R503 Newport road traffic

Squarewave

Hi guys.
I'm looking at buying a house outside of the city out towards Newport. I'll need to commute to Raheen every day so I will be travelling along the R503 and joining the M7 southbound at the Mackey/Finnegan's roundabout. I know that roundabout can be crazy in the mornings during school & college terms so I'm a bit concerned it will add a long delay to the commute..
Does anybody know how backed up the traffic gets on the R503 joining the roundabout around 8.30-8.45 in the mornings?
Thanks!

EndaHonesty

Squarewave wrote: »

Hi guys.
I'm looking at buying a house outside of the city out towards Newport. I'll need to commute to Raheen every day so I will be travelling along the R503 and joining the M7 southbound at the Mackey/Finnegan's roundabout. I know that roundabout can be crazy in the mornings during school & college terms so I'm a bit concerned it will add a long delay to the commute..
Does anybody know how backed up the traffic gets on the R503 joining the roundabout around 8.30-8.45 in the mornings?
Thanks!

There are several roads that link the R503 to the R445 before the roundabout.

Once you're on the R445 you're on the right side of the the traffic flow and you shouldn't be delayed.

jonski

EndaHonesty wrote: »

There are several roads that link the R503 to the R445 before the roundabout.

Once you're on the R445 you're on the right side of the the traffic flow and you shouldn't be delayed.

I'm confused , why would they be on the R445 ?

They will be coming in from Newport on the R503 looking to join the Motorway .

For the last year I have been traveling the motorway around there between 8:30 and 9:30 and when looking down from the over pass there does seem to be a tailback on the R503 . But how long people are actually stuck there I couldn't say .

Berty

From 8:15 to 8:45 that roundabout is a near standstill. Right now, outside of schools term, the junction is a breeze. I live in Newport and normally hit the roundabout just after 8, schools or no schools.

Once you're through its a breeze to raheen.

EndaHonesty

jonski wrote: »

I'm confused , why would they be on the R445 ?

They will be coming in from Newport on the R503 looking to join the Motorway

It's not hard to understand.

If you use the R503 you're at the mercy of southbound traffic coming off the motorway going to Plassey.

If you use the R445 you join the roundabout on the other side of the motorway thus avoiding the traffic coming off the M7.

As Berty said it's really dependant on what time you hit the roundabout.

My point was that there are ways to avoid most of the traffic if you need to.

jonski

EndaHonesty wrote: »

It's not hard to understand.

Aha ! I see what ye are doing , ye sneaky sneaky people, jumping off the 503 before the roundabout and crossing over to the 445 near the railway crossing or Dalys Cross . Crazy , like a fox .

bazz26

Finnegan's roundabout which the Newport road joins to get onto the M7 slip road is grid locked at rush hour times. If your working hours are outside these times then it shouldn't be an issue.

Chavways

I live in Castleconnell and also work in Raheen so use the roundabout every day. Would usually hit it at around 8:15 or 8:20 every day but during school and college term you could be stuck there for 20 minutes or more some days due to the traffic lights up past Finnegans.

Berty

Leaving the R503 before the old shop and joining the old N7 is an option but you still hit the roundabout and if it's really busy then you're probably gaining up to 10 cars.

When I use that option I have a look to see a big vehicle before turning so that when I see that after I pass the R503 on the roundabout I know if it's been worthwhile.

Also IF you don't mind a few extra Kms when going to work you can either go through murroe and bruff and join the n24 which isn't an easy task.

Or head to birdhill and join the M7 there thus avoiding the roundabout. I've never done that, too far. What you gain in not sitting in traffic you lose making the journey.

The Specialist

Chavways wrote: »

I live in Castleconnell and also work in Raheen so use the roundabout every day. Would usually hit it at around 8:15 or 8:20 every day but during school and college term you could be stuck there for 20 minutes or more some days due to the traffic lights up past Finnegans.

From personal experience, those delays are caused by sneaky pricks from the M7 slip road trying to turn towards Plassey from the right hand lane (which should only be used if heading towards Castleconnell), and traffic coming from the Castleconnell side trying to have a pissing match with those coming off the slip road. Traffic lights on the roundabout would help some bit?

It's a nightmare during the school year and is only going to get worse with the likes of Troy, BD and DAA starting up in Plassey.

Berty

That's actually incorrect, in my opinion. The right lane, inner orbital lane, is for heading into Plassey from the M7 slip approach.

There are two arguments for it. 1, is that it's after the 12 o'clock position so use the inner lane and 2, it's the 3rd exit meaning you also use the inner orbital lane.

Granted when it's chocca both lanes have to form into one which is part of the problem. If there was only two inbound lanes and/or a roundabout where the lights were it would be okay.

When they were building this roundabout there was a sign for about a year on the Newport road saying to use the right lane for heading in the Dublin road which is wrong and people did it and still do it and some do it to try to get one up on people and others believed the sign must be correct.

Granted the comments above are off topic but I'm confident I'm correct about lane positioning.

Squarewave

Thanks all for the replies, they more or less confirmed my suspicions! I have a bit of flexibility with working hours so I would be able to avoid the worst of the traffic from the sounds of it.
It'll be interesting to see what the plan for integrating the northern distributor road will be...