve cyclist and pedestrian movement.

rolion

They are designing new paths for the cyclists ,building dedicated cycle path paid from my money so that "they" can share with cars the road side all the time...

Drop the Ball

rolion wrote: »

They are designing new paths for the cyclists ,building dedicated cycle path paid from my money so that "they" can share with cars the road side all the time...

I support my tax money being spent on these kind of initiatives in my community, I just hope that the new cycle lanes are fit for purpose for a change.

Larbre34

The works are as much about improving crossings and access to the new schools for people on foot as for bikes, the volume of kids going along those routes now is huge. I dont think many would object to that.

Arciphel

rolion wrote: »

They are designing new paths for the cyclists ,building dedicated cycle path paid from my money so that "they" can share with cars the road side all the time...

:rolleyes:

o2bearebel

I'd say the roundabout works on Littlepace road and associated footpath works is going on over 2 months now. Embarrassing how slow that is. I'm OK with helping pedestrians and cyclists with such a project - but can someone please tell me that our politicians and councillors had the brains to build in a road re-surfacing plan into this project also ? It's been a disgrace for over two years now.

rolion

o2bearebel wrote: »

I'd say the roundabout works on Littlepace road and associated footpath works is going on over 2 months now. Embarrassing how slow that is. I'm OK with helping pedestrians and cyclists with such a project - but can someone please tell me that our politicians and councillors had the brains to build in a road re-surfacing plan into this project also ? It's been a disgrace for over two years now.

I know your feelings but is more than a simple roundabout...Is more roads work there such as new paths, traffic lights, pipes & cables underground, pedestrian lights !
Looks nicer even if is smaller ...
And the cyclists...they will be still using the cars main road even with the new cycle paths, dont set yourself false hopes !

What still piss me off are the drivers that haven't learned to use the fcuking indicator at round about ! You can stay in the car and watch how the idiots are turning beside you and never bothered to indicate.. now, that they are forced to drive slower, you can reach their window and slap them over their face and even better, use the indicator on their behalf !!!
Ben brought down to their limited intelligence the other day with one specimen, driving a taxi and he started "fcuk off, mind your own f... business" as I watched him, driving slowly beside me right without indicating !!!

ongarboy

I've been away a while and have come back to see that new footpaths/cyclelanes and street lighting are being installed on the road up to the entrances to the schools in Ongar and on up to back of Dunnes. I'm glad to see this as it was not very pedestrian friendly and was dark at night.

Does this mean Fingal Co Co have taken over parts of Ongar and are carrying out the works then as I imagine the developer (whom I think is in receivership) wouldn't do this sort of thing?

nicnac

Delighted to see that they are upgrading our roads.
It took me over an hour to get out of little pace this morning with my son. He was 30 minutes late for school. I wonder why the council could not do this work in the evenings or on the weekend. I have never seen that road so jammed.

nomesc

I think it was the new zebra crossings that caused the traffic because once I got past them there was nothing. Road workers were only setting up. My daughter was late for school too. My normal 15-20min journey to Tyrrelstown for school took 45mins

Larbre34

Weekend works cost a fortune and are only done in emergencies or on heavy main routes. They wont do them at night because the same kids they left late for school would be kept awake by the machinery. Cant win really. Hopefully theyll get on with it and get out soon

nicnac

This is really worrying if it was the zebra crossing that caused the traffic jam. That means that this is a long term traffic jam and that my commute to work is no longer possible. I was not able to get to the creche this morning, or get the train in. I ended up having to get one of the neighbours to mind my youngest and walk 20 minutes to the bus. I was late by 2.5 hours for work

If it is the zebra crossing then I don't know what I will do.

Arciphel

Surely in the mornings if there are lollipop ladies on duty, the zebra crossings aren't needed? They should only be turned on outside of peak school times. Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case and they have made a balls of it. Fingal Co. Co. have a habit of adding a cloud to every silver lining. :rolleyes:

nicnac

Arciphel wrote: »

Surely in the mornings if there are lollipop ladies on duty, the zebra crossings aren't needed? They should only be turned on outside of peak school times. Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case and they have made a balls of it. Fingal Co. Co. have a habit of adding a cloud to every silver lining. :rolleyes:

There were two lollipop ladies there up until quite recently. They were doing an excellent job!
I don't have any issue with them upgrading the roads to make them safer for the children in the area. It is nice to see some investment in the road network.

