Light rail for Galway

WillieB1 · 23-12-2017 6:25pm #1

Hi Recently I went into Holland's Newsagents in Galway, and the girl in there asked me if I would like to sign a petition for the Light rail, which I think is a fantastic idea, but I said is Galway not to small, maybe now it is but in 20 years time they expect the pop to be 140,000, do we wait for the traffic to get worse before we start planning, so I signed up immediately , the more I think about same the better the idea, if its doing such a fantastic job in Dublin why not in Galway. hope to get opinion

WillieB1

thesandeman · 23-12-2017 10:11pm

You have walked into a minefield just in time for Christmas.

Btw I agree.

dok_golf · 23-12-2017 11:12pm

Great idea. Right up there with the western rail corridor

nuac · 23-12-2017 11:21pm

A Light Railway system may be part of a solution to Galway's traffic problem

Outkast_IRE · 23-12-2017 11:24pm

You really think Galway is going to get the go ahead for light rail before Cork ?

This is Ireland they will only try and sort a problem after it gets desperately bad

colm_mcm · 23-12-2017 11:44pm

"I hear those things are awfully loud"

ronnie3585 · 24-12-2017 9:27am

Is there a chance the track could bend?

mrsdewinter · 24-12-2017 9:33am

What route do they envisage? I've often thought that the city would be suited to an orbital track that connected the suburbs without going into the city centre, which is, after all, well served by buses.

Fr Tod Umptious · 24-12-2017 9:42am

colm_mcm wrote: »

"I hear those things are awfully loud"

"It glides as softly as a cloud"

Fr Tod Umptious · 24-12-2017 9:43am

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Is there a chance the track could bend?

"Not on your life my Hindu friend"

youngrun · 24-12-2017 1:09pm

Would be a great idea,
Potential loops , outer and or inner
Barna, Moycullen, cross the Corrib, Headford Road, Claregalway, Parkmore, Oranmore and city
Or Cappagh Road, Newcastle, cross River, headford Road, Parkmore, Doughiska, Eyre sq

LeinsterDub · 24-12-2017 1:25pm

Galway doesn't have anywhere near the required population to support it. The green line would move the entire population of Galway in less than a day

lawred2 · 24-12-2017 1:26pm

Now that would be a waste of money

BRT is as much as ever should be invested in Galway

24-12-2017 1:29pm

Won't happen for the next 30-40 years.

Removing private cars from the city centre, setting up Park and Rides, adding bus corridors to the main arterial routes and high frequency bus timetables will all see Galway fine until at least 2050.

There is no logical reason for it now.

24-12-2017 1:30pm

I’m kinda surprised none of the cyclists here have pointed out the issues the ones in Dublin are having with the Luas. Very dangerous if you’re not careful, a lot of getting the front wheel into the tracks and going over the handlebars. Nasty stuff.

As a matter of history, Galway once did have a tram system that went from Eyre Square to Salthill. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_and_Salthill_Tramway#

24-12-2017 1:37pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I’m kinda surprised none of the cyclists here have pointed out the issues the ones in Dublin are having with the Luas. Very dangerous if you’re not careful, a lot of getting the front wheel into the tracks and going over the handlebars. Nasty stuff.

Is that not a case "look where you are going" for those folks who fell off?

It's like a driver complaining about broken suspension because he didn't slow down for a speed ramp or the

Pay attention and there won't be an issue. I say this as a cyclist

Unrealistic · 26-12-2017 10:05pm

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Galway doesn't have anywhere near the required population to support it. The green line would move the entire population of Galway in less than a day

It's probably not fair to compare the Galway proposal to the LUAS. Dublin already has five times as many stations as is proposed for Galway, and if you compare the proposed (but not yet built) stations in Dublin the ratio is even higher. There are a number of cities across Europe in the 80,000 to 120,000 population range that have tram or light rail systems, including some that have opened in recent years.

lawred2 wrote: »

Now that would be a waste of money

BRT is as much as ever should be invested in Galway

But, yes, this is a much more sensible option.

Deleted User wrote: »

Deleted User wrote: »

I’m kinda surprised none of the cyclists here have pointed out the issues the ones in Dublin are having with the Luas. Very dangerous if you’re not careful, a lot of getting the front wheel into the tracks and going over the handlebars. Nasty stuff.

Is that not a case "look where you are going" for those folks who fell off?

