talking_walnut wrote: » If it took 45-60 mins to get to work by car, or a guaranteed 30 mins by bus, which would you take then?
Mrs OBumble wrote: » I cannot think of any car journey where the trip time is guaranteed. (Except maybe from one floor to another in a car-parking building!) If the bus is delayed due to traffic, then likely a car journey will be to. Sometimes car-users can alter their route to take account of heavy traffic in on area - but not always.
GekkePrutser wrote: » Sounds like a good option actually. It'd only be a small tunnel, I don't really see the problem with it. In the Netherlands we have had this problem of overcrowding and road congestion much longer and there's tunnels everywhere. Even little ones just for pedestrians/cyclists. They're not even that expensive, they just sink some prefab tunnel blocks. They even tunneled a long freight railway because it was seen as an eyesore. I like it. It should be a serious option on the table. Regarding the reliance on fossil fuels, I don't really expect the number of cars to ever lower really. We'll become less reliant on fossil fuels but the alternatives such as electric cars are becoming mature. The capacity of the electrical grid and production of green power is more of a problem but it'll get solved over time. It'll have to as fossil fuels are running out anyway. I'd never get rid of my car anyway though I would take public transport to work if it was viable. I actually live near the terminus of the 405 and work near the terminus at the other side. Theoretically an ideal setup. But Bus Eireann's insistence to slowly meander through the city center (and wait there like 10 minutes) makes this service completely unviable. It takes way too long and the service is too unreliable. I use it sometimes when my car is in the shop and it's seriously more than twice as slow as driving home in the evening. In the morning more like 5 times as slow. IMO Bus Eireann really need to retire all their 50+ 'stuck in their ways' management and hire some young people who are able to think outside of the box. Everything that's coming out of them has this 'old guard' thing about it. And it's not as if they're doing a good job right now after all. But it doesn't mean that nothing should be done with the roads. We're going to need them in the future even more than we do now. The M6 will bring more people to galway once the economy picks up again.
bobbyss wrote: » Agree with you completely re trudging through these medieval streets. When I see buses creaking their way around Moons corner and trying to negotiate the Salmon Weir it makes your heart sink. Last week took a bus from Eyre Sq and twenty-five minutes later I reached the Abbey. Could have walked faster and arrived at my destination sooner too. A disaster. To add insult to injury their website is sh1t too. Agree also with the mind set of BE. Old fashioned. Old timers. Time servers. No zip about them. Very civil servicey. Backward looking. I actually get the same sinking, depressing feeling when I go to get a train ticket in the train station.
talking_walnut wrote: » That's my point. Buses are nerly pointless without dedicated bus lanes that go the full length of the route.
Mrs OBumble wrote: » Nearly pointless is a massive overstatement. I've caught buses to and from work for the last five years, on routes with no bus lanes. Far less stressful and expensive than running a car (no worries with other drivers, parking, maintenance, NCT, petrol). Absolutely not "nearly pointless" - most journeys (estimate 80%) were within one or two minutes of the timetabled time. It's easier to run a train-like bus service if you have dedicated bus lanes. But still possible to run an adequate one without them.
Discodog wrote: » The solution is a bypass but the authorities will do everything possible to avoid it. So the problems will just get worse. No amount of traffic plans, public transport etc will overcome basic geography. I have minimised when I have to cross the City. If a client wants me to then they pay a hefty premium. You have to really know the rat runs. If you follow the main routes you can be stuck for hours. It's obvious that you have to provide the people, passing through the city, with an alternative. The only alternative is to go around it.
Discodog wrote: » but the authorities will do everything possible to avoid it.
