N40 - Cork South Ring Road upgrade [early planning underway]

DylanQuestion

The lack of lights between the tunnel and Douglas has always confused me given it is the most urban part of the road. Bloomfield is especially dark

AugustusMinimus

I still don’t understand why they went to the effort to physically remove the lampposts. What a ridiculous waste of time and money.

TheSunIsShining

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121557070#Comment_121557070

Yes. Very dark - assume the lack of lights is becauses it's a protected area or something as it's right in the middle of the estuary.

And lighting issues seem particularly exaggerated as the lighting in the tunnel seems to be very badly set up in general. It often tends to be darker in the tunnel than during daylight and when you emerge then you are dazzled for a second or two. Given that it must be the most "closed for maintenance" road tunnel in Western Europe, you'd think someone could sort it out.

DylanQuestion

Plus when you come out the northside of the tunnel you're faced with multiple gantry signs all saying different things

cantalach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121557124#Comment_121557124

It’s a lot of recyclable metal.

hans aus dtschl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121557126#Comment_121557126

I was thinking it could be something to do with the harbour SPA and birds nesting alright.

Pete_Cavan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121557124#Comment_121557124

I'd presume they were removed to be reused elsewhere.

spacetweek

Silly and dodgy comment from idi na khuy removed

DylanQuestion

As I mentioned before, due to the introduction of bus gates on Douglas Road, Bus Connects states that individuals driving from Douglas to the city centre should use the N40 and N27 instead, which goes against the idea of the N40 not being for local traffic. Since the publication of the Bus Connects consultations, TII/the City Council have been updating road signage across the city. I noticed the other day that the South Ring signs at the junction of Grange Road and Donnybrook Hill have been replaced with signs for City Centre. However, instead of telling drivers to use the R851 South Douglas Road, it states they should use the N40 and N27

Is there an actual desire in TII to remove local traffic off the N40, or is that just something us on here are advocating for?

cantalach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121851403#Comment_121851403

I don’t know that it’s true to say that “us on here” generally are advocating for removal of local traffic from the N40. I’m not anyway. Our starting point for fixing the N40 should not be to look at whatever was originally envisaged for it over a quarter century ago. Our starting point needs to be a recognition of what the N40 has become. Almost more so than being a bypass, it is a major arterial route for moving around within the wider south side of the city. It is difficult to see how any kind of outer distributor could be built with sufficient capacity in a corridor that would enable it to accommodate all those trips. The opposition to BusConnect demonstrates how difficult it would be to widen and/or realign roads in suburban Cork.

Perhaps a limited distributor has a role to play, but I think that the key to fixing the current N40 is to build the North Ring.

KrisW1001

The opposition to BusConnects is not about realigning roads.

Capacity of N40 needs to increase, but that doesn't mean more road lanes. Right now, the road is swamped with single-occupant passenger cars, the least efficient way to use the space. That will have to change somehow.

DylanQuestion

While on the topic of road signage. It seems to be standard practise in the last ten+ years across the country to just use the title "Airport" or a symbol of an airplane for identifying airports, rather than saying the airport's actual name. However, over the last 2/3 months, all new road signage on/around the N27 specifically names the airport (i.e. Cork Airport), and in the last few weeks, signage at Kinsale Road Roundabout and on Airport Road that just said Airport has been removed and replaced with signs saying Cork Airport. I wonder why they're going to this effort? And if they will replace the N40 mainline gantry signs too to say Cork Airport?

I completely get them replacing old N25 signage with N40, and replacing previous county controlled area signage that said Cork with City Centre. It just seems weird to go to all the effort to add the word Cork before Airport, as if it isn't already obvious what airport is being referred to? I even saw they replaced the N27 directional sign at the Tramore Valley Park end of Mick Barry Road. Before, it said "CORCAIGH City Centre", and now it says "AN LÁR City Centre". A whole new sign just to replace the Irish? I'm not complaining, I just wonder what the justificaiton is

Chris_5339762

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121852684#Comment_121852684

Absolutely. But even with Cork Luas, Cork Dart and Busconnects, there will still not be public transport for a huge number of people coming in from the East, North and South. All of those trips require the N40 because there is no alternative to it.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121853112#Comment_121853112

It's no different in Dublin. The LUAS only serves part of the city. DART even less. For the rest it's unreliable bus services, multiple changes or just drive.

Add to that a property and rental crisis (just as in Cork) and you have more people needing to get to the city from further away adding to congestion.

What SHOULD happen though (in Cork, Dublin and elsewhere) is replicating the Black Ash P&R setup. I'm in Cork regularly and use it most times I've to go into town - for €5 per car with a 10/15 minute bus service in/out and no time limit it's a bargain and a lot quicker/cheaper than parking further in. It's a bit ridiculous that it doesn't run on Sundays though (outside of the Christmas peak).

I would have the same setup at every major junction on the M50 for example (somewhat like the N7/Red Cow LUAS P&R but cheaper and quicker to implement as nothing really needed except some extra buses, parking space, and access) - and I say this as someone who in general is not a fan of public transport (having spent too many years of my life standing around waiting for buses that were late, left early or just never showed when I was younger in Dublin).

A similar setup at Douglas, the tunnel interchange and so on would probably make a huge difference.

TheSunIsShining

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121908044#Comment_121908044

Is Douglas not already very close to Black Ash? And not sure whether the land to hold a few hundred cars for a P&R would be available in Douglas? The Cork bus connects talks about a P&R strategy and lists the desirable locations.

RetroEncabulator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121557126#Comment_121557126

It's supposed to bring you from brighter to duller and then back out to brighter again to avoid dazzling lighting in the tunnel itself. That's the logic of it anyway.

Frequency of maintenance is also likely down to the weather here. It's extremely frequently wet so there's quite a lot of muddy tyres dragging gunk in. The maintenance is basically just washing surfaces.