Dublin has too many traffic lights

KingBrian2

There are way too many traffic lights in the city. When your travelling via bus every 5 seconds lights go red, it is ridiculous the amount of times this happens. Denizens of Dublin there must surely be a lot less lights installed around the city, they make it impossible to use public transport agree or disagree.

sonny.knowles

KingBrian2 wrote: »

There are way too many traffic lights in the city. When your travelling via bus every 5 seconds lights go red, it is ridiculous the amount of times this happens. Denizens of Dublin there must surely be a lot less lights installed around the city, they make it impossible to use public transport agree or disagree.

We should all ignore them like most cyclists seem to do, works for them I guess.

poisonated

That's funny, I was taking a taxi the other day and the taxi man said the same thing. It wasn't until he said it that I really noticed.

Sam Russell

It is not the number of traffic lights that is the problem, it is the fact that they are incorrectly phased. I think it has been changed in recent years, but going north on the N11 at Blakes/Stillorgan lights - when you get a green (first car) and no matter how fast you drive, the next light at Oatlands School turns red in your face. Prior to your arrival, the light has been green for ages with no traffic. That is typical at most lights in Dublin.

There is a complex traffic light system in Dublin - it just does not work.

jimmycrackcorm

sonny.knowles wrote:

We should all ignore them like most cyclists seem to do, works for them I guess.

You can be sure that far more car drivers run red lights than cyclists. After all, I don't think the first red light camera was installed on the Lucas line due to cyclists...

Stheno

Sam Russell wrote: »

It is not the number of traffic lights that is the problem, it is the fact that they are incorrectly phased. I think it has been changed in recent years, but going north on the N11 at Blakes/Stillorgan lights - when you get a green (first car) and no matter how fast you drive, the next light at Oatlands School turns red in your face. Prior to your arrival, the light has been green for ages with no traffic. That is typical at most lights in Dublin.

There is a complex traffic light system in Dublin - it just does not work.

100% agree with this, it's how the lights are phased imo that causes chaos

Greenmachine

I don't know about in the city, but certain in the suburbs. So many road where a zebra crossing would much better than lights. If there is no one standing there, carry on. If there is someone standing there come to a stop and let them cross.

It feels kind of alien when you go to other countries and you see all the zebra crossings. This is areas that see much more road traffic and less pedestrian, and the kicker in some of these place; segregated pathways, one area for cyclists, and one for pedestrians a lot of the time.

Must admit to being frustrated by cyclist at times, but we could do more get people on their bikes. Even if these kind of tracks were only stipulated in lower density rural area. You could potentially maintain the rural feel of an area,with integrated parks, etc. Somehow I think, something like that would be too progressive for some.

endacl

sonny.knowles wrote: »

We should all ignore them like most cyclists seem to do, works for them I guess.

Do you have an alert set up for the phrase 'traffic light'?

newacc2015

There is 1690 according to the new RSA poster. Most of them are at junctions where they are needed. The problem with a lot of them is they are phased badly. Eg the 3 on lesson street took years to be phased that you get green on all three at once.

Skatedude

There are traffic lights near me that take up to 8 minutes (I actually timed them) to change for pedestrians no matter how many dozens of times you press the button, been like that for years despite complaints.
Others seem to change so quick that only 1 or 2 cars can get through, It seems like they have no clue what they are doing.

mark085

theres a road around my way that has 10 sets within 1 kilometer
and them imtech lads who programme them seem to make a bolox of each1

sonny.knowles

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

You can be sure that far more car drivers run red lights than cyclists. After all, I don't think the first red light camera was installed on the Lucas line due to cyclists...

I very much doubt it, as a city centre pedestrian I have rarely seen a motorist ignore a red light whereas I see it everyday from cyclists.

traprunner

sonny.knowles wrote: »

We should all ignore them like most cyclists seem to do, works for them I guess.

Let's get a dig in at cyclists. Sure why not? It's their fault there are so many traffic lights and everything else road related. :rolleyes:

traprunner

sonny.knowles wrote: »

I very much doubt it, as a city centre pedestrian I have rarely seen a motorist ignore a red light whereas I see it everyday from cyclists.

How many end up in collisions or fatalities?

I'm not condoning it but i don't see how your comments about cyclists have anything to do with the the subject of the thread.


I was in Spain last week in 7 different towns/cities. They seem to promote zebra crossings rather than lights on many quieter junctions. One of the main problems I've seen in Dublin is traffic let near the city centre. It doesn't happen in many places in Spain.

GreatDefector

Anyone who knows supervalu Lucan will know the roundabout with a light a roundabout and a 4 more sets before you can get to Lucan village. Traffic is bottlenecked and it's desperate and a waste

Combine the 2 lights and roundabout into 1 set of lights.

Now, take a look what's going into fonthill, the exact same thing!

Another disaster is belgard road. Lights, go for 100m, stop for lights, go for 100m, lights, rinse, repeat.

Definitely some lights should be part time. A smart light made of LED's that converts to a stop sign at certain times off peak would definitely help the flow

Pete_Cavan

KingBrian2 wrote: »

There are way too many traffic lights in the city. When your travelling via bus every 5 seconds lights go red, it is ridiculous the amount of times this happens. Denizens of Dublin there must surely be a lot less lights installed around the city, they make it impossible to use public transport agree or disagree.

For me, a big problem when on the bus is when the bus lane is also a general left turning lane with a filter light. The bus intending to go straight through the junction can be held up, sitting behind cars waiting for the green arrow to allow them to turn left while the cars in the next lane are streaming through the junction. Where the bus lane is a left turning lane, the left turning traffic should be allowed to move out of the buses way to keep the bus moving. This would probably mean resignalling the lights to have the green man for pedestrians at the same time across each road of the junction and probably longer time for pedestrians. I would not see this as a big issue if all traffic is stopped, the main objective should be to prioritise buses to make their journey's as fast as possible compared to cars.

