Traffic lights in Athlone town centre

The lights at the crossroads beside Dunnes were out yesterday, I have never seen the junction so clear on what was one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Please don't fix them!!

athlonelad

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The lights at the crossroads beside Dunnes were out yesterday, I have never seen the junction so clear on what was one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Please don't fix them!!

I was thinking the same thing the last time they went out. Only problem is if some gombeen decides he wants to make an illegal right turn.

athlonelad

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The lights at the crossroads beside Dunnes were out yesterday, I have never seen the junction so clear on what was one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Please don't fix them!!

I was thinking the same thing the last time they went out. Only problem is if some gombeen decides he wants to make an illegal right turn.

BoB_BoT

I say the opposite, fix 'em. There's been several fender benders and gob****es who simply shouldn't be on the road. I had several near misses myself, 2 in the car and 1 crossing the road.

Steven81

They seem to be gone for a few weeks now, it is clearer but definitely harder for a few cars and then some people just go straight at high speeds, crossing the roads with 2 children can be a challenge so for the elderly it would be harder.

veryangryman

You'll get morons anyway, lights or no lights.

I'm with DolanBaker. Town has never been so accessible.

Long term, i say replace lights with pedestrian crossings and yield signs. Also use that surface that makes a car slow down (like they have in Monksland Retail Park) to minimise muppetry.

Yes i know the stupid lights will be back. :mad: BUt its good to dream of council doing things to benefit all.

BoB_BoT

Jebus, don't give them any ideas, you'll end up with a mini-roundabout there.

Saint_Mel

Pretty sure its done on purpose for that exact reason. They coincidentally developed a fault this time last year too and traffic flowed well

Saint_Mel

Saint_Mel wrote: »

Pretty sure its done on purpose for that exact reason. They coincidentally developed a fault this time last year too and traffic flowed well

I hope you're right, but I bet it's just a coincidence.

If the council know that they're useless why do they keep using them! :rolleyes:

Saint_Mel

Deleted User wrote: »

I hope you're right, but I bet it's just a coincidence.

If the council know that they're useless why do they keep using them! :rolleyes:

Someone fromt he Council must have read this ... Lights are back working apparently.

triskell

Yep lights are back on and it's absolute bedlam again

roosterman71

athlonelad wrote: »

I was thinking the same thing the last time they went out. Only problem is if some gombeen decides he wants to make an illegal right turn.

The amount of people making right turns there was unreal. I was stuck behind a gimp coming out of town one day who pulled up at Dunnes to turn right. He was parked beside the little traffic island and couldn't go because of the traffic coming in from Supermacs direction. "If only my car was a tank" I thought. I could of rid the world of one less idiot.

He was the worst, but I must of seen people turning right from all approaches in the last couple of weeks.

triskell

triskell wrote: »

Yep lights are back on and it's absolute bedlam again

:mad:
Does this council have any sense at all!
If you're reading turn them off again!

L.Jenkins

Deleted User wrote: »

:mad:
Does this council have any sense at all!
If you're reading turn them off again!

What would be the best option for that junction? I hate the lights there, but a roundabout would be a bit awkward.

Itzy

Itzy wrote: »

What would be the best option for that junction? I hate the lights there, but a roundabout would be a bit awkward.

I think that this is one of the few junctions in Ireland that would work with the US style four way stop sign system. Maybe a bigger "squareabout" to stop the right turners.

Long Gone

Deleted User wrote: »

I think that this is one of the few junctions in Ireland that would work with the US style four way stop sign system.

That wouldn't work here because there are too many muppets who wouldn't understand that it was a four way stop - First to arrive, first to go would be way beyond their level of comprehension..... We have no four way stop systems in Ireland - You can't just introduce the first one and expect it to work.

veryangryman

Long Gone wrote: »

That wouldn't work here because there are too many muppets who wouldn't understand that it was a four way stop - First to arrive, first to go would be way beyond their level of comprehension..... We have no four way stop systems in Ireland - You can't just introduce the first one and expect it to work.

People would get used to it. Motorways in Ireland had the same problem when first introduced. Long term, people get used to them and use them fine (for the most part). Same story for Metric system.

Of course if it were introduced, id wait before going back into town again for this to have "gelled".

athlonelad

veryangryman wrote: »

People would get used to it. Motorways in Ireland had the same problem when first introduced. Long term, people get used to them and use them fine (for the most part). Same story for Metric system.

Of course if it were introduced, id wait before going back into town again for this to have "gelled".

Irish drivers dont obey stop signs most of the time.

Long Gone

Long Gone wrote: »

That wouldn't work here because there are too many muppets who wouldn't understand that it was a four way stop - First to arrive, first to go would be way beyond their level of comprehension..... We have no four way stop systems in Ireland - You can't just introduce the first one and expect it to work.

It actually worked because there were NO signs. Without a cue (to ignore) each and every driver had to assume that the others on the junction were idiots and drove slowly to avoid crashing.

So in fact that's the way it had been working, without lights.

KevR

Deleted User wrote: »

It actually worked because there were NO signs. Without a cue (to ignore) each and every driver had to assume that the others on the junction were idiots and drove slowly to avoid crashing.

So in fact that's the way it had been working, without lights.

That is generally the case when lights are temporarily switched off - everyone is cautious and courteous. That caution and courtesy diminishes over time and one route starts to dominate the other meaning one route will continue to flow freely but the other will be a snarled a lot of the time.

I like the idea of a US-style four way stop. That could actually work well at this junction if implemented correctly. I don't think casually leaving the lights switched off is viable long term - an alternative solution needs to be properly implemented.

Just to note also that many traffic lights around Athlone don't seem to have any intelligence built-in. They are on a rigid sequence and don't adjust to better suit traffic at any given time. There is definite room for improvement in this regard - install plenty of induction loops to sense the traffic, allowing lights to dynamically adjust their sequence and timings to maximise traffic flow.

braddun

my lads just fixed them,thanks for the heads up

h57xiucj2z946q

I used to live in Athlone for years and noticed them particular lights seems to be out of order several times a year, sometimes for weeks on end. Are they jusy ****e traffic lights with parts been replaced or whats the deal with them breaking so much? Admitingly traffic flows better when they are not on.

Same goes for the ones at Genoa, before the Shannon bridge.