This morning I thought the issue was with the roadworks, but if it is the new pedestrian crossing then there will be a traffic jam every morning to get out of the estate. An hour to get out of the estate in the morning from now on? :eek:

It means that getting the train to work, or using any of the facilities in Ongar, such as child minding is completely out from now on. The only route out of the estates such as Hunters Run in the morning is by foot, via Huntstown Wood!

Arciphel

So have they completely replaced the lollipop ladies with the pedestrian crossing then? if so, that's a complete joke.

nicnac

Not sure Arciphel. It would seem foolish to get rid of the lollipop ladies. Primary school children wouldn't understand the significance of a pedestrian crossing. They would still need adult supervision crossing the road. The roundabout is also quite tight, so any car going too fast could easily clip the toes off a kid standing at the edge.

ciaran76

I saw 2 lollypop ladies this afternoon there.

But there was also construction workers with their lollypops also.

It seems the construction lollypop lads aren't on all the time so this might be the reason today.

nicnac

So, the chances are the same tailbacks will happen in the morning too?

ciaran76

nicnac wrote: »

So, the chances are the same tailbacks will happen in the morning too?

Id say so if the construction lollypop men are there.

ciaran76

How was it this morning? I left early so missed all the fun.

nicnac

I left earlier too and there was no issue ; )

Arciphel

I left the house at half nine, didn't see any traffic problems. I noticed in the heavy rain the last few days that quite a big body of water collected there at the left side of the new roundabout outside the school, hope this is only a temporary blocked drain and not a problem with the drainage plan for the road...

ciaran76

Arciphel wrote: »

I left the house at half nine, didn't see any traffic problems. I noticed in the heavy rain the last few days that quite a big body of water collected there at the left side of the new roundabout outside the school, hope this is only a temporary blocked drain and not a problem with the drainage plan for the road...

Notice that myself the other morning.
Also on the N3 where the old tarmac meets the new sound tarmac its pooling there in the rightlane.

nicnac

i wonder what it is like at 8.20, which was my usual time.

Larbre34

Anyone know why the main roundabout at the stud farm end of Littlepace (Clonee N3 link) has been levelled?? The raised middle section had nice stone and a few conifers and plants (and illegal butchers adverts sometimes) but its all been removed and is just flat now.

The roads around are featureless enough without the Council vandalising the few nice bits. They neednt say its for safety, the visual sightline was perfectly acceptable because of the downhill approach from each direction. Pure unecessary and wasteful.

Arciphel

Yeah Larbre, I only noticed it the other day when driving through when the wife remarked on it, prior to that I hadn't noticed. I agree, they couldn't have done it just to try and improve visibility through the junction. The only thing I can guess is that they might be thinking about putting a light in the middle of that roundabout in the future?

rolion

What's the point of 24/7 dual flashing amber lights at the school roundabout from each direction, even when coming from inside the school yard ?

nicnac

rolion wrote: »

What's the point of 24/7 dual flashing amber lights at the school roundabout from each direction, even when coming from inside the school yard ?

I was thinking the same the other day rolion. Not to worry, when they get the first ESB bill they'll switch that off :rolleyes:

Arciphel

rolion wrote: »

What's the point of 24/7 dual flashing amber lights at the school roundabout from each direction, even when coming from inside the school yard ?

I believe they call that a pedestrian crossing.

nicnac

Arciphel wrote: »

I believe they call that a pedestrian crossing.

They don't need to leave it on all day though. It is at the entrance of the school and school isn't open 24/7

Larbre34

Its not just a school crossing, its a facility for everyone. As a zebra crossing it must have a beacon showing all the time, unlike a toucan push button traffic light crossing which just shows green when not in use.

Arciphel

nicnac wrote: »

They don't need to leave it on all day though. It is at the entrance of the school and school isn't open 24/7

They still have the lollipop ladies there during school opening and closing times. The pedestrian crossing is there for all the other pedestrians.

nomesc

Looks like they are adding another pedestrian crossing at the levelled roundabout in littlepace.

Arciphel

Oh sweet jaysus can you imagine the traffic delays in the evening from this. Right down at the roundabout?

nicnac

Is that the round about up near the big tall conifers, near the studd?

