New bike lane being built at the arse end of skehard road. What's the point?

scrotist

This area is a complete ghost town. I never see anybody walking here, or cycling here.

But they've been building this thing for about a month.

There is literally never a soul walking around this area. What a waste of money.

The only people who will use this bike lane is the travelers. Not joking, they are the only people I see on this road driving the sulky things around or whatever they're called.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Safe infrastructure will encourage people to cycle there. I agree it's disconnected at the moment but ultimately the hope is to have a fully connected network of cycle lanes which will in turn grow numbers cycling as it's safer to do so. Keeping the status quo isn't an option.

Regarding funding, this is drawn down from Gov for active travel and in my opinion any cycle lane is money well spent. Wait til you hear how much they spend on dual carriageways!

run_Forrest_run

yeah those damn dual carriageways, what have they ever done for us!

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122003032#Comment_122003032

They do nothing for those that don't use them.

Mr.CoolGuy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122004134#Comment_122004134

Unless you live in hovel and survive off stream water and foraged food, you use them.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122005128#Comment_122005128

We had running water and food on the shelves long before we had dual carriageways!

I have a car, I'm not claiming that I don't use dual carriageways. But, I'd still like to see more money invested in active and public transport than on new roads.

My point is that if you don't drive, as many don't, a new dual carriageway, paid out of the public purse, does nothing for you! But, thankfully, we don't get to personally choose what tax money gets spent on, be it cycle lanes or dual carriageways!

Leatra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122005368#Comment_122005368

In fairness, a good road network is essential for society in general, for the movement of goods from ports to shops etc., reducing travel times and improving safety.

I'm very happy though to see the Skehard Road works though; getting more people walking and cycling around there will be a great step in the right direction of making Mahon a lovely area. It already has the greenway and the harbour walkway so polishing up the bits in between will be a great help. It's not as though these things are huge expenses, either. They should be fairly basic investments toward improving our quality of life.

There's also some nice footpath development going on on Donnybrook Hill that I've been admiring. :)

Balmed Out

Theres a lot of Gaa pitches as well as Ringmahon Rovers down there so presume to allow them to use it and plenty of people do walk and cycle in that area including many going onto railway line…

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058346043/new-bike-lane-being-built-at-the-arse-end-of-skehard-road-whats-the-point

It's called using up allocated funds. It doesn't have to make any sense at all to ordinary plebs. Where I live they are cycle lanes on both sides of a busy road which reduced the width for vehicles.My car is wider than the lane allocated to it.Also,close to a junction.Will be interesting court case if a collision occurs.A bus has to straddle the forward lane and a filter lane to avoid contact with cycle lane.But who cares-the allocated funds are spent

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122008999#Comment_122008999

Why drive such a wide car that doesn't fit in lanes? Sounds very inconvenient.

beachhead

Yes,I must cut a third off it and tell the manufacturer.Should be ok then

Brussels Sprout

"Build it and they will come" OP

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009083#Comment_122009083

Or you could have bought a less wide car that fits where you need to go. For your own convenience.

beachhead

I am looking at a trike now cuz I have a passenger They can wear shin guards

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009083#Comment_122009083

I think you must be a poor driver.

Maybe cycle instead?

scrotist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122008999#Comment_122008999

These new cycle lanes at the arse end of skehard road have lamposts in the fcuking middle of them as well.

When they open up to the public I'm going to cycle into one of them and sue for 12 billion pound

scrotist

This is OP. Back for another rant.

I started this thread in April. It's August 11th. Outside my house is still a construction site. They haven't completed the bike lane yet.

Honestly, what the fcuk are the council up to? How does it take this long to build a bike lane?

The bike lane they've built so far is about 20 meters long, then they erected a fence at the end of it that you can crash into.

If they remove the fence it's still a load of slabs of concrete thrown around that you will crash into anyway.

Also there is a lampost in the middle of the bike lane every few meters. They never bothered removing the old lamp posts from 1992 or whenever they were put there. Basically it's unusable. And it's still not ready. It actually looks like they've given up.

