Clontarf to City Centre Cycle & Bus Priority Project discussion (renamed)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433732#Comment_119433732

It's an absolutely brutal retail location for travelling by car anyway. If you're coming from the northside and manage to get one of the few spaces beside Fairview Park (1 always occupied by the Computer Doctor) then you've to cross 4 lanes of traffic or walk back to the footbridge (which a driver isn't going to want to do after parking as close to the store as possible).

To get a space outside his shop you'd need to do an illegal u turn or carry on into North Strand to turn around and hope that one of the few spaces outside the shop are available.

Every single parking space along that section should be removed.

Seth Brundle

For the benefit of those unaware, here is a list of the key benefits from the project as posted on Twitter by DCC...

cgcsb

I haven't looked at the plans for the clontarf bus and cycle route in years and just had a look there. Am I the only one or are other people also massively disappointed? It's still going to be a massive 6 lane road with teeny tiny footpaths ok the side. The whole route could have been a people focused boulevard

Hopefully in the future the centre 2 lanes can be converted to a linear garden and footpath. Or maybe that's where future luas tracks will go.

Heard the piece on Newstalk. The responses were more balanced than i expected but not a single mention of 6km of water main upgrades. It’s that aspect that’s going to take a year, not the cycle and bus lane upgrade.

It’s bizarre that it’s not referenced at all

Seems apt

tomfoolery60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433511#Comment_119433511

Apparently we should also expect road closures to upgrade our power network as well as the ancient water network - I'm sure the usual suspects will find a way to blame cycle lanes.

https://www.businesspost.ie/news/power-cable-upgrade-could-lead-to-traffic-disruption-on-a-par-with-the-luas-works/

Here's a new one from Councillor Christy Burke (again he knew about this long in advance, so why is he only speaking up now) - "This detour will add to the chaos that’s already so congested people can’t let their children out of their sight for fear they will be knocked down."

Christy, how is there fear of being knocked down when traffic is so congested it will be moving less than 5kmh?

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/former-dublin-lord-major-warns-clontarf-e62-million-cycle-scheme-puts-lives-at-risk-1345988.html

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433655#Comment_119433655

Was through there last night. Annesley Place traffic light has been changed to bus only for right turn and left turn allowed.

No notice of any changes to Poplar Row to East Wall Road access so wouldn't worry about that, construction on intersection there would be (relatively) minimal anyway.

Larbre34

"People focused Boulevard"

Lolicopters.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119434846#Comment_119434846

He has a point. Drivers are already acting more dangerously than before the works in Fairview, mainly out of town direction. Speeds have increased, as well as more cars using the bus lane and breaking red lights.

spurious

Letter from Nial Ring delivered locally last night stating that the engineer in charge of the project has agreed that the situation will be reviewed 'on an on-going basis'.

I think I would rather they make a decision and stick to it rather than change it periodically. I agree with Citizen Six, there is some dreadful driving going on in Fairview as it is, not helped by cyclists and pedestrians who find themselves the traffic side of the metal barriers. On the outward side. you just need to look at what is left of the barriers outside Marino College.

He claims residents got no warning. That's not true. We knew this was going to happen at some stage, we just didn't know when, or for how long.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119432278#Comment_119432278

I wouldn't describe it that way either. It's starting to play catch-up now with BusConnects but still has a way to go.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119434846#Comment_119434846

I can't believe I'm about to say this but he has a point. The rat running through Marino was bad enough before this but it's going to be a lot worse. The amount of speeding that goes on around here is bananas and piling more cars through it definitely won't help. As a councilor he should have been proactive and put traffic calming measures and Z crossings in to the area before this work started.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119435945#Comment_119435945

Very simple solution to that is to put a Garda at the turn to Haverty Road and that will stop all the cars that illegally go up that route to skip out to Malahide Road. And some traffic enforcement in Fairview itself wouldn't go amiss. No reason speed cameras can't be put on the crossover bridge. The usual lack of interest to penalise motorists in this country will prevent any of this from happening of course.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119435956#Comment_119435956

There's no enforcement in the area at all. Cars fly down the one way road at Shelmartin Avenue all day every day to get down to Fairview strand and it's only luck that an accident hasn't happened yet.

