Motorway from Dublin to Sligo Needed Badly

knipex

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

None of us are furnished with crystal balls nor have special gifts or powers to look into the future unfortunately ... but we can have vision if we just think out of the box - I personally have a vision of a motorway being built, then people using it to commute quickly to A & B , open up tourism , Make it more attractive for people to set up business near the motorway , bring more people to the area to live and work. I have seen before what motorways can do to areas in the way of opening possibilities up and bringing new life to areas ....

But that's is the exact opposite of what we as a country need to do and also the exact opposite of what the spatial strategy is recommending.

Ideally the Limerick \ Cork motorway when built woudl have 2, max 3 exists. 1st one in Limerick, and the second one in Cork.

We want and need to encourage out of rural housing and into urban centers.

By selecting large urban centers (such as Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford) and driving investment into those areas, you provide growth centers to compete with Dublin. You then grow populations in those centers and take the pressure off Dublin.

By urbanizing the population its, easier, cheaper and vastly less political to provide services such as health, broadband, education even roads become so much easier and cheaper to provide.

Singapore has a population of 5.6 million but has 6 acute hospital. 6. serving 5.6 million.. With minimal waiting lists.

I am not for a second saying we can do similar but we had 52 acute hospitals serving a population of 4.8 million.. 52 acute hospitals. That is improving now but still we are way off by internationals standards.

Putting a motorway to Sligo with exits at every town along the way would only encourage population to spread out even more. and drive more commuting..

blackwhite

CountingCrows wrote: »

In your experience maybe but I can tell you for a fact it's a common occurrence any Friday or Sunday.

Leaving Leopardstown at 5.30-6 on a Friday it would be extremely rare for it to take me 3 hours to get to my parents house north of Sligo town. 2hrs 30min from M50 to Summerhill would be a bad night TBH.

Unless you are counting a stop somewhere into your journey time I hope I never get stuck behind you!!

BenBulben18

CountingCrows wrote: »

In your experience maybe but I can tell you for a fact it's a common occurrence any Friday or Sunday.

Commuter times most likely. Not sure about Friday, but I've often got back from Dublin very quickly of a Sunday evening. Maybe it's not as fast the other way round. I meant in terms of distance, it's not a three-hour journey, it just depends what obstacles might make it so.

Mint Sauce

Carraroe, to Dublin, be that the Airport, Ballsbridge, Castleknock (my usual spots), is about 2hrs 30, and that's stopping along the way, average time.

marno21

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Carraroe, to Dublin, be that the Airport, Ballsbridge, Castleknock (my usual spots), is about 2hrs 30, and that's stopping along the way, average time.

As a frequent N4/M4 user, which parts of the road do you think need the most attention to improve net journey times?

blackwhite

marno21 wrote: »

As a frequent N4/M4 user, which parts of the road do you think need the most attention to improve net journey times?

I know it’s not dirceted at me - but Longford-Mullingar needs to be prioritised due to volumes. Road itself isn’t the worst stretch, but the volumes on it more than justify a capacity increase. Longford to Edgewardstown is probably a worse stretch than the Edgewardstown to Mullingar sections, but volumes are the root of the delays on both

After that - I’d say the section from Roosky to Newtown Forbes needs to be looked at as well (with a bypass of Newtown Forbes if possible - I’m shocked there haven’t been more accidents there given the atrocious parking that goes on along the road there).

Obviously both of the above are excluding the Cloonamahon-Castlebaldwin stretch that’s about to get upgraded. Whilst volumes aren’t that bad on that stretch, it’s the only part on it that I’d classify as “dangerous”.


For a period of 6/7 years I drove from Dublin (varied locations) to north Sligo and back at least once, and often twice, most weekends. The only times it ever took more than 2hrs 45 min were when there was an accident or incident somewhere on the route.

shanec1928

marno21 wrote: »

As a frequent N4/M4 user, which parts of the road do you think need the most attention to improve net journey times?

as some one who travels it regularly enough. Longford to mullingar. Would make a huge difference when done. Bar that long stretch it’s pretty limited on where you can pass not to mention all the small villages that you need to slow down for. Next carrick it’s just a bottleneck.then dromd to Longford including a bypass for newtonforbs.As things stand it’s quit easy to do the journey Either way in 2 hours even time of day depending.

Mint Sauce

marno21 wrote: »

As a frequent N4/M4 user, which parts of the road do you think need the most attention to improve net journey times?

As pretty much my previous posts, extend the Motorway to Longford, get rid of the round abouts, and by pass Carrick.

Andy From Sligo

no-one think improvements to be done where carrick-on-shannon is so you can cut out driving along the road where whispies / supermacs is and driving into the town of COS? (is it a town?)

That Newtownforbs is mad, imagine it still being like that today and that stupid severe bend you have to slow right down for (on a main National road to Dublin as well) - or is it bypassed yet? , I dont think so

marno21

The three posts above are indicative of what will actually happen.

