[Article] Luas facing delays at traffic lights

Victor

Muppets :rolleyes:

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/808630?view=Eircomnet

Luas facing delays at traffic lights
From:ireland.com
Thursday, 29th May, 2003

Luas trams will be forced to wait at traffic lights at the Red Cow roundabout leading to further traffic chaos at the busiest road junction in the State, it emerged yesterday. Tim O'Brien reports.

The delays could diminish the benefit of having the multi-million euro Tallaght to Dublin light rail system built in the first place.

The chairman of the Railway Procurement Agency, Mr Padraig White, acknowledged yesterday that trams would be faced with three sets of traffic lights as they move through the interchange.

The junction connects the M50, which carries 80,000 vehicles a day, and the N7 to Cork and Limerick which caters for 60,000 vehicles daily.

The traffic light delay are due to the fact that two extra crossings are needed at the junction because a bridge crossing the M50 is too short.

While Luas has its own bridge over the M50, it stops short of the "on and off" ramps, making the level crossings necessary.

Each tram will cross the M50 southbound "on" ramp, and then the northbound "off" ramp. This cycle would take 70 seconds, the Railway Procurement Agency said.

The Green Party spokesman, Mr Eamon Ryan, predicted last night that Luas trams will be lined up on the Naas Road as a result.

He said an initial "mistake" had been made in not extending the bridge and added that commuters may in fact be quicker getting into town on the bus.

While it acknowledged the situation yesterday, the Railway Procurement Agency said it was not the only transport user of the junction.

The National Roads Authority has already expressed concern about the level crossings. Mr Michael Egan said the decisions on Luas were taken a long time ago when traffic volumes were lower.

Occidental

Stunning.

Dundrum gets a flyover, but the M50/Naas Road junction gets traffic lights. Do these people ever visit the real world.


Maybe we could put in a bid for the Chiswick flyover, should fit nicely.

sligoliner

>Dundrum gets a flyover, but the M50/Naas Road junction gets >traffic lights. Do these people ever visit the real world.

It’s amazing isn’t it! Apparently the rule is, you spend millions on purchasing property so you can build a bridge over it and then you build a level crossing over a roundabout where you could indeed build a bridge without having to worry about property acquisition. Nuts. If you want a good laugh read the DTO ‘Platform for Change’ it’s just as silly as the Strategic Rail Review – people who know nothing about public transport, don’t use public transport being involved in public transport planning.

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by Occidental
Stunning.

Dundrum gets a flyover, but the M50/Naas Road junction gets traffic lights. Do these people ever visit the real world.

No I think is the answer.
I know some ministers were supposed to be coming out here (I live a few minutes away from the roundabout) to 'survey' the situation, but I heard nothing after that. I'm sure they came out, but no doubt they were out here well before rush hour and hung around in Morans until it was over.

Maybe if they were thrown on 51B from town at 5pm or so everyday out to here for a week, they might rethink some of the 'ideas' they've been having.

GerardKeating

The Sunday business post is the latest "newspaper" to run such an article, all repeat the same tired facts and sound like they were written by the same committee

One consistant "fact" is these so called news stories is the "fact" that the Luas will cause the traffic in O'Connell Street to stop every 2.5 minutes to allow a tram to cross.

If any one these so called journalist had bother to check any of the facts in these so called articles they would have noticed that the traffic is O'Connell Street is stopped every few minte ANYWAY by the existing traffic and Predestrian signals.

Luas will not change this much.

One has to wonder why such badly research and written articles are in the press. I am not suggesting the various (motor/Oil) lobbies are encouranging this..

Victor

Originally posted by GerardKeating
I am not suggesting the various (motor/Oil) lobbies are encouranging this..

My that would be paranoid talk .... but hey, I'm paranoid.