Larbre34

But it's not illegal to go up Haverty, its a public road. Whats a Garda supposed to do, ask nicely?

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119432841#Comment_119432841

I was in Phoenix park yesterday car park (lord's) was full at 11 though still disabled spots free.

So we were directed to the overflow carpark it was great super organised.

Drove through Fairview last night coming in from ballybough it was busy but managed to merge with the lights as opposed to sitting there with a green light and no where to go.

I hit there around 17:45 same level of busy that I always associate with Fairview.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436014#Comment_119436014

I think you need to check the signage there. It's no through access during certain times to stop exactly what the OP was talking about.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436014#Comment_119436014

What do the signs on the pole mean so?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436159#Comment_119436159

No right turn at all times. Although you can turn left onto the street if coming down from Marino Park.

But what's worse is some drivers that cut around Marino Park, and then drive through the no entry on Brian Road, and up the one way street to get to Malahide Road.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436014#Comment_119436014

Good man, another ignorant post to prove you haven't a clue what you're talking about in this thread. Would you go off and wum elsewhere?

Economics101

I see the budget for the Clontarf-city centre project is €62.5m for works over a 2.7km stretch. Say about €25m per km of route. Sounds very expensive to me, given that I presume DCC would like to upgrade a large multiple of 2.7km of route.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437254#Comment_119437254

The main cost and the main time element here is a water mains renewal.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437254#Comment_119437254

it includes replacing 6km of water mains. That’s the part which will take a year. And cost a bomb. Something that’s conveniently forgotten in the media’s attempt to whip up a motorist v cyclist clickbait narrative. Seriously, so many people thinking that a cycle lane improvement is going to take 12 months and, at that cost, be plated with gold

(and we can expect much more of over the next decade as the crumbling water and electricity infrastructure needs to be upgraded across the city)

trellheim

Why are DCC budgeting for water works, surely thats an Irish water project coming out of IW budget ?

Also there tends to be a lot of notice re planned major waterworks . This has not been the case for this.

This forum is becoming extremely polarized of late with very strong views on the "anti-car" while not an entirely correct phrase, is not far from it.

I am an (recently ex since the pandemic , now WFH) cyclist commuter with hard knowledge cycling into town from D16, D4, D6, D8, D7 for the daily grind and the level of debate here is very much "we're right and you're wrong". Fairview to me looks like a pet project

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437438#Comment_119437438

IW will be paying for their element.

Notice is only given for interruptions.

Are you trying to claim that the mains replacement isn't happening or what?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437438#Comment_119437438

I predict that there will be 10 foot deep, hundreds of metres long trenches dug in north strand over coming months

Economics101

I see the watermain element of this has been very much lost in the general discussion. Glad I asked the 62.5m Euro question. Have the journalists been missing out on this?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437499#Comment_119437499

Journalists have been taking inaccurate moans (or admissions of completely not doing their job, in the case of the councillors claiming no consultation etc) and printing them verbatim. There's zero effort being put in to reporting

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437438#Comment_119437438

I think people are just frustrated with the fact that every single public transport infrastructure project gets objected to and then delayed, and delayed and delayed again.

At some point we do have to get on with them, and yes they will cause short-medium term disruption, but we have to start actually delivering on them at some point.

The city needs projects like this, that will improve public transport, to actually happen and then that improved bus service might entice people back out of their cars, otherwise we are just going to have worse and worse gridlock.

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437499#Comment_119437499

I’m sure the journalists know, but it doesn’t generate the same motorists versus cyclists click-bait.

To people who aren’t cyclists, a cycle lane seems optional, but everyone needs fresh drinking water. If a water main needs replacing, then that is that, doesn’t matter how much you complain, it just has to be done, it takes the wind out of most complaints.