Local Authorities - Get the finger out!

phelant

So I am dropping someone over to the races when I have come across this on the way in.

Now I work in Parkmore West so this is not the first time I have had to drive through this flood but you would think it could have been sorted by now. This is going on for years. And you would think that during this very important economic event that local authorities would be doing all they could to make sure punters get to and from the races safely and speedily.

BTW, don't bother saying 'unusual weather condition, downpour etc'., this was a few heavy showers. I drove home and back across the city numerous times and no where else did I have to risk damage to my car to get to my destination.

So, Galway City/County Councils, quit the messing and sort this problem out.



And yes, there are two cars on the wrong side of the road, on the footpath, trying to navigate through the deep water.

snubbleste

http://fixyourstreet.ie/reports/view/12827/

gordongekko

Its worse on the Seamus quirke road. They spent a fortune on drainage works on one side of the road and fair play the water no longer gathers there , it has now moved to the other side of the road making it impossible to walk on the footpath near snipe lawn without getting soaked by a passing car.

phelant

snubbleste wrote: »

http://fixyourstreet.ie/reports/view/12827/

Did that yesterday.

snubbleste

phelant wrote: »

Did that yesterday.

galah

they had a drainage service out early that morning, around 7 am, I guess to counteract the usual issues - by the time I went home around half 3, it was Parkmore Lakes once more...

Bloody nightmare. But at least this time they put 'Road flooded' sign up...:rolleyes:

Shakti

17mms of rain falling in three hours is a bit more than "this was a few heavy showers", data here..http://weather.nuigalway.ie/

what is worrying is that people continued to drive in conditions which are dangerous to them their passengers and their vehicle,

Iwannahurl

snubbleste wrote: »

http://fixyourstreet.ie/reports/view/12827/

Gwayouhadah. Complete joke of a website. It has no meaning whatsoever in real life, imo.

jkforde

Iwannahurl wrote: »

. Complete joke of a website. It has no meaning whatsoever in real life, imo.

not from my experience.. I've submitted a good few things via the app/website and the city council responded and repaired them. the Parks Dept. especially have been responsive and diligent, admittedly the Roads Dept. haven't.

Mrs OBumble

Shakti wrote: »

what is worrying is that people continued to drive in conditions which are dangerous to them their passengers and their vehicle,

My theory is that Irish people are so used to not letting the weather get in the way that they actually aren't good at realising when conditions have moved from "difficult, keep going" to "dangerous, best to stop".

Shakti

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

My theory is that Irish people are so used to not letting the weather get in the way that they actually aren't good at realising when conditions have moved from "difficult, keep going" to "dangerous, best to stop".

That's fact I'd say, I was out driving the back roads at that time when it got silly I copped on and pulled over,

Iwannahurl

jkforde wrote: »

not from my experience.. I've submitted a good few things via the app/website and the city council responded and repaired them. the Parks Dept. especially have been responsive and diligent, admittedly the Roads Dept. haven't.

Any specific examples?

All my notifications were ignored.

jkforde

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Any specific examples?

All my notifications were ignored.

hey iwh, reported to them that some wooden seating on the Prom opposite Salthill Hotel was rotted, they fixed it; reported that the cement on the pillars on the Prom with the brass poetry plaques was rotting away, they fixed them; reported that the traffic calming installation going in to Dunnes at Gort na Bró were loose and a danger to cyclists and they got someone to repair. have also used fixyourstreet to give positive feedback to the council, like giving a thumbs up on the good work being done in terms of landscaping on the banks of the Eglinton Canal. like I said, not everything I've reported had been acted on (Roads Dept to date score zero!) but if they got more and more reports it might make them think...

antoobrien

phelant wrote: »

Now I work in Parkmore West so this is not the first time I have had to drive through this flood but you would think it could have been sorted by now. This is going on for years.

As you have said this is going on for years but they've tried to fix this 5/6 times over the past 15 or so years, the redesign of the road failed miserably to do anything about it. The road itself is pretty much the lowest point of the surrounding land (one side is slightly lower but not enough to make a difference), and the point of the flooding is effectively the bottom of a bowl that runs from the racecourse one side and Hazelwood on the other. The only thing that can be done is to pump the water away. Maybe they should use it to build some bigger water features in the surrounding business parks.

That said the rain on Wednesday & Thursday was particularly heavy and left many spots like this (where the road is the lowest place in the surrounds) flooded. You should have seen the streams of water coming down the hill at racecourse ave (or were you one of the people that unintentionally splashed be because the puddles were deceptively deep -not that I blame anyone who did it because the puddles did not look like anything that water should splash any kind of distance from).

galah

so who can I pester to get the traffic lights at the Tuam Road junction back to what they were before the races started?

Took me 20 minutes from Parkmore just to that junction because of stupid light sequence (at 3.30 in the afternoon, nowhere near rush hour)...:mad:

snubbleste

You are going to have to get used to it, because we are now in school book buying season

Das Kitty

Which is the official site? Fixmystreet.ie or Fixyourstreet.ie?

galah

snubbleste wrote: »

You are going to have to get used to it, because we are now in school book buying season

sorry, of course, I forgot :P

but seriously, it worked fine before the races, can they not just change it back to how it was?

