Eden Quay contraflow lane

MJohnston

This might be something for one of the BXD/cars in city centre threads, but why haven't buses been banned from using this area as a parking spot while the bus bay capacity is severely reduced at the minute?

I cycle along this lane every day, and in the last couple of weeks it's been a bit of a nightmare because the parked (and unattended) buses consume what little bay capacity there is, and so nearly every single bus that stops along there has to block up the entire contraflow lane in order to let passengers board and disembark (which at that stop is usually an awful lot of passengers).

Extremely dangerous for cyclists too, because someone is going to try and pass one of those buses and get taken out by the car traffic that loves to fly down Eden Quay.

monument

This is best as a standalone thread.

galwaycyclist

Any pics of whats happening?

MJohnston

I'll stick my bike video camera on today and see if I can catch it, but here's what's happening:



Dublin Buses often use the space marked as yellow as parking, as well as for bus stops, however the space marked in red (approximately, I can't remember the exact area) are out of action due to the Luas works (I believe), but the same number of buses are still parking and being left unattended in this area. This has meant that (at least 3 times in the last week that I've encountered) a few buses are using the blue area to drop off (and possibly pick up) passengers, which causes both other buses/coaches and cyclists to be stuck behind that stopped bus. The median between the contraflow and the two east-bound lanes is too narrow to attempt any kind of overtaking, but it's also really dangerous to even stick your head out for a look!

I've found this on Dublin Bus' website about some of the stops there being out of commission, but it seems like they need to either extend this to a couple of other stops, or some drivers are stopping here when they shouldn't be.

macroman

I think it was closed off earlier in the month due to the installation of bus shelters along Eden Quay, as I would have hoped that they did all the digging they needed when they had half of Eden Quay closed off for the Rosie Hackett.

There should be an inspector there anyway to ensure that no buses are being left unattended there, as the same was happening on Bachelors walk where there's enough space for 2 buses to pull in but I encountered a coach and van blocking the entire space.

LXFlyer

macroman wrote: »

I think it was closed off earlier in the month due to the installation of bus shelters along Eden Quay, as I would have hoped that they did all the digging they needed when they had half of Eden Quay closed off for the Rosie Hackett.

There should be an inspector there anyway to ensure that no buses are being left unattended there, as the same was happening on Bachelors walk where there's enough space for 2 buses to pull in but I encountered a coach and van blocking the entire space.

It's actually a bus terminus for the 27b and 61, so it's a bit hard not to leave buses there if the driver is going on his break.

MJohnston

lxflyer wrote: »

It's actually a bus terminus for the 27b and 61, so it's a bit hard not to leave buses there if the driver is going on his break.

The DB website claims that the 61 is no longer stopping there, I'll try and find out which route(s) it is that I've seen blocking up the joint.

LXFlyer

MJohnston wrote: »

The DB website claims that the 61 is no longer stopping there, I'll try and find out which route(s) it is that I've seen blocking up the joint.

That notice has now been archived, which means it is no longer active.

The notice says buses are not serving stop 301 or 302, which is in the red zone on your map.

The stops (303) at the eastern end of Eden Quay (in your yellow zone) are the bus stands for the 61 and the 27b.

Bus stand = set down stop, terminus and parking area for buses while they lay over between trips.

I would suggest getting in touch with DB at customercomment@dublinbus.ie if there is a problem - maybe the two stops (301 and 302) need to be removed from use again.

punisher5112

Contra flow bus lanes should be bus only.

They are not wide enough and it should be there for its actual purpose of speeding up public transport.

stop

Swords express have also taken over the Dublin Bikes Truck lay-by on the contra flow across the road from the custom house.

MJohnston

lxflyer wrote: »

That notice has now been archived, which means it is no longer active.

The notice says buses are not serving stop 301 or 302, which is in the red zone on your map.

The stops (303) at the eastern end of Eden Quay (in your yellow zone) are the bus stands for the 61 and the 27b.

Bus stand = set down stop, terminus and parking area for buses while they lay over between trips.

I would suggest getting in touch with DB at customercomment@dublinbus.ie if there is a problem - maybe the two stops (301 and 302) need to be removed from use again.

Irrelevant now as the construction has finished and they've removed the obstructions, but I did note in my post that the yellow and red zones were vague approximations and not necessarily the accurate picture.

monument

punisher5112 wrote: »

Contra flow bus lanes should be bus only.

They are not wide enough and it should be there for its actual purpose of speeding up public transport.

It should be in this case but there should be a two-way cycle path along the quays before now, so allowing bicycles to use it is a short to mid term compromise.

MJohnston

monument wrote: »

It should be in this case but there should be a two-way cycle path along the quays before now, so allowing bicycles to use it is a short to mid term compromise.

Yep - right now using Eden Quay is essentially the only safe way of cycling from the Docklands to O'Connell Street - Burgh Quay is insanity, and trying to get across the lanes there from left to turn right at O'Connell Bridge is dangerous at best.

LXFlyer

MJohnston wrote: »

Irrelevant now as the construction has finished and they've removed the obstructions, but I did note in my post that the yellow and red zones were vague approximations and not necessarily the accurate picture.

I appreciate that - my point was that that the two stops at the eastern end should have continued to be suspended during the works, with the bus stands at the eastern end retained for the 27b and 61 to lay over between stops.

It would appear that the two easternmost stops were re-instated too early with buses having to stop in the blue zone.

MrMorooka

punisher5112 wrote: »

Contra flow bus lanes should be bus only.

They are not wide enough and it should be there for its actual purpose of speeding up public transport.

On that note, almost every day I see cyclists at the bottom of the St Stephens Green East contraflow waiting on the lights, inadvertently blocking buses from turning left onto Leeson St, until the bus driver blows their horn. Can't entirely blame the cyclists, the bike bay extends over the contraflow lane, so there's nowhere to put the cyclists between the contra flow and the lane of vehicles turning right from Leeson St.



That's a horrible junction for pedestrians as well, with the high speeds, always cars in the crossing, cyclists inching as close as they can to as you cross, and buses slowly turning left on yellow. Sorry for the rant, just a pet peeve in my daily commute.