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Skehard Road Roadworks/Upgrade

chalkitdown1

Just saw today that they finally started working on this. Looks like they're widening the whole stretch & adding an extra lane (among other things) from the top of the hill all the way to the Mahon link road.

http://www.corkcity.ie/news/mainbody,77337,en.html

Badly needed. That road is a bloody nightmare at rush hours. We'll soon be able to get into the traffic jams around Mahon Point a lot quicker!

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TheChizler

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

Wilton road is next for all of this.

Isn't the signalised junction supposed to be a requisite for the shopping centre upgrade? It was a few years ago anyway.

boardsuser1

TheChizler wrote: »

Isn't the signalised junction supposed to be a requisite for the shopping centre upgrade? It was a few years ago anyway.

The residents don’t want it.

What I was referring to was from Dennehys cross to the Wilton roundabout on both sides.

Remove gardens in the same manner as Skehard Road.

Is part of the petrol station forecourt also being removed?

blindsider

That's my recollection also.

The Wilton RD roundabout really is a pinch-point now, what with Aldi and Lidl traffic on top of the hospital.

If the SC is re-developed, they will need to do sth, but a signalised junction doesn't seem to be the answer. Too much traffic, too little space, too little expertise. The current roundabout isn't even marked properly.

Also, Dennehy's Cross would benefit if traffic heading west couldn't turn right. Straight and left only....? Inconvenient for a few I'm sure, but something needs to give.

chalkitdown1

Drove through these works today on the way to Mahon. The whole place is a bit of a disaster zone at the moment, as is to be expected. Can't wait for it to be finished.

I thought they were supposed to be widening the road coming down the hill going towards Supervalu, though? It looks like they've instead widened the footpaths to a ridiculous degree and are sticking to 3 lanes (two traffic lanes and a bus lane?) when there's clearly room for 4. Bit disappointing, that. I thought there was gonna be a bus lane on either side.

The new pushed-back wall at across the way from Supervalu looks pretty awesome, though. Really nice stonework.

Patrick 1959

I thought they were supposed to be widening the road coming down the hill going towards Supervalu, though? It looks like they've instead widened the footpaths to a ridiculous degree and are sticking to 3 lanes (two traffic lanes and a bus lane?) when there's clearly room for 4. Bit disappointing, that. I thought there was gonna be a bus lane on either side.

The new pushed-back wall at across the way from Supervalu looks pretty awesome, though. Really nice stonework.[/QUOTE]

Agree totally with you, the road is narrower now and on the right hand side coming down the hill has two footpaths-with a green area between them . What a waste of money and room for a continuous Bus lane on both sides of the Skehard

TheChizler

chalkitdown1 wrote: »

I thought they were supposed to be widening the road coming down the hill going towards Supervalu, though? It looks like they've instead widened the footpaths to a ridiculous degree and are sticking to 3 lanes (two traffic lanes and a bus lane?) when there's clearly room for 4. Bit disappointing, that. I thought there was gonna be a bus lane on either side.

Apart from match days when is there ever traffic going Westwards after Supervalu? There's the occasional hold up due to the faulty traffic lights at Silverdale Drive, apart from that I've never had an issue going that direction.

chalkitdown1

TheChizler wrote: »

Apart from match days when is there ever traffic going Westwards after Supervalu? There's the occasional hold up due to the faulty traffic lights at Silverdale Drive, apart from that I've never had an issue going that direction.

At rush hour in the evening there are sometimes backlogs towards Mahon because as the busses have nowhere to pull in, people get stuck behind them while they pick up 20+ people at each stop and you can't overtake them because of all the traffic coming in the other direction towards Mahon. I've been sat behind the same bus for 20 minutes along that road.

That route is only going to get busier as Cork grows. It would've been great future planning to have a bus lane going both ways but we're not too good at that future planning stuff in this country, unfortunately.

Watch them rip the street up again in 20 years to add that westward lane.

TheChizler

chalkitdown1 wrote: »

At rush hour in the evening there are sometimes backlogs towards Mahon because as the busses have nowhere to pull in, people get stuck behind them while they pick up 20+ people at each stop and you can't overtake them because of all the traffic coming in the other direction towards Mahon. I've been sat behind the same bus for 20 minutes along that road.

By Maxol and SuperValu yes, but beyond the SuperValu stop to the West it doesn't back up. No massive benefit in a dedicated bus lane going westwards there.

barry181091

They have wrecked the actual road itself, are they planning on redoing? All I see them doing is skimming off a few inches and replacing with some macadam. Surely they would have gone a bit deeper and put down proper new layers.

xabi

barry181091 wrote: »

They have wrecked the actual road itself, are they planning on redoing? All I see them doing is skimming off a few inches and replacing with some macadam. Surely they would have gone a bit deeper and put down proper new layers.