Iwannahurl

galah wrote: »

so who can I pester to get the traffic lights at the Tuam Road junction back to what they were before the races started?

Took me 20 minutes from Parkmore just to that junction because of stupid light sequence (at 3.30 in the afternoon, nowhere near rush hour)...:mad:

You'll be waiting a lot longer for a response from City Hall, I reckon.

Apart from the general tendency of the Transport & Infrastructure Directorate to be glacially slow in responding to enquiries, some of their staff may be on annual leave currently, and will be out of the office for up to three weeks.

Iwannahurl

Das Kitty wrote: »

Which is the official site? Fixmystreet.ie or Fixyourstreet.ie?

I'm grimly holding on for fixmylocalauthority.ie

gordongekko

Iwannahurl wrote: »

You'll be waiting a lot longer for a response from City Hall, I reckon.

Apart from the general tendency of the Transport & Infrastructure Directorate to be glacially slow in responding to enquiries, some of their staff may be on annual leave currently, and will be out of the office for up to three weeks.

contact whoever you voted for in the election.

Shakti

Das Kitty wrote: »

Which is the official site? Fixmystreet.ie or Fixyourstreet.ie?

'fixyourstreet' is the new 'fixmystreet', or was that the other way round......

Iwannahurl

gordongekko wrote: »

contact whoever you voted for in the election.

Fair point, but it's far from the whole story.

My vote should not make a difference in this specific context (i.e. coaxing the Council to carry out its functions efficiently). Councillors, once elected, are there to work on behalf of the whole city, not just for their ward or for the 1200 or so people who voted for them.

That said, I do raise issues with Councillors from time to time. Unfortunately, I now realise that Councillors have no real power in City Hall, even though the executive is allegedly accountable to them. If officials don't want to respond to representations made by Councillors then they can simply stonewall, and there isn't a damn thing the elected members can do about it. That's my reading of the situation at any rate.

galah

gordongekko wrote: »

contact whoever you voted for in the election.

I'm not allowed to vote in the elections...

antoobrien

galah wrote: »

I'm not allowed to vote in the elections...

wouldn't be a city council issue in any case, that part of the road is in the county.

galah

really? That Tuam Road junction is not within city limits? But it's controlled by the city as all the other ex-roundabouts now junctions? (was that control room ever set up?)

Surely they must have noticed the traffic going out though - all the way back from the magic roundabout, up Sean Mulvoy and along the entire Tuam Road up to that junction - and again, this was at 3.30 this arvo, not rush hour...I solely blame the changed light sequence...

antoobrien

galah wrote: »

really? That Tuam Road junction is not within city limits? But it's controlled by the city as all the other ex-roundabouts now junctions? (was that control room ever set up?)

Sorry meant the bit of road in the photo.

galah wrote: »

Surely they must have noticed the traffic going out though - all the way back from the magic roundabout, up Sean Mulvoy and along the entire Tuam Road up to that junction - and again, this was at 3.30 this arvo, not rush hour...I solely blame the changed light sequence...

You are right it is the lights sequence and they want it that way.

Mrs OBumble

galah wrote: »

all the way back from the magic roundabout, up Sean Mulvoy and along the entire Tuam Road up to that junction - and again, this was at 3.30 this arvo, not rush hour...I solely blame the changed light sequence...

Sounds like school-book season has started ....

Iwannahurl

Uniform etc already got, so no panic here.

Don't mention the b-word though...

2rkehij30qtza5

galah wrote: »

so who can I pester to get the traffic lights at the Tuam Road junction back to what they were before the races started?

Took me 20 minutes from Parkmore just to that junction because of stupid light sequence (at 3.30 in the afternoon, nowhere near rush hour)...:mad:

City Council is who you pester. This is within the City Council's area.

BrokenArrows

That section of road has been like that for as long as I can remember. 4 years at least.

Same bit of road is ****ed as soon as its snowing/icy.

fishy fishy

phelant wrote: »

So I am dropping someone over to the races when I have come across this on the way in.

Now I work in Parkmore West so this is not the first time I have had to drive through this flood but you would think it could have been sorted by now. This is going on for years. And you would think that during this very important economic event that local authorities would be doing all they could to make sure punters get to and from the races safely and speedily.

BTW, don't bother saying 'unusual weather condition, downpour etc'., this was a few heavy showers. I drove home and back across the city numerous times and no where else did I have to risk damage to my car to get to my destination.

So, Galway City/County Councils, quit the messing and sort this problem out.



And yes, there are two cars on the wrong side of the road, on the footpath, trying to navigate through the deep water.

that looks very insignificant compared to others I have seen around Galway. footpaths (or excuses for footpaths included)

antoobrien

fishy fishy wrote: »

that looks very insignificant compared to others I have seen around Galway. footpaths (or excuses for footpaths included)

You can't tell from that photo but the flooding is up 3 feet deep at the deepest. The only way of getting through is at the very centre of the road (and hope nobody decides to be an ass and comes against you), so for practical purposes impassible to a nervous motorist (a lot of galway drivers fall into this category).

