Pedestrian traffic lights in Dublin

Walterz

Yes, Dublin's traffic lights are an absolute mess. Not sure how to attach videos, but I made some hilarious movies, where light is red for everybody on crossings, for no reason at all.

Or, traffic lights are missing at places where many pedestrians cross, ok if you can walk fast, but not so nice for people who depend on traffic lights for save crossing, such as many old and disabled people.

Bizarre also that traffic lights still depend so much on needing to 'push the button'. But that's another matter.

Anyways: time for an update, Dublin!

Carawaystick

veryangryman wrote: »

As someone who loses patience alot more with being stuck at a red with nobody crossing than waiting for pedestrian ights to change for me to walk across, I think the "push button only changing" strategy is best

You usually find some gob who presses the button and crosses. Then the traffic has to stop at a red with nobody coming. Its like "Why press the button if you werent even going to wait"

And thats what grinds my gears

I was at this pedestrian crossing where the red man was on and there were no vehicles approaching on the road. Me and all the other pedestrians were legally supposed to stop until the green light lit for us.
All the traffic has to stop at a red with nobody coming. It's like why have the red man lit if there's no road traffic coming.
And that really grinds my gears.

magicbastarder

six year old thread again...

Walterz

"six year old thread" ... and still the same problem in Dublin! I was wondering whether I was the only one who is noticing this, and to my surprise I found this old thread with similar problems as I was noticing.

My videos show that even when you press the button (!) sometimes all lights remain red for everybody simultaneously; try yourselves for example walking along Aungier street, crossing upper Stephen’s Street, towards George Street, on the left. Many other examples throughout the city centre...

Some examples of the other issue (notorious missing traffic lights): Camden Street (crossing Harrington Street), Aungier Street (crossing Longford Street), Mercer Street (crossing the road where cars go out & into Stephen’s Green parking).

Yes, smarter systems would be great. In particular in IT-city Dublin, a system that so much depends on mechanically 'pushing a button' seems sooo past century!

mambo

I contacted Dublin city council about this around the time of my original post, and what I THINK their logic may be is something like this:

* If pedestrian lights go green, "beep beep beep" sound has to go off for visually impaired people
* If the lights go green automatically say every minute, this sound will go off every minute, 24 hours a day
* They don't want this noise going off 24 hours a day as there may be people living nearby.
* So the lights only go green if you have previously pressed the button

This wouldn't explain why they don't immediately go green if you press the button say a second after the point in time that they would have gone green (had the button been previously pressed). Instead you get a red man until the next cycle comes round, which is maddening.

Carawaystick

The pedestrian lights on the crossroads of Stephen's st upper and St gt georges st stay red until the vehicles on the Georges st/aungier st see red lights.
It's daft, stopping people get from Dunnes to 747 travel in the streetview image.

monument

magicbastarder wrote: »

six year old thread again...

I've split the new posts into a new thread.

-- moderator

handtight

Why not scrap traffic lights completely?

magicbastarder

dunno if i shared this before, but i asked andrew montague about the provision of zebra crossings at castle market - i.e. the two crossings over south william street and drury street. he raised it at a council meeting, and this is the outcome:

Question to the Chief Executive
Council Meeting 04th JULY 2016
Q.85 COUNCILLOR ANDREW MONTAGUE
Can the Chief Executive install a zebra crossing at Castlemarket at the junction with South William Street?

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPLY:
Dublin City Council does not recommend Zebra crossings as they may provide a false sense of safety for pedestrians. In Ireland, a pedestrian does not have the right-of-way until they have already stepped onto a Zebra crossing. For this reason Dublin City Council’s preferred option is for crossings where the onus is unambiguously on the driver to stop.

The location is listed for examination and report by the Traffic Advisory Group. The Councillor will be informed of the recommendation in due course.

Carawaystick

A driver unambiguously has to stop if a pedestrian is crossing at a junction.
That's a junction
There's no ambiguity

Kings Inns or bust

Carawaystick wrote: »

A driver unambiguously has to stop if a pedestrian is crossing at a junction.
That's a junction
There's no ambiguity

Any link to this - I don't doubt you - I've heard it before I just would like to know the source. Thanks in advance if you have it to hand, no bother if you dont.

Dyr

I particularly like that certain bridges over the liffey only have pedestrian lights on two of the four crossing points. Sure whats the harm in crossing the river twice if you didn't know that? Or you can just chance your arm with the quays traffic

Cookie_Monster

What I don't understand about lights in Ireland is why the pedestrian green is not integrated. So if you have a simple junction like + when its green for traffic coming from left to right and right to left the same pedestrian lights should be green. With cars having to yield to pedestrians. Thats how it works here in NZ, and it works fine. allows longer cycles fro all directions by removing the stupid pedestrian only phase.

mambo

monument wrote: »

I've split the new posts into a new thread.

-- moderator

Some of us are referencing previous posts earlier in what was a single thread, so here's the original thread before it was split :mad:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=67288480

GM228

Kings Inns or bust wrote: »

Carawaystick wrote: »

A driver unambiguously has to stop if a pedestrian is crossing at a junction.
That's a junction
There's no ambiguity

Any link to this - I don't doubt you - I've heard it before I just would like to know the source. Thanks in advance if you have it to hand, no bother if you dont.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1997/si/182/made/en/print

8 (3) A driver of a vehicle approaching a road junction shall yield the right of way to another vehicle which has commenced to turn or cross at the junction in accordance with these Regulations and to a pedestrian who has commenced to cross at the junction in accordance with these Regulations.

