No more motorways - what ya reckon?

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/we-will-build-bypasses-instead-of-motorways-from-now-on-to-save-dying-irish-towns-eamon-ryan-40579975.html

IRELAND will be building bypasses in the future rather than new motorways, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has declared.

“The switch has been made and it’s agreed in Government,” the leader of the Green Party insisted.

He told the Seanad today that the days of new motorways that “go out and out and out” were over

Having people living in the centre of the town is not only good in terms of addressing the housing crisis, but it means we don't have to build out and out, and we don't have to pour all the cement for the new pavements and the new water management systems, and the new schools, and the new everything that goes out and out and out.”

With electric vehicles on the horizon the greens would prefer we used public transport and live in high density rather than keep private cars

Are they right or wrong?

Imagine covid if we could only use uber
Why live in high density now with working from home being a norm?

nc6000

Were we going to be building any new motorways anyway? Apart from the Cork - Limerick one I can't think of any.

So bypasses around small towns will encourage people to fix up empty properties and will solve the housing crisis?

Atlantic Dawn

He won't be in power long enough to make any of his bollixology decisions see the light of day.

magicbastarder

Deleted User wrote: »

With electric vehicles on the horizon the greens would prefer we used public transport and live in high density rather than keep private cars

Are they right or wrong?

Imagine covid if we could only use uber
Why live in high density now with working from home being a norm?

i'm not quite sure what you're saying here.
cars take up the same space on the road whether they're electric or ICE.
electric cars aren't *that* much more efficient than ICE cars anyway.

Kermit.de.frog

I think the Irish public have a right to expect a minimum standard of road same as other western countries. That means motorways as well as other improvements.

Trying to deprive the public of services/infrastructure other countries have enjoyed for decades for mindless, baseless ideology really ticks people off.

Heraclius

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

I think the Irish public have a right to expect a minimum standard of road same as other western countries. That means motorways as well as other improvements.

Trying to deprive the public of services/infrastructure other countries have enjoyed for decades for mindless, baseless ideology really ticks people off.

With a few notable exceptions aren't all the major motorway projects finished now anyway?

Atlantic Dawn

They bought brand new hybrid buses for Dublin Bus with no AC, the manufacturers must still be laughing at that ultra dumbass decision.

magicbastarder

BREAKING NEWS - no dublin bus routes use motorways, completed or yet to be built*

*citation required

We can't manage public transport with the towns/cities we have at the minute.

Heraclius

[Deleted User] wrote: »

We can't manage public transport with the towns/cities we have at the minute.

Because we don't invest enough in it and our cities are choked with cars?

Jimbob1977

The N24 Limerick to Waterford road needs a major upgrade in many places.

Possibly not a motorway, but at least a dual carriageway

Kermit.de.frog

Heraclius wrote: »

With a few notable exceptions aren't all the major motorway projects finished now anyway?

Nope, there is the M20, M28, the gap in the M11, Cork Ring Road and more to do yet including widening existing routes.

Ardent

Eamon Ryan has either become more radical or more stupid with age, I can never really determine which.

magicbastarder

wales has announced a cessation of *all* new road building, this is less radical than that.

alias no.9

magicbastarder wrote: »

BREAKING NEWS - no dublin bus routes use motorways, completed or yet to be built*

*citation required

Multiple routes use motorways to travel between the garage and the terminus, either that or they bring empty busses on the M50 for ****s and giggles

magicbastarder

so no actual bus routes use motorways?
i.e. the comment about dublin buses and A/C has zero relevance to the thread topic?

ianobrien

So, in one of the country's in Europe that has one of the highest percentage of rural population, Mr Ryan has decided that the rural dwellers don't need any more motorways. What about all the businesses that need roads for distribution.

Also, reading the nonsense about not building out and out, does that mean we are now going to be building up and up? I read it to mean no new housing estates. Now that will be fun as all it means is massive tower blocks. It looks like some sort of dystopian future from a Hollywood film.

Geez that man is for the birds.......

punisher5112

To be honest there won't be any money to do any roads....

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

They bought brand new hybrid buses for Dublin Bus with no AC, the manufacturers must still be laughing at that ultra dumbass decision.