It's like a driver complaining about broken suspension because he didn't slow down for a speed ramp or the

Pay attention and there won't be an issue. I say this as a cyclist

I thought that too but some reports I've been hearing have changed my mind. As I understand it there are two main issues.
1) The problem with getting the wheels caught in tracks sometimes isn't just down to not looking where you are going. It has become much more pronounced since the LUAS cross city link opened because the layout there forces bicycles to cross the tracks at a sharper angle so a slight deviation can have a wheel in the groove. Because the road layout is tighter there too it can result in other vehicles getting to close so that taking evasive action is what causes bike wheels to end up in the groove.
2) A separate problem is that the rails apparently get very slippy when it rains and that can bring riders down without wheels needing to get caught.
There's more about it here. http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/cyclists-luas-crash-injuries/

connemara man · 26-12-2017 10:16pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Won't happen for the next 30-40 years.

Removing private cars from the city centre, setting up Park and Rides, adding bus corridors to the main arterial routes and high frequency bus timetables will all see Galway fine until at least 2050.

There is no logical reason for it now.

Just asking the question but just because we don't need it now shouldn't we be planning to need it and where it's going to go?

Like this could be a key part in how the city grows next. Galway is currently suffocating under the crisis management strategy of it's city planning. So maybe literally planning the next 50-60 years of houses, roads, transport, and communities, is the best way to go

Mrs OBumble · 27-12-2017 3:40am

Unrealistic wrote: »

There are a number of cities across Europe in the 80,000 to 120,000 population range that have tram or light rail systems, including some that have opened in recent years.

Can you name a few please, so we can make some meaningful comparisons?

I was horrified at the recent public meeting to discover that the comparison being done was with a French city population 240,000. Meaningless. And then someone commented that the light-rail systems in many French cities have had difficulty meeting their projected demand levels anyway - that's with the population already in their cities.

27-12-2017 10:32pm

connemara man wrote: »

Just asking the question but just because we don't need it now shouldn't we be planning to need it and where it's going to go?

Like this could be a key part in how the city grows next. Galway is currently suffocating under the crisis management strategy of it's city planning. So maybe literally planning the next 50-60 years of houses, roads, transport, and communities, is the best way to go

Yes, that's called the LAP's, local area plans. Already a well established process.

What you are looking for is a complete overhaul of all the rules. Not going to happen in the life of the next 2 governments due to capacity issues

Unrealistic · 28-12-2017 9:06pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Can you name a few please, so we can make some meaningful comparisons?

These are some that popped up when I searched.

Aubagne, France; pop. 55k
Besancon, France; pop. 116k
Mestre, Italy; pop. 89k
Bergamo, Italy; pop. 119k
Mulhouse, France; pop. 112k
Valenciennes, France; pop. 44k
Nancy, France; pop. 105k
Orleans, France; pop. 114k
Soller, Spain; pop. 14k
Strausberg, Germany; pop. 26k
Liepaja, Latvia; pop. 69k

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I was horrified at the recent public meeting to discover that the comparison being done was with a French city population 240,000. Meaningless. And then someone commented that the light-rail systems in many French cities have had difficulty meeting their projected demand levels anyway - that's with the population already in their cities.

To be clear, as I already said above, I think a Bus Rapid Transit system is a much more sensible option for Galway. I only pointed out the smaller European cities that have tram or light rail systems because I thought that using the Luas/Dublin as a sole comparison was lazy and/or misleading.

Webbs · 04-01-2018 11:05am

Unrealistic wrote: »

These are some that popped up when I searched.

Aubagne, France; pop. 55k
Besancon, France; pop. 116k
Mestre, Italy; pop. 89k
Bergamo, Italy; pop. 119k
Mulhouse, France; pop. 112k
Valenciennes, France; pop. 44k
Nancy, France; pop. 105k
Orleans, France; pop. 114k
Soller, Spain; pop. 14k
Strausberg, Germany; pop. 26k
Liepaja, Latvia; pop. 69k

.

Thanks for the list I was intrigued to see how other places did it and had a bit of a search through the first few and most actually serve a much bigger urban area such as
Bergamo, Italy; pop. 119k densely urbanized area with slightly less than 500,000 inhabitants
Mulhouse, France; pop. 112k 284,739 inhabitants in the metropolitan area

But the one that amazed me and is surely something for Galway to look at is Aubagne, granted the tram project is not really what the GLUAS people are looking at as is only 2.7km long but its their attitude to public transport that got my attention.
Both their buses and Trams are zero fare, how this is funded I am not sure but what a great idea to get people out of cars and into buses, I knew Tallin had a zero fare tram but not with a place of the small size of Aubagne.