Dyr

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

What I don't understand about lights in Ireland is why the pedestrian green is not integrated. So if you have a simple junction like + when its green for traffic coming from left to right and right to left the same pedestrian lights should be green. With cars having to yield to pedestrians. Thats how it works here in NZ, and it works fine. allows longer cycles fro all directions by removing the stupid pedestrian only phase.

Because a lot of cars, buses and bikes already dont bother their hole yielding to pedestrians even with the current set up

ArmaniJeanss

My hatred is the many junctions wheres it's not possible for (traffic-light obeying) pedestrians to cross in one go - instead it has to be done in two stages with a pause on a traffic island in between.
There is no way such a setup would ever be considered acceptable for motor traffic, so beats me how they are allowed subject pedestrians to it.

Kings Inns or bust

@GM228 Very much obliged!

Carawaystick

Kings Inns or bust wrote: »

Any link to this - I don't doubt you - I've heard it before I just would like to know the source. Thanks in advance if you have it to hand, no bother if you dont.

SI192/1997 S8(3)
A driver of a vehicle approaching a road junction shall yield the right of way ... to a pedestrian who has commenced to cross at the junction in accordance with these Regulations.

MOH

Walterz wrote: »

Bizarre also that traffic lights still depend so much on needing to 'push the button'. But that's another matter.

That's pretty irritating. As is the fact that unless you hit the button by a certain point in the cycle, you won't get a green. There should always be an automatic green whenever there's no possibility of traffic passing through the crossing. Or at the very least, if someone hits the button at a point in the cycle when there's no oncoming traffic, get an immediate green.

Pedestrians are definitely lower class citizens as far as traffic lights go. I've pretty much given up on paying attention to them, especially since in many cases drivers accelerating through yellow/red lights across wide junctions will come speeding through the pedestrian crossing well after the light has gone green. You're actually far safer crossing just after it's gone red than just after it's gone green.

Zipppy

If you email traffic@dubincity.ie regarding traffic lights issues they do investigate and respond...worth a go..

Zipppy

Carawaystick wrote:

stay red until the vehicles on the Georges st/aungier st see red lights. It's daft, stopping people get from Dunnes to 747 travel in the streetview image.

Carawaystick wrote:

The pedestrian lights on the

Carawaystick wrote:

stay red until the vehicles on the Georges st/aungier st see red lights. It's daft, stopping people get from Dunnes to 747 travel in the streetview image.

Word has it that's being addressed in the coming weeks....

IE 222

The lights on commons st beside city group building are going to cost someone their life.

The stop line is a good 30 or 40ft back on commons st for turning onto north wall quay. Many times I've been the last van to pass the lights while green. By the time you enter the Quay from the stop line, turning left or right, you pass pedestrian lights that are always allowing pedestrians cross as the lights don't seem to program the distance to travel.

As it's a tight turn as well and sometimes having to squeeze past a bus eireann coach your attention is not really drawn to the pedestrian crossing unless you are aware of it.

Anyone else find the same problems here.

On a side note about mad traffic lights can anyone explain the purpose of the lights on harolds cross bridge. I'm sure the same set up is in other places as well. As you pass the main junction heading into the city centre there is a set of pedestrian lights no more than 10ft past the main ones. Why is this and if they are badly needed why are they not programmed to change with the other lights.

Zipppy

IE 222 wrote: »

The lights on commons st beside city group building are going to cost someone their life.

The stop line is a good 30 or 40ft back on commons st for turning onto north wall quay. Many times I've been the last van to pass the lights while green. By the time you enter the Quay from the stop line, turning left or right, you pass pedestrian lights that are always allowing pedestrians cross as the lights don't seem to program the distance to travel.

As it's a tight turn as well and sometimes having to squeeze past a bus eireann coach your attention is not really drawn to the pedestrian crossing unless you are aware of it.

Anyone else find the same problems here.

On a side note about mad traffic lights can anyone explain the purpose of the lights on harolds cross bridge. I'm sure the same set up is in other places as well. As you pass the main junction heading into the city centre there is a set of pedestrian lights no more than 10ft past the main ones. Why is this and if they are badly needed why are they not programmed to change with the other lights.

You should pop those comments in an email to traffic@dublincity.ie

Chuchote

Do those buttons actually work? I have a secret belief that they're only pretendy. The only one I've ever found to respond by stopping traffic is across the road outside the Dail

Zipppy

Chuchote wrote: »

Do those buttons actually work? I have a secret belief that they're only pretendy. The only one I've ever found to respond by stopping traffic is across the road outside the Dail

Of course the buttons work...but they dont change the lights immediately as it all works in a cycle..if however there has been no pedestrian seeking to cross in a while you will most likely get an immediate change..
Constantly pressing or hitting the button will however break it

GM228

Some buttons work and some intentionally don't as they don't affect the sequence, there's a good read about it here from the BBC but same principles apply here:-

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23869955