If they don’t it will look like a right botch job. I read on the council site for the project that they will “resurface where necessary”. The whole thing from one end to the other needs to be resurfaced

Clamball

chalkitdown1 wrote: »

I thought they were supposed to be widening the road coming down the hill going towards Supervalu, though? It looks like they've instead widened the footpaths to a ridiculous degree and are sticking to 3 lanes (two traffic lanes and a bus lane?) when there's clearly room for 4. Bit disappointing, that. I thought there was gonna be a bus lane on either side.

The new pushed-back wall at across the way from Supervalu looks pretty awesome, though. Really nice stonework.

Patrick 1959 wrote: »

Agree totally with you, the road is narrower now and on the right hand side coming down the hill has two footpaths-with a green area between them . What a waste of money and room for a continuous Bus lane on both sides of the Skehard

Now that the Skehard road is almost finished, I am very disappointed as well. What is with the superwide footpath, where are the cycle lanes, and why not have bus lanes at either side given that the foot paths could have been much narrower. There are so many cyclists on this road I would be happier to have dedicated cycle lanes for them. It seems a lot of work and not a lot of benefit.

TheChizler

Clamball wrote: »

Now that the Skehard road is almost finished, I am very disappointed as well. What is with the superwide footpath, where are the cycle lanes, and why not have bus lanes at either side given that the foot paths could have been much narrower. There are so many cyclists on this road I would be happier to have dedicated cycle lanes for them. It seems a lot of work and not a lot of benefit.

Cycle lane hasn't been painted all the way yet, if you look up by Park Hill they've started lane markings and have continued the cycle lane that ends by the Silver Key. It's a combined cycle/bus lane going west towards SuperValu. I don't think there's a need for a dedicated bus lane going east from SuperValu, the next regular tailback is all the way up Boreenmanna Road. How would a bus lane help significantly?

The works are by no means almost finished as well.

cantalach

Clamball wrote: »

Now that the Skehard road is almost finished, I am very disappointed as well. What is with the superwide footpath, where are the cycle lanes, and why not have bus lanes at either side given that the foot paths could have been much narrower. There are so many cyclists on this road I would be happier to have dedicated cycle lanes for them. It seems a lot of work and not a lot of benefit.

My understanding is that these very wide paths immediately adjacent to the road will be part cycle lane. You'll notice that on much of the route closer to SuperValu there is a second narrower footpath proper running closer to the houses. That said, until the red paint and lines go down, we won't really know for sure!

beer enigma

cantalach wrote: »

My understanding is that these very wide paths immediately adjacent to the road will be part cycle lane. You'll notice that on much of the route closer to SuperValu there is a second narrower footpath proper running closer to the houses. That said, until the red paint and lines go down, we won't really know for sure!

I was told that as well.

The road, even with the works looks very narrow for three lanes, especially as one will have the buses trundling down - I can see a good few wing mirrors biting the dust after its finished.

TheChizler

cantalach wrote: »

My understanding is that these very wide paths immediately adjacent to the road will be part cycle lane. You'll notice that on much of the route closer to SuperValu there is a second narrower footpath proper running closer to the houses. That said, until the red paint and lines go down, we won't really know for sure!

The plans are on the council website.

https://www.corkcity.ie/news/mainbody,71964,en.html
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Fabio

It's a disaster as far as I am concerned. A completely missed opportunity to scale back the footpaths a little and have an extra bus lane with a few more inches of width on each lane for cars and trucks.

Has anyone taken a look at the radii of the turns? The one by Supervalu is no fun for a bus or truck to navigate, it's far too tight. Ridiculous.

TheChizler

Fabio wrote: »

It's a disaster as far as I am concerned. A completely missed opportunity to scale back the footpaths a little and have an extra bus lane with a few more inches of width on each lane for cars and trucks.

Maybe it's a missed opportunity if you're trying to promote the use of private vehicles and trucks in the area. The wider footpaths really open it up for pedestrians IMO, walking down before you'd be dodging cars parked across the path and reversing out of driveways without looking.

People keep saying they should have put a second bus lane in, can anyone explain what the benefit of this would be?

Nerdlingr

So they're gonna put the cycle lane on the footpath , like they have down past the chemist along towards the cso??? Dopey or what.
Why not just a normal cycle path on the road and shorten the footpath?
I think the bus stop by the new wall they built doesnt have the capacity for the bus to pull in (i may be mistaken) so the bus is going to be stopped on the road near the traffic lights holding up traffic. Its the same on the Supervalu side no? no capacity to pull in?
I remember years ago they had a roundabout at Supervalu and the whole thing just flowed perfectly...the days before Mahon point so obviously not a s much traffic... but it just seems they cut up the old road (going eastward), a load of old trees, to make a two lane road that becomes a one lane at Supervalu anyway.

TheChizler

Nerdlingr wrote: »

So they're gonna put the cycle lane on the footpath , like they have down past the chemist along towards the cso??? Dopey or what.

I don't believe so. They've painted some of the road markings on the section with the final tarmacked surface and they've continued the on-road cycle lane that goes up to the Silver Key. The plans above have the lanes on the road as well.

j8wk2feszrnpao

TheChizler wrote: »

Maybe it's a missed opportunity if you're trying to promote the use of private vehicles and trucks in the area.