LeinsterDub

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

For me, a big problem when on the bus is when the bus lane is also a general left turning lane with a filter light. The bus intending to go straight through the junction can be held up, sitting behind cars waiting for the green arrow to allow them to turn left while the cars in the next lane are streaming through the junction. Where the bus lane is a left turning lane, the left turning traffic should be allowed to move out of the buses way to keep the bus moving. This would probably mean resignalling the lights to have the green man for pedestrians at the same time across each road of the junction and probably longer time for pedestrians. I would not see this as a big issue if all traffic is stopped, the main objective should be to prioritise buses to make their journey's as fast as possible compared to cars.

Turn left on red would be helpful here

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Turn left on red would be such a simple idea to implement, and would cost no money. But Jesus could you imagine the chaos for the first couple of weeks? Best done in the summer when the traffic is lighter I think.

sonny.knowles

traprunner wrote: »

How many end up in collisions or fatalities?

Why is this relevant?

traprunner

sonny.knowles wrote: »

Why is this relevant?

Because you were making the irrelevant point about cyclists. I was just following up on it to try and clarify where you were coming from.

seamus

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Turn left on red would be such a simple idea to implement, and would cost no money. But Jesus could you imagine the chaos for the first couple of weeks? Best done in the summer when the traffic is lighter I think.

Actually I disagree that summer would be best; in September you'll have a tonne of people take to the roads who haven't done much driving in the previous 3 months and won't be as savvy about the rule as others. Cue frustration, gridlock and anger all over the place.

I would suggest maybe late Spring, after the clocks go forward. The days are brighter, but the traffic still heavy.

Bray Head

There are more traffic lights in Dublin than other places in Ireland and in comparable cities in Europe. They also seem to be particularly more conservatively sequenced.

Zebra crossings seem to have been done away with too. This annoys me as a driver but makes me feel much more comfortable as a pedestrian.

This helps with making Dublin both congested but also quite safe. It's a trade-off.

Ashbx

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Turn left on red would be such a simple idea to implement, and would cost no money. But Jesus could you imagine the chaos for the first couple of weeks? Best done in the summer when the traffic is lighter I think.

Not sure that would work. The red light is there because usually there is a pedestrian crossing which has its green light. I can think of a number of junctions where this is the case.

Sam Russell

In France, they use a rule that they can turn right providing they give way to pedestrians.

qweerty

I was in the traffic management centre in Dublin Civic Offices as part of an Open House tour. Guy seemed very proud of the systems they had in place, with different phases depending on the location, time, traffic level, etc. He said that the lights on the quays at Grattan bridge were purposely out of phase to discourage speeding. I was thinking it seemed such a senseless of way of doing that.

Sam Russell

qweerty wrote: »

I was in the traffic management centre in Dublin Civic Offices as part of an Open House tour. Guy seemed very proud of the systems they had in place, with different phases depending on the location, time, traffic level, etc. He said that the lights on the quays at Grattan bridge were purposely out of phase to discourage speeding. I was thinking it seemed such a senseless of way of doing that.

With idiotic thinking like that, no wonder the lights are causing huge delays.

I was on a Luas that had to wait five minutes at lights going from Museum to Heuston. Idiotic. Luas should get a green on arrival - they know where they are at all times and when they will arrive at lights.

Bray Head

Sam Russell wrote: »

In France, they use a rule that they can turn right providing they give way to pedestrians.

I've lived in countries where this is the rule.

As a driver it undoubtedly speeds things up. As a pedestrian it makes me feel a lot less safe.

I have no doubt it contributes to Dublin being a safer city for pedestrians than, for example, Paris.

larchill

The same idiocracy occurs outside of Dublin on the N2 north of Ashbourne. Lights @ the turnoff for Rathoth. There's mayhem here in the mornings heading south & again in the evenings going north. When the confounded things are out of action there's no problem - one just sails through. Its a national problem, not just a Dublin one. This is not helped by our parochial politics.

plodder

larchill wrote: »

The same idiocracy occurs outside of Dublin on the N2 north of Ashbourne. Lights @ the turnoff for Rathoth. There's mayhem here in the mornings heading south & again in the evenings going north. When the confounded things are out of action there's no problem - one just sails through. Its a national problem, not just a Dublin one. This is not helped by our parochial politics.

This reminds me of the Malahide roundabout in Swords. They put lights on it before the M1 was built and the traffic was really chronic. They were needed then, but, they should have switched them off after the motorway opened. There is a particular problem with motorists approaching these roundabouts on a green light at speed from the "main" road and you have traffic stopped on the roundabout at lights. It's really crazy.

Giblet

"Cyclists run red lights!"

"Hey so do motorists!"

Ah, so it's ok then.

Subpopulus

Bray Head wrote: »

There are more traffic lights in Dublin than other places in Ireland and in comparable cities in Europe. They also seem to be particularly more conservatively sequenced.

Having moved back to Dublin from Cork recently I've definitely noticed that the lights are more sluggish in here. When in Cork I noticed that when pedestrian lights go amber they change to red within about 4/5 seconds. Most of the ones in dublin stretch that out to 10-12 seconds. There are also a lot of fairly idiotic lights in places like the Georgian Quarter that have long phases for very little traffic so you end up sitting around for ages with no traffic moving through the opposing set of lights. They could easily make the phases twice or three times as fast.