Mrs OBumble

Where exactly is it?

galah

It's up in Parkmore, right outside the SAP building on approach to the roundabout (when you go up that steep hill from the Tuam road).

And yes, you cannot see it in the picture, the water is actually very deep - even as an experienced driver I am slightly scared of that bit!

antoobrien

galah wrote: »

It's up in Parkmore, right outside the SAP building on approach to the roundabout (when you go up that steep hill from the Tuam road).

right here

Mars Bar

It's horrible trying to navigate your way through the flood on foot. Had to do it once. Now I just ring someone for a lift if it's raining.

ScumLord

It's all down to terrible planning and complete disregard for the facts. I always have to laugh when I look at the OSIs old maps. Find somewhere on them that clearly states "floodplain", skip to the modern map and you'll find someone's built an estate on it. This is ancient knowledge that everyone knew so they couldn't argue ignorance.

phelant

fishy fishy wrote: »

that looks very insignificant compared to others I have seen around Galway. footpaths (or excuses for footpaths included)

When it first started to flood, lots of drivers misjudged it like you, and ended up 100 yards down the road with steam coming from their bonnet. I've seen recovery trucks there also and I spoke to one guy in a modified car who went through and needed an engine rebuild after water got into the cylinder.

So in terms of damage and inconvenience caused to drivers of this relatively new stretch of road and the length of time this has been going on (years!) its a pretty bad flood and those in charge of fixing are not up to the task judging by their response so far.

Mrs OBumble

One of the challenges here is that road in question is very close to the city/county boundary. It clearly sits in the county - at least according to the city's map as shown on the last page of this document (That was the first good-looking link that Google found me.)

But many of the people using it would be heading to work in the city - ie just over the border in one side of Parkmore West. (How did anyone every manage to build an industrial estate with the border 1/2 way down the middle???)

And I'm guessing that dealing with the drainage issue would require co-operation of both authorities too.

Iwannahurl

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

How did anyone every manage to build an industrial estate with the border 1/2 way down the middle???

And I'm guessing that dealing with the drainage issue would require co-operation of both authorities too.

Perhaps this arrangement allows each authority to blame the rain in their own administrative area and the drainage in the other?

antoobrien

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

And I'm guessing that dealing with the drainage issue would require co-operation of both authorities too.

Why would it, it's a county road - the city ends at the RAB - so the problem lies entirely within the county council's purview.

I don't see how this can be easily fixed as some people think as it's in a significant dip. They'd have to raise the bottom of the dip to roughly the height of the walls to fix it properly (with run off going into attenuation ponds either side of the road.

galah

well if it's a dip, would not proper drainage help? I'm no roads engineer obviously, but some proper large size drains that take the water away to somewhere less obstructive (that pond in SAP, or some meadow somwehere?

Or flatten the road a bit so that the water distributes more evenly (or at least gets dristributes around the drains more evenly?)

This flood has been there for the past 8 years. It used to be really bad down the Tuam Road as well, opposite that DIY shop - but whatever they did, the road hasnt been obstructed even in heavy rainfalls since.

snubbleste

I don't believe this thread and won't until I see pictorial evidence of our dear Mayor fresh from Milwaukee, standing at the boundary pointing a ringed finger at the event.

antoobrien

galah wrote: »

well if it's a dip, would not proper drainage help? I'm no roads engineer obviously, but some proper large size drains that take the water away to somewhere less obstructive (that pond in SAP, or some meadow somwehere?

Or flatten the road a bit so that the water distributes more evenly (or at least gets dristributes around the drains more evenly?)

This flood has been there for the past 8 years. It used to be really bad down the Tuam Road as well, opposite that DIY shop - but whatever they did, the road hasnt been obstructed even in heavy rainfalls since.

It's been there for a lot longer and no drainage won't help, the road is the lowest point, meaning there's nowhere for the water to drain to.

phelant

antoobrien wrote: »

It's been there for a lot longer and no drainage won't help, the road is the lowest point, meaning there's nowhere for the water to drain to.

But wasn't all this known to the council/engineer when the road was built/improved all those years ago. Are we saying that in the year 2013 that there is no fix for this problem.

Funny thing is there is drainage because the flood disappears almost as quick as it comes (provided the rain stops or eases). Maybe its a case lack of maintenance of the drainage channels?

antoobrien

phelant wrote: »

But wasn't all this known to the council/engineer when the road was built/improved all those years ago. Are we saying that in the year 2013 that there is no fix for this problem.

Funny thing is there is drainage because the flood disappears almost as quick as it comes (provided the rain stops or eases). Maybe its a case lack of maintenance of the drainage channels?

As quick as it comes? Sure if you only come around every 8 hours.:rolleyes:

The problem is becuase of the dip the road is in. The works done 2/3 years ago have improved it - slightly (it takes 4 hours to clear instead of 8), but the only way to fix it permanently is to raise the level of the road to be significantly (min. 12") higher than the level of the surrounding land.