Don’t the windows open? If so, grand.

Atlantic Dawn

fvp4 wrote: »

Don’t he windows open? If so, grand.

In diesel congested capital cities not a good idea, additionally not a comfortable place to be in the summer, don't worry though, none of the government TD's nor Dublin Bus management will be travelling in them ever.

Arealred

This will hopefully be the last time we see the Greens, at best they are idiots at worse they are psychopaths.

For the economy to function motorways are needed between Cork and Limerick, Limerick and Waterford/ Rosslare, Dublin and Donegal.

These clowns are deluded leaving wolves roam in rural Ireland, carsharing in rural areas and lettuce on windowsills.

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

In diesel congested capital cities not a good idea, additionally not a comfortable place to be in the summer, don't worry though, none of the government TD's nor Dublin Bus management will be travelling in them ever.

I prefer when the windows can open on a bus, or train, myself. Important in the Covid era.

Ventilate ventilate ventilate.

AlfaZen

So keep the death rates on our roads as high as possible. Makes sense.

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

In diesel congested capital cities not a good idea

:rolleyes:

DrumSteve

I asked a friend of mine recently, who's a farmer in the west, what his thoughts on Eamonn were as we were discussing a few things, and suffice it to say, they don't have much time for Eamo in rural Ireland.

Strumms

Heraclius wrote: »

Because we don't invest enough in it and our cities are choked with cars?

Stockholm has about 300,000 less people then Dublin, yet has a functioning Metro since 1950... 7 lines 100 stations.

athlone573

I would tend to agree that money would be better spent on "building up" and on public transport in the cities than on building motorways everywhere.

However that is conditioned on the most unsafe roads being upgraded to a safe standard (dual carriageway or 2+1),there are still some shocking roads once you cross the Shannon (or the border to Derry or North Donegal but that's not in our direct remit).

That's a Dublin centric view, people have already mentioned the Cork Limerick mway and the M11 completion. What other mways do people want?

Geuze

Deleted User wrote: »

With electric vehicles on the horizon the greens would prefer we used public transport and live in high density rather than keep private cars

Are they right or wrong?

Imagine covid if we could only use uber
Why live in high density now with working from home being a norm?

I don't think anybody is suggesting skyscrapers, etc.

Just 4-6 storeys in cities, and more people living in villages and towns, rather than one-off rural housing.

Jaysci20

What exactly is referring to with "go out and out and out".

He means expanding outward from town/city centres?

Podge_irl

The ratio of spending in Ireland on roads versus public transport is monumentally weighted towards roads. A correction is needed.

This is the same government that won't allow upward building in the capital city, and also want to add a congestion charge to those who have to buy in the sprawling suburbs.

Joined up thinking is not a strong point.


When (if) they ever get public transport sorted, then they can look at trying to get rid of cars. Though they won't need to - if they can manage to wrangle together some kind of half-decent public transport, people will leave their cars anyway.

Vic_08

magicbastarder wrote: »

so no actual bus routes use motorways?

Yes there are actual bus routes using motorways.

fritzelly

If this idiot comes up with a suggestion you can pretty much guarantee its a bad idea - he should just stick to sleeping on the job - makes him look less of a fool

Lets be better for the planet but...
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/opw-rejects-green-party-idea-of-lighting-phoenix-park-for-joggers-1.4449796

Wasn't it Gormless that wanted to ban incandescent bulbs when it was already agreed EU wide to ban them within a timescale

How the green party ever gets votes is beyond me - they can't even agree on stuff between themselves

Building the M20 instead of an M24 shows just how clueless these people are.

suicide_circus

Hasnt this pandemic shown us that global interest rates allow us to borrow vast sums indefinately with no ill effect? Build the motorways, a train station in every village.

Banana Republic 1

DrumSteve wrote: »

I asked a friend of mine recently, who's a farmer in the west, what his thoughts on Eamonn were as we were discussing a few things, and suffice it to say, they don't have much time for Eamo in rural Ireland.