You mean those private people who paid tax on the vehicle, pay tax on fuel, pay motor tax, insurance.......
Less of the "private" rubbish. They are public roads, used and paid for by the public.

chalkitdown1

I wonder are they going to re-pave (or at the very least (repaint) the cycle lanes on the mahon link road? They are in an absolute state at the moment and it was actually safer to cycle in the car lane with the traffic down as far as the Mater Hospital.

There doing a bit of work at the start of the road with a new bus stop and some widening so hopefully they fix up the cycle lane while they're at it.

Nerdlingr

I was wrong in my previous post above, going by the online plans skehard rd towards supevalu will actually be two lanes..Then just after the bus stop by the new wall (where there is no capacity for the bus to pull in ) it becomes one lane, and then right at the lights it becomes a three lane! This has disaster written all over it.

TheChizler

munstermagic11 wrote: »

You mean those private people who paid tax on the vehicle, pay tax on fuel, pay motor tax, insurance.......
Less of the "private" rubbish. They are public roads, used and paid for by the public.

Less of your taking more meaning from my post than is actually there. By private vehicle I mean not-a-bus. I didn't advocate anything, it's the council and national policy that public transport should be prioritised. I drive my private car on that road every day.

AugustusMinimus

Nerdlingr wrote: »

I was wrong in my previous post above, going by the online plans skehard rd towards supevalu will actually be two lanes..Then just after the bus stop by the new wall (where there is no capacity for the bus to pull in ) it becomes one lane, and then right at the lights it becomes a three lane! This has disaster written all over it.

I cannot fathom this design. What a waste of money.

Nerdlingr

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

I cannot fathom this design. What a waste of money.

I guess their problem is turning from skehard rd at the CSO down towards mahon is only one lane...so they have to shoehorn in all the two lane traffic they've created into one lane at some point....and they decided to do this right after a bus stop and right before a set of traffic lights/junction!! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

ideal scenario is its two lane all the way down skeahrd rd all the way to mahon but i guess they dont have the space.

edit : or maybe im reading it wrong??? is it two lanes or one lane and a bus lane? if so why have they got arrows on the road pointing in towards the bus lane...confused.com

TheChizler

Nerdlingr wrote: »

I guess their problem is turning from skehard rd at the CSO down towards mahon is only one lane...so they have to shoehorn in all the two lane traffic they've created into one lane at some point....and they decided to do this right after a bus stop and right before a set of traffic lights/junction!! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

ideal scenario is its two lane all the way down skeahrd rd all the way to mahon but i guess they dont have the space.

edit : or maybe im reading it wrong??? is it two lanes or one lane and a bus lane? if so why have they got arrows on the road pointing in towards the bus lane...confused.com

The plans for the section up towards the CSO have a bus lane and traffic lane all the way, they're newer than the plans for the Park Hill to Church Road section so I'm guessing more accurate? There is a bit of inconstancy between them. There are CPOs in the newer plans that don't exist in the older. I'm guessing the plans up above (from 2015) have been tweaked since as well.

Planning Proposed Layout Skehard Road Phase 3**

Is there any better source for these plans online than the news section of the Council website?

beer enigma

TheChizler wrote: »

The plans for the section up towards the CSO have a bus lane and traffic lane all the way, they're newer than the plans for the Park Hill to Church Road section so I'm guessing more accurate? There is a bit of inconstancy between them. There are CPOs in the newer plans that don't exist in the older. I'm guessing the plans up above (from 2015) have been tweaked since as well.

Planning Proposed Layout Skehard Road Phase 3**

Is there any better source for these plans online than the news section of the Council website?

Jeepers, the road layout outside the CSO is going to be fun, two lanes into one heading for Mahon point with a bus coming down the inside & on the opposite side is that two lanes with a cycle lane between them heading towards the Skehard road ?

Clamball

TheChizler wrote: »

Maybe it's a missed opportunity if you're trying to promote the use of private vehicles and trucks in the area. The wider footpaths really open it up for pedestrians IMO, walking down before you'd be dodging cars parked across the path and reversing out of driveways without looking.

People keep saying they should have put a second bus lane in, can anyone explain what the benefit of this would be?

The cars are still being parked across the path and being backed out of driveways. I think the road is wide enough if they reduced the footpaths to allow a bus lane and a cycle lane in each direction. This would be the optimum for growth into the future. Why not have a bus lane in each direction if the road is able to take it?

I see from the plans they have the "provision of parking where feasible." I wonder why they feel the need to have parking on the road, all the houses have sufficient driveways etc. It seems a backwards step. Unless they feel users of the park need parking? But it all seems odd and a wasted opportunity to make it all flow better in the future. And I see they plan to replant the trees they removed.

Nerdlingr

beer enigma wrote: »

Jeepers, the road layout outside the CSO is going to be fun, two lanes into one heading for Mahon point with a bus coming down the inside & on the opposite