Collooney-Castlebaldwin is #1 priority as it's just downright dangerous. Net time savings will be smaller than the other schemes but the safety benefits are huge, and it'll stop frustration of being stuck behind a truck or bus.

TII have prioritised the other two sections for upgrade, Mullingar-Longford (possibly, hopefully Rooskey) and Carrick-Dromod. Nobody is complaining about Castlebaldwin-Carrick on Shannon which is indicative of how much of an issue it is.

If we have dual carriageway from the M50 to north of Carrick on Shannon and Castlebaldwin to Sligo by 2027 there will be a short gap that can easily be retrofitted online as it's quite wide. There are bigger priorities in Sligo on the N15, N16 and N17 anyway.

londonred

marno21 wrote: »

As a frequent N4/M4 user, which parts of the road do you think need the most attention to improve net journey times?

Carrick on Shannon and the 17 roundabouts for starters , new road between Mullingar and Dromard so the cattle trucks can still use the old one on Saturdays on there way to the marts.

Andy From Sligo

londonred wrote: »

Carrick on Shannon and the 17 roundabouts for starters , new road between Mullingar and Dromard so the cattle trucks can still use the old one on Saturdays on there way to the marts.

this is another one of those shortcomings of using a National road as a means of getting from A-B in Ireland. Had this motorway had already been built from Sligo to Dublin then am I correct in saying farm vehicles are prohibited from using motorways? - as are walkers/joggers/people thumbing a lift , slow vehicles and learner drivers?

red sean

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

this is another one of those shortcomings of using a National road as a means of getting from A-B in Ireland. Had this motorway had already been built from Sligo to Dublin then am I correct in saying farm vehicles are prohibited from using motorways? - as are walkers/joggers/people thumbing a lift , slow vehicles and learner drivers?

If you have a drivers licence you should know the answers to your questions

Mint Sauce

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

this is another one of those shortcomings of using a National road as a means of getting from A-B in Ireland. Had this motorway had already been built from Sligo to Dublin then am I correct in saying farm vehicles are prohibited from using motorways? - as are walkers/joggers/people thumbing a lift , slow vehicles and learner drivers?

You are correct. When building a motorway, part of the plans are, that there's an alternative route for the above.

Andy From Sligo

red sean wrote: »

If you have a drivers licence you should know the answers to your questions

yes

but then again i dont drive anything agricultural , nor a learner driver , nor thumb for lifts , nor cycle ... so i dont have to worry about brushing up on it

ondafly

It used to take over 4 hours to get to Sligo by car from Dublin in the 90s - I think the road in the last few years is f'ing brilliant in comparison. You can easily be in Strandhill in 2 hours 30 mins, and thats obeying the traffic laws. You just have to be smart at what time you leave at.

It used to take my Dad even longer back in the day on a bloody Lambretta, so the road to him now is like bliss.

Try driving to Bantry from Cork and back again - now that's a road that needs looking at.

Andy From Sligo

ondafly wrote: »

It used to take over 4 hours to get to Sligo by car from Dublin in the 90s - I think the road in the last few years is f'ing brilliant in comparison. You can easily be in Strandhill in 2 hours 30 mins, and thats obeying the traffic laws. You just have to be smart at what time you leave at.

It used to take my Dad even longer back in the day on a bloody Lambretta, so the road to him now is like bliss.

Try driving to Bantry from Cork and back again - now that's a road that needs looking at.

want to share? - what time do you find its best at?

Wife & I moved to Ireland in 1991 (when people say every now and again "What brought you to Ireland?" - I normally like to say "the Ferry!" )

I remember getting off Ferry in Dun Laohaire and then our first stop was always Harrys in Kinnegad for a cup of tea and a fry and stretch our legs... apart from that I cannot remember what the rest of the journey was like or what the roads were like. - Did it really take 4 Hours to get to sligo? .. I suppose it did, if you say so

marno21

Some updates on these for those interested:

N4 dualling from Castlebaldwin to Collooney is to be awarded to a contractor in early Q4 2018 with a start soon after.

N4 Mullingar-Longford to move into early planning stages imminently. Of the list of future schemes in the capital plan, this is at the top of the list with the N2 from Ardee to the border

Two other schemes will move into early planning shortly also, N4 around Carrick on Shannon and the N17 from Tobercurry to Collooney

For those with interests further north, the Ballybofey/Stranorlar bypass is at route selection with the route options currently at public consultation. Should start around 2022.

dingding

Om holiday in the UK at the moment and I cand believe how hard ot is to get around in comparrison. The motorways are packed with traffic and many large towns are connected by A roads with no hardshoulder. The castlebaldwin would be good compared to some of the roads here. The changes proposed will make a huge difference in Sligo. Even as it is you can probably get a lot quicker and a lot more reliably than an equivalent journey in the UK between London to Bristol is 2.30 and is the same distance as Sligo to Dublin. Leave London at noon and the journey will take more than 3 hours, probably nearer 4.