Paddico · 04-01-2018 2:44pm

Keep dreaming lads, wont in the next 40 years.
Unless the find the black stuff in Galway Bay that is .........

talking_walnut · 04-01-2018 4:01pm

I'm always surprised that so many people seem to be for a light rail system while so many seem against an increase in bus lanes and corridors. Surely that's the cheaper, easier and faster option.

Disclaimer: Purely an anecdotal observation. They might not be the same group of people either.

what_traffic · 08-01-2018 6:23pm

Gluas article in the IT
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/a-gluas-for-galway-light-rail-project-campaign-revived-1.3347639#.WlNMGu65zjs.twitter

dropping_bombs · 09-01-2018 4:58pm

talking_walnut wrote: »

I'm always surprised that so many people seem to be for a light rail system while so many seem against an increase in bus lanes and corridors. Surely that's the cheaper, easier and faster option.
.

I think people are against bus lanes etc. because buses in Galway (Ireland?) are very unreliable. I am sure there is not one person in the city who has never has a bad experience with a city bus, and this adds up to a lack of trust in the suppliers.

I do wonder however if there was further privatization of bus routes and park and rides in the city would this improve the bus service and lessen the traffic issues?

xckjoo · 10-01-2018 9:06am

dropping_bombs wrote: »

I think people are against bus lanes etc. because buses in Galway (Ireland?) are very unreliable. I am sure there is not one person in the city who has never has a bad experience with a city bus, and this adds up to a lack of trust in the suppliers.

I do wonder however if there was further privatization of bus routes and park and rides in the city would this improve the bus service and lessen the traffic issues?

I've been trying to use them more recently and they've been okay reliability wise. The RTI app and Journey Planner help. Biggest issue is that there's very few bus lanes. Not sure how privatization would help.

what_traffic · 10-01-2018 12:59pm

dropping_bombs wrote: »

I think people are against bus lanes etc. because buses in Galway (Ireland?) are very unreliable. I am sure there is not one person in the city who has never has a bad experience with a city bus, and this adds up to a lack of trust in the suppliers.

I do wonder however if there was further privatization of bus routes and park and rides in the city would this improve the bus service and lessen the traffic issues?

NO, but Bus Lanes would help current Network and P& R if it is ever rolled out. Only 10% of current Bus Network (for both Public and Private Bus Companies) has bus priority in Galway City.

Mrs OBumble · 10-01-2018 1:31pm

dropping_bombs wrote: »

I think people are against bus lanes etc. because buses in Galway (Ireland?) are very unreliable. I am sure there is not one person in the city who has never has a bad experience with a city bus, and this adds up to a lack of trust in the suppliers.

I do wonder however if there was further privatization of bus routes and park and rides in the city would this improve the bus service and lessen the traffic issues?

Soo ...

People don't like buses because they're unreliable.

But they're also opposed to the very thing (bus lanes) which would make the buses more reliable.

Logic at its finest.

Re privatisation: we have currently have one state-owned bus operator, and a number of private ones operating in Galway. All of them have the same reliability problems, due to traffic congestion. None of them have the capacity to add extra buses into the system to allow for congestion. (I'm not even sure if the NTA would allow that, even if a company could afford to do it.) On factors other than reliability, I'd say that the state-owned operator is in the middle - some of the private companies are better, but some are worse. Overall, more of it wouldn't make any difference.

what_traffic · 10-01-2018 3:44pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

All of them have the same reliability problems, due to traffic congestion. None of them have the capacity to add extra buses into the system to allow for congestion. (I'm not even sure if the NTA would allow that, even if a company could afford to do it.) On factors other than reliability, I'd say that the state-owned operator is in the middle - some of the private companies are better, but some are worse. Overall, more of it wouldn't make any difference.

+ all of them are asking for the same thing as well - more bus lanes/priority measures, have heard(public transport meetings) and seen(twitter) reps and owners of BusEireann,City Direct and Burkes Bus's all ask for this in the past few months.

10-01-2018 6:28pm

what_traffic wrote: »

+ all of them are asking for the same thing as well - more bus lanes/priority measures, have heard(public transport meetings) and seen(twitter) reps and owners of BusEireann,City Direct and Burkes Bus's all ask for this in the past few months.

By all accounts, they'll soon be getting them

Light rail for Galway

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