RichardoKhan

Yep, gonna be real interesting when they switch on the lights there. Suspect it will lead to very large traffic jams in the morning & evening. A red light there will stop all left turning traffic & back the traffic all the way to the lights at the exit of the N3. Which in turn will back up down the ramp & on to the N3 itself. Gotta lurve the aul Fingal road traffic planners they have a penchant for Traffic lights & mini roundabouts. Must be on special offer !!

rolion

nicnac wrote: »

I was thinking the same the other day rolion. Not to worry, when they get the first ESB bill they'll switch that off :rolleyes:

The problem is that WE will foot the bill...
Why have they setup some sort of solar panels to power-up the lights !?


I understand the rationale behind the setup, that junction now looks beautiful like in some "traffic management" catalogue BUT...there wasn't any fatalities for years, afaik and if the school is open for business 7AM to 6PM,why is it running at 2 in the morning ?
I guess that first ones to complain will be house owners beside the junction as the lights are quite bright at night and flashing in my bedroom is not an enjoyable option.

Also, one think I noticed but I could be wrong...people come at the edge of the pedestrian path and stop, looking confused to left and right side of the road.
Car drivers are not sure what to do and stop the car.
Pedestrians crosses, cars move.
I guess that at some point, pedestrians will think that they have right of crossing, drivers will think that pedestrians are waiting for car to pass and is only a matter of seconds until someone will be involved in a "right of way" type accident ! I hope i'm wrong...

Arciphel

Pedestrians have the right of way once they are on the crossing, that's the rules of the road. having said that, I drove past on Sunday and there was a christmas fair on in the school so lots of people around, and I saw a guy drive through the pedestrian crossing and almost knock a guy down. Personally, when I am using pedestrian lights I always assume the driver isn't going to stop, and wait until they slow and stop before I step out onto it. But in general the amount of drivers I have seen just blast through these kinds of pedestrian lights is appalling.

rolion

RichardoKhan wrote: »

Yep, gonna be real interesting when they switch on the lights there. Suspect it will lead to very large traffic jams in the morning & evening. A red light there will stop all left turning traffic & back the traffic all the way to the lights at the exit of the N3. Which in turn will back up down the ramp & on to the N3 itself. Gotta lurve the aul Fingal road traffic planners they have a penchant for Traffic lights & mini roundabouts. Must be on special offer !!

AND...be prepared with another "special offer" !
A new set of traffic lights is been built at the next round about going towards Ongar Village! To be honest, that is less problematic and I don't recall how many times I had to stop and let kids to cross the road !
But anyway ,I can say now that the traffic flow (for cars only) in estate, at peak hours, is completely fcuked !

ongarboy

rolion wrote: »

The problem is that WE will foot the bill...
Why have they setup some sort of solar panels to power-up the lights !?


I understand the rationale behind the setup, that junction now looks beautiful like in some "traffic management" catalogue BUT...there wasn't any fatalities for years, afaik and if the school is open for business 7AM to 6PM,why is it running at 2 in the morning ?
I guess that first ones to complain will be house owners beside the junction as the lights are quite bright at night and flashing in my bedroom is not an enjoyable option.

Also, one think I noticed but I could be wrong...people come at the edge of the pedestrian path and stop, looking confused to left and right side of the road.
Car drivers are not sure what to do and stop the car.
Pedestrians crosses, cars move.
I guess that at some point, pedestrians will think that they have right of crossing, drivers will think that pedestrians are waiting for car to pass and is only a matter of seconds until someone will be involved in a "right of way" type accident ! I hope i'm wrong...

These developments will benefit all pedestrians (many of whom are taxpayers) and who can often find it quite difficult to cross the busy junctions prior to the installation of these pedestrian friendly initiatives. They also use the footpaths at all times of the day and night (and not just school hours) hence the constant need for the flashing lights. The lights of cars and street lights are far more brightly lit then any pedestrian light so I doubt they'd penetrate your blinds/curtains. (let us know if they actually do - would be interested to hear!)

Secondly, most people (I would expect but this thread seems to prove otherwise) are familiar with the concept of pedestrian crossings with flashing amber beacons and know that pedestrians do have the right of way on such crossings. Drivers must yield to any pedestrian who is attempting to cross or is already crossing on them. If a driver does not understand that, they should not be driving in public roads(as I would be concerned about how many other basic rules of the road they were not aware of).

Finally, saying there was never a fatality in years is no justification for preventing continuous road safety improvements and eliminating potential hazards for all users.

PS - I'm a car driver but am also a pedestrian so I'm not anti any segment of road users.

nicnac

The zebra crossing isn't actually all that visible at night. You don't see it until you are maybe 5 meters away in the darkness.