Lights at Newcastle Crossroads

Traffic yesterday & today very bad on Quincentennial due to traffic lights out at Newcastle crossroads, would have thought they'd be back by now especially with the Novena going on, but no work that I can see done on them so far, anyone know what the delay is?

weshtawake

Looks like they are scheduled to be out of action until Thursday per AA this morning. I find this incredible that they cannot be fixed before then and this on top of the crap we already endure through Moycullen.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE???

gordongekko

weshtawake wrote: »

Looks like they are scheduled to be out of action until Thursday per AA this morning. I find this incredible that they cannot be fixed before then and this on top of the crap we already endure through Moycullen.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE???

The lad that crashed into the control box is responsible

sgthighway

A car crashed into the Control Box totally destroying it and all the cables connected to it. It is a big job to replace. The said on the radio yesterday that the company who maintains the light had to import a replacement.

muppetkiller

sgthighway wrote: »

A car crashed into the Control Box totally destroying it and all the cables connected to it. It is a big job to replace. The said on the radio yesterday that the company who maintains the light had to import a replacement.

Typical single point of failure scenario with no replacement parts. Whoever runs these departments should be out the door.

gordongekko

muppetkiller wrote: »

Typical single point of failure scenario with no replacement parts. Whoever runs these departments should be out the door.

Maintenance of the lights would be via a public tender and most likely done by a commercial enterprise

muppetkiller

muppetkiller wrote: »

Typical single point of failure scenario with no replacement parts. Whoever runs these departments should be out the door.

You can't blame the council for the design of traffic light control systems, this is how they would be manufactured and designed to operate.

The parts are also most likely very expensive and not something you just have lying around as it may vary from one set if lights to the next also.

biko

Maybe this will trigger an effort to protect these boxes better.

Webbs

muppetkiller wrote: »

Typical single point of failure scenario with no replacement parts. Whoever runs these departments should be out the door.

Theres a difference between having spare parts and having a whole system in reserve.
How can you expect the council to have a replacement for every part of their infastructure just sat in a warehouse. If a computer breaks down where you work do they have spare ones waiting for everyone or do you order a new one?

AIB Newcastle would be a soft target at rush hour!

Squeeonline

muppetkiller wrote: »

Typical single point of failure scenario with no replacement parts. Whoever runs these departments should be out the door.

The contract probably went to the lowest bidder.

People would be equally up in arms if they perceived "waste" in the system.

Councils are in a lose/lose situation a lot of the time.

buzz11

http://connachttribune.ie/driver-smashed-traffic-controller-after-breaking-red-light-811/

Why cant they hire in the temporary traffic lights like the ones that are seen at road works all over the country ?

probably because it needs to work in conjunction with second set, if they only used one set would let traffic flow on other route during the red but when returning to green more liable to cause accidents.. guards are needed during rush hour, if they can come out in force during prince charles visit, surely they should be out for this!

topcat77

drivers running red lights!!!. The sooner they put in cameras at all lights to catch people speeding & running lights the better.

ronnie3585

I can appreciate that it may take time to get the replacement parts manufactured and delivered, however it's unacceptable that such a fundamentally important set of lights has a single point of failure with absolutely no redundancy.

Traffic lights are by their nature a point of conflict between cars. It is completely foreseeable that there will be traffic accidents at or in the vicinity of the lights which may damage the lights and/or their components/switch gear. It's baffling and immensely frustrating that the only action taken has been reactionary, after the horse has bolted.

Traffic this week has been f*cking bedlam with no attempt to manage it by way of engagement with the Gardai. Leaving all sarcasm aside, I genuinely wonder if the people charged with running the city know how to do anything else that wear the robes and the chains? I love this city, but it's sh*t like this that makes me not want to live here.

snubbleste

The Garda are busy directing massgoers in their twee automobiles after every Novena mass.

And for all of ye complaining about traffic, You Are Traffic.

Unrealistic

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Traffic this week has been f*cking bedlam with no attempt to manage it by way of engagement with the Gardai.