Andy From Sligo

dingding wrote: »

Om holiday in the UK at the moment and I cand believe how hard ot is to get around in comparrison. The motorways are packed with traffic and many large towns are connected by A roads with no hardshoulder. The castlebaldwin would be good compared to some of the roads here. The changes proposed will make a huge difference in Sligo. Even as it is you can probably get a lot quicker and a lot more reliably than an equivalent journey in the UK between London to Bristol is 2.30 and is the same distance as Sligo to Dublin. Leave London at noon and the journey will take more than 3 hours, probably nearer 4.

thats cause of the population innit - more population = more cars = more congestion ... you imagine them motorways in the UK when they had less traffic on the roads. I remember my brother back in the 70's driving us on the M1 from Luton to London regularly , absolutely no hold ups 70mph on the motorway all the way got to london in no time because there were less population/traffic on the road same again when he took us up to birmingham .. no congestion/jams - shouldnt think its like that these days with the overcrowding now in the UK

dingding

There are large towns not linked by the mororway network. Bath, where I have been a lot has no motorway and when you are traveling to Bristol airport it is cross country and the 20 miles takes 44 minutes. The road between Bristol and Bath, 2 large towns is 12 miles and takes half an hour. Sligo and Grange would be better connected and each have a smaller hinterland than Bristol and Bath. I suppose the point is we have a fascination with motorways and dual carridgeways but when we look at the UK which is larger and denser population the road network would be a lot poorer.

londonred

marno21 wrote: »

Some updates on these for those interested:

N4 dualling from Castlebaldwin to Collooney is to be awarded to a contractor in early Q4 2018 with a start soon after.

N4 Mullingar-Longford to move into early planning stages imminently. Of the list of future schemes in the capital plan, this is at the top of the list with the N2 from Ardee to the border

Two other schemes will move into early planning shortly also, N4 around Carrick on Shannon and the N17 from Tobercurry to Collooney

For those with interests further north, the Ballybofey/Stranorlar bypass is at route selection with the route options currently at public consultation. Should start around 2022.

Great news , will Carrick be bypassed can be a bad bottleneck at times ? Carrick festival is next weekend i heard some horror stories about last year a friend took 2hrs to get though on the Sunday afternoon.

marno21

londonred wrote: »

Great news , will Carrick be bypassed can be a bad bottleneck at times ? Carrick festival is next weekend i heard some horror stories about last year a friend took 2hrs to get though on the Sunday afternoon.

Yes but it will be a few years before it's complete. Dual carriageway from the northern end of the Dromod/Roosky bypass to north of Carrick

londonred

Another bad experience on Saturday afternoon someone decided to drive at 60kph between Mullingar and Longford serious tailback will caused some suicidal overtaking miracle there was not a serious accident .

Idbatterim

londonred wrote: »

Another bad experience on Saturday afternoon someone decided to drive at 60kph between Mullingar and Longford serious tailback will caused some suicidal overtaking miracle there was not a serious accident .

I had a similar experience on this read a few weeks ago. These idiots should be pulled into hard shoulder if possible or not be driving ...

marno21

londonred wrote: »

Another bad experience on Saturday afternoon someone decided to drive at 60kph between Mullingar and Longford serious tailback will caused some suicidal overtaking miracle there was not a serious accident .

These people are the reason why a dual carriageway from Mullingar to Carrick is being prioritised

Buford T Justice

Idbatterim wrote: »

I had a similar experience on this read a few weeks ago. These idiots should be pulled into hard shoulder if possible or not be driving ...

That's actually an offence under the current legislation. brought it in a few years back

Andy From Sligo

Buford T Justice wrote: »

That's actually an offence under the current legislation. brought it in a few years back

should it have been though? - i know i should know this but is it still an offence to pull in, let the others pass and then pull out again?

I can understand the reasoning against actually driving in the hard shoulder , but pulling in to let others pass you should be OK shouldnt it be?

Idbatterim

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

should it have been though? - i know i should know this but is it still an offence to pull in, let the others pass and then pull out again?

I can understand the reasoning against actually driving in the hard shoulder , but pulling in to let others pass you should be OK shouldnt it be?

If there’s a continuatiousvwhire line, they supposedly do it in safety grounds. The geniuses they are, I’ve no reason to doubt their logic. So they reckon drivers crawling along and some overtaking when they shouldn’t be , is safer than someone pulling into hard shoulder ?! Lol

T-Bird

Buford T Justice wrote: »

That's actually an offence under the current legislation. brought it in a few years back

Not quite true.
It is illegal to drive on a hard shoulder on a motorway or on an unbroken yellow line on an N road.

RSA rule for a single broken yellow line on the side of a road is as follows

A single broken yellow line along the side of the road

“This road contains a hard shoulder, which is normally only for pedestrians and cyclists. If a driver wants to allow a vehicle behind them to overtake, they may pull in to the hard shoulder briefly (but do not continue driving in the hard shoulder) as long as no pedestrians or cyclists are already using it and no junctions or entrances are nearby”.