It took them 5 months to destroy the road and turn it into a "ghost building site".

I wish I knew somebody in the council so I could ask them what the feck is going on. They'd be shot in any normal developed country if this happened.

cantalach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122491654#Comment_122491654

That’s what councillors are for. If you’re on Skehard Road then you’re in Des Cahill’s ward. Just send him a mail. I’ve found him very helpful with questions like that before.

beachhead

Dessie boy

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122491654#Comment_122491654

So you live in an area that is by your own words a "ghost town". At least be honest and say the issue wasn't the bike lane, and more your perceived inconvenience.

If there is a genuine danger there, report it to both the roads department and your local councillor.

Bricriu

Blame the awful Greens.

They don't think anything out properly! Spaced out dreamers.

scrotist

If this happened in China the project manager would literally be in prison and probably a few other government officials.

scrotist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122493259#Comment_122493259

You are totally fine with the council spending 6 months to build 20 meters of bike lane? Which is still not finished and it looks like they have abandoned?

It's not a danger to me. I don't use it. I was just pointing out the state of it.

65535

The end of the Skehard Road junction now is hazardous - a Bus has to take a very wide turn there in order to turn up onto the Skehard Road but it's just not possible without the Bus either going onto the footpath or waiting for any Skehard Road cars to move out or reverse.

There are 2 lines still on the road - this morning a Driver decides to use the middle (old) line to come towards me making me stop on the road until they saw what they were doing.

All of this has been obviously drawn out on a computer somewhere - yet no account was made for the large Double Decker Buses that use this road.

There are long kerbs now along the other roads in the area and no one knows how to use them or what they are for.

Speed bumps have been removed and there are no signs of them being replaced.

I'm sure you'll all say - well this was all shown in such a place and you could have seen it beforehand - that's not the point - as a Motorist, Pedestrian AND a Cyclist in the area there is little thought put into a shared road - one where Pedestrians, Cyclists and Buses/Cars can safely get through the area.

We are waiting for it to be finished - the Pedestrian Crossing in the area is welcome however there are no zig zags or indicators that no parking is allowed which would hide the pedestrians crossing.

Further on from the Pedestrian Crossing the road recedes into tatters again because - we were only told to do this / not that'

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122493677#Comment_122493677

Not at all, but your initial point in the OP was why build it at all not that it was taking so long. You are right to be annoyed about that but that wasn't what you claimed to be annoyed about at the start.

xabi

Jaysus lads, they are in the middle of construction, its not finished yet. Wait until its finished then cast your judgements.

Smee_Again

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122493261#Comment_122493261

There's 3 Green councilors in Cork, why are they getting the blame and not the other 28 non-Green councilors?

beachhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122497954#Comment_122497954

Which year,though?

Spooch

God forbid they actually try and improve Mahon with a bit of modern infrastructure. If the morons had their way the place would still be fields of muck with people still complaining they don't get enough investment from the "Corporation"

notAMember

Sweet jesus, are ye deliberately trolling the OP?

The point OP is obviously making is that it's not an improvement. Bike lanes that cannot be swept or cleaned, with lampposts smack in the middle of them are utterly unusable, completely pointless and dangerous.

Modern infrastructure my arse. Bike lanes are great when they are done right, if not, it's a waste of money, space and resources.

I'm a cyclist, car user, bus user, pedestrian. There are two places in Cork where I've almost been wiped out on on the bike, and Skehard road is one of them, on my way back from the graveyard down there, by a bus that couldn't fit in the car lane, so it was all over the bike lane.

It's absolutely not moronic to want things done to a reasonable design spec that account for the usage and maintenance needs, with the work getting finished in a reasonable amount of time.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122493261#Comment_122493261

Ehm no. You can thank the Greens for the most investment in public transport and active travel this country has seen in decades.

Poorly designed bike lanes can be blamed on Council engineers. We've certainly sent plenty of feedback and there's a manual to follow for designing these which they constantly ignore. I cycle daily and have to put up with it.