Mrs OBumble wrote: » What makes you think this? From where I'm sitting, more or less the opposite seems to be true.
talking_walnut wrote: » It seems like it's the solution but all the research shows that building more roads just causes more people to drive and eventually increases overall traffic congestion. I'd be worried the same thing would happen here. It's not a simple problem. The intuitive solutions seem to end up making problems worse instead of better. The only real solution is less cars on the road, but people seem to think it's their divine right to drive everywhere.
beardybrewer wrote: » I took the bus once in Galway and it took longer than just walking. Haven't bothered again since. I've a sneaking suspicion I'm part of the silent majority that sees public transportation in Galway as entirely useless.
talking_walnut wrote: » I think most people with a car see it as useless. But they also freak out when it's suggested that some of the existing roads be reclassified as bus lanes. If it took 45-60 mins to get to work by car, or a guaranteed 30 mins by bus, which would you take then?
KevR wrote: » There is no reason why some existing roads can't be widened to add bus lanes. Drastically cutting capacity for car users by reclassifying existing road space is not the only option! Also, the fact that no scheduled bus service uses the existing Quincentenary Bridge must be addressed before we discuss taking existing road space and making it bus only. Running ALL cross-city bus services through Eyre Square is beyond a joke.
what_traffic wrote: » Western Distributor Road jumps to mind here but certain City Streets need to have simple alterations. For example On Street Car Parking should be removed from Eglington Street. It is a blockage point for City buses on the Western Routes. 100 % agree on Quincentenary route - should at least be trialled during the Peak Rush Hour times.
gordongekko wrote: » Am i the only one who thinks traffic is a bit lighter since the new year?
Discodog wrote: » Definitely but I think it happens every year at this time. No idea why but even my local area is much quieter. The petrol station said that their sales drop a lot.
GekkePrutser wrote: » Like the M6 you mean? That added a lot of capacity and it's a godsend - I've never been stuck in traffic there even with the incessant roadworks lately. It didn't add so much traffic that it's counterproductive. Besides, I don't think there's a lot more people in Galway needing to get on the road at peak times than there already are. Where we are here in the west it's not a very populated area, there's only so many people that would need to travel during peak hours, and most of them are already doing it by car. And if new roads causes more visitors like tourists from Dublin that'd add to the local economy as well.
And yes it is our right to drive. We pay a lot for the privilege.
Though I generally love using public transport if it's viable (allows me to at least do something slightly useful during the trip) but currently it's not here. We'd need more special peak-hour commuter services that skip the city centre. Like the old HP bus (which I used to take in the old days but it doesn't cover where I live now). I travel a lot for work to Europe (especially Eastern) and I use public transport over taxis whenever I can - it's simply much faster usually. Last time in Bucharest I left the hotel 20 minutes after my colleagues left in a taxi and got to the city center way before them by metro So yes I'm very familiar with the benefits of good public transport. It really just needs some out of the box thinking (like special direct commuter buses) and it's so frustrating that nothing ever seems to change here. And things that are tried are set up in such an obviously bad way that they're doomed to fail, like the P&R at the airport. I don't think anyone ever expected that to work out, so far from the city. True, the same for Forster street also. It's a mess. If you need to be in the city there's plenty of good carparks.
talking_walnut wrote: » People seem to think it's all about moving cars around. Why aren't we focused on moving people?
talking_walnut wrote: » I've never gone on holidays somewhere and come back talking about their lovely big roads.
talking_walnut wrote: » Everyone thinks they're different. We're all special snowflakes. But don't mistake personal experience with general truth. Our population is still growing so of course there's going to be more people travelling at peak times. Building more roads has been found to make people drive more as they assume it'll be quick and easy. Plus roads are sh1te. Who wants to live beside a busy road? I've never gone on holidays somewhere and come back talking about their lovely big roads.
talking_walnut wrote: » Totally with you. I think it's a good indicator that you're getting familiar with a city when you can get around easily on their public transport (which must mean I still don't know Galway very well ).
talking_walnut wrote: » I think the problem is that people want the public transport and excellent driving conditions to coexist. People say they'd take the bus if it was a better service but complain if they try and give road space to bus corridors. Driving should be less convenient than taking a bus at peak-times in order to make people actually take the bus. Instead of building more roads it would increase the capacity of the existing roads. People seem to think it's all about moving cars around. Why aren't we focussed on moving people?
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