Was that the same fella Enda met that time, with two pints in his hands….

mickuhaha

The government want to stop building the safest roads available. What absolute nonsense. They also have a rail network that slows down then there are leaves on the tracks and people sitting on the floor during busy times. A city bus that drives past stops during rush hour. Small towns within virtually no bus or train service. Unaffordable houses in urban areas. Allowed house's to be built with pirite. Virtually the worst cost over run for a hospital in the world. Want to sell there shares in a bank just as they start to increase in value. A rip of insurance industry. An unaffordable legal system. Ect. I don't think the Irish government are the best for taking recommendations from their costly experts as they seem to do what they like anyways.

RobAMerc

Build more bypasses ? Why so we can put a Tesco, Woodies etc on them and suck the life and all the traffic out of every town centre ? Eamon ryan is consistently the Top Clown in a circus full of them.

lisasimpson

If hes not going to build anymore more motorways here one. Can you ensure we have a proper rail service. The reason the ballybropy limerick line is so underused is none of the train times suit workers to get into limerick in time and it so slow any trains that do run on it

biko

The biggest eejits are all Greens.

prunudo

This the same Emaon Ryan that has contributed to the delay in getting Metrolink built because he facilitated south Dublin residents in objecting against it going through their neighbourhood's?

magicbastarder

Vic_08 wrote: »

Yes there are actual bus routes using motorways.

which ones? we were talking about dublin bus specifically, i think that context was lost.

Icemancometh

magicbastarder wrote: »

which ones? we were talking about dublin bus specifically, i think that context was lost.

The 76b used the m50. Haven't been on it since 2011, so no idea if it still operates or goes the same route.

magicbastarder

RobAMerc wrote: »

Build more bypasses ? Why so we can put a Tesco, Woodies etc on them and suck the life and all the traffic out of every town centre ? Eamon ryan is consistently the Top Clown in a circus full of them.

so we *shouldn't* bypass towns? surely the issue is those out of town retail parks - which happen with or without bypasses - not the bypasses themselves.

magicbastarder

according to wikipedia, we currently have 916km of motorway in ireland; which means we've actually more km of motorway per capita than germany.

motorways in ireland seem to have become an article of faith. motorways = good, more motorways = more good, all the motorways = all the good.

RobAMerc

RobAMerc wrote: »

Build more bypasses ? Why so we can put a Tesco, Woodies etc on them and suck the life and all the traffic out of every town centre ? Eamon ryan is consistently the Top Clown in a circus full of them.

Motorways bypass towns.

I didn’t think that argument for not building bypasses was made anymore. Whatever you think about motorways vs bypasses both are better than sending heavy traffic through congested town centres they don’t want to go through.

prunudo

prunudo wrote: »

This the same Emaon Ryan that has contributed to the delay in getting Metrolink built because he facilitated south Dublin residents in objecting against it going through their neighbourhood's?

Probably. The greens are totally class hypocrites.

Infini

I honestly think Eamon is a fecking muppet the way he goes on sometimes, we dont need motorways everywhere but we do need a motorway network to be able to cover the links between major cities. Atm that network mainly radiates out of Dublin to the other cities and the North West is definately poorly connected compared to the rest of the country. Sometimes he really comes out with utterly stupid statements sometimes.

Mad_maxx

the Cork - Limerick motorway is absolutely essential , very big population in the hinterland never mind the commercial advantages of a direct route , current route is awful

its a pity the M18 was built as it was not necessary , population North of Galway is very small and there already was a motorway from Gort to Limerick , the road from Gort to Oranmore wasnt even that bad , good and wide , M18 was built first for political reasons , Taoiseach at the time was a Mayo man and the M18 allows people from Claremorris etc to head south quicker

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

according to wikipedia, we currently have 916km of motorway in ireland; which means we've actually more km of motorway per capita than germany.

motorways in ireland seem to have become an article of faith. motorways = good, more motorways = more good, all the motorways = all the good.

I think the m20 is needed. Maybe something to Sligo.

Then that’s it. There is no need for a M24. A better road, yes, a motorway no.

matrim

We don’t always need motorways but some of our N roads need to be updated and part of that should be adding regular overtaking lanes / sections.