I saw a post from Galway City Council on either Twitter or Facebook yesterday where they mentioned they had asked the Gardai to assist in traffic management at peak times. There was nothing negative written but I still got the impression that under their breath the person typing it was muttering "........but the useless b@stards haven't lifted a finger to help".:rolleyes:

Storm 10

Passed by the light a few minutes ago they are putting in the new unit, I heard on Galway Bay FM that's it worked by fibre optic cables and if they are not damaged the lights should be working today, however if the fibre optic cable is damaged the cables will need to be replaced and wait for it !!!!!! it could take up to six weeks to replace all the cables.

flazio

Why not put in a set of cones in a circle in the middle of the junction and let traffic use it as a roundabout.

diarmuid05

flazio wrote: »

Why not put in a set of cones in a circle in the middle of the junction and let traffic use it as a roundabout.

Careful there with your fancy logic.......

Zzippy

Deleted User wrote: »

probably because it needs to work in conjunction with second set, if they only used one set would let traffic flow on other route during the red but when returning to green more liable to cause accidents.. guards are needed during rush hour, if they can come out in force during prince charles visit, surely they should be out for this!

Surely it can't be that difficult to programme a timing sequence into two sets of lights so that they don't overlap! Allow a 10-15 second interval to account for the usual red-light jumpers in Galway between red on one and green on the other. Ridiculous that it wasn't done.

flazio wrote: »

Why not put in a set of cones in a circle in the middle of the junction and let traffic use it as a roundabout.

Well that's you out of the running for traffic engineer in GCC. With sensible no-nonsense ideas like that you're clearly far too qualified!

flazio

flazio wrote: »

Why not put in a set of cones in a circle in the middle of the junction and let traffic use it as a roundabout.

The space is far too small - consider the size of the roundabout that used to be at other end of the bridge.

Aerohead

As far as I can see its quite clear that the City Council don't have an emergency traffic plan to put in operation or if they have they don't know how to use it, surely with the lights out, the Novena on and the mid term brake its beyond a joke to leave the traffic the way it is, buses are unable to keep to their schedule, taxis caught up in the mayhem its a crazy situation .

mo_bhicycle

Or how about temporarily closing the junction by removing access from the Newcastle Rd. Newcastle Rd traffic would have to go via the roundabout.

irisheddie85

mo_bhicycle wrote: »

Or how about temporarily closing the junction by removing access from the Newcastle Rd. Newcastle Rd traffic would have to go via the roundabout.

I think this is probably the best short term solution to the problem.

biko

I'll head down later and moderate the junction.

Lights are back working

biko

See, it worked!

GalwayGrrrrrl

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Lights are back working

I said a prayer at the Novena and .. Ta da!!!

snubbleste

I'm actually sitting in the control box.
I give the pedestrians an extra minute to cross.

what_traffic

snubbleste wrote: »

I'm actually sitting in the control box.
I give the pedestrians an extra minuteto cross.

Fair play to ya! Civil rights for all. Pedestrians only get a few measly seconds of a green signal here.

gordongekko

mo_bhicycle wrote: »

Or how about temporarily closing the junction by removing access from the Newcastle Rd. Newcastle Rd traffic would have to go via the roundabout.

Newcastle Road is the stretch between the Hospital and Cookes Bar. Why would you close that section of road?

galah

mo_bhicycle wrote: »

Or how about temporarily closing the junction by removing access from the Newcastle Rd. Newcastle Rd traffic would have to go via the roundabout.

This. Or they could have just allowed left turns from newcastle road and the moycullen road, and send everyone else (anyone going straight ahead) via the roundabout. Would have been safer and probably better traffic flow than the chaos that was there the past few days.

What i also don't get is why major junctions dont have back-up traffic signs to help with rights of way etc.

galah

galah wrote: »

This. Or they could have just allowed left turns from newcastle road and the moycullen road, and send everyone else (anyone going straight ahead) via the roundabout. Would have been safer and probably better traffic flow than the chaos that was there the past few days.
.

Unless something has changed recently all left turns are allowed at the junction.

Trinity Wrong Showdown

Trinity Wrong Showdown wrote: »

Unless something has changed recently all left turns are allowed at the junction.

I think the poster was suggesting stopping straight through traffic (to/from Moycullen) while the lights were off.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

I think the poster was suggesting stopping straight through traffic (to/from Moycullen) while the lights were off.

Ah right just read it wrong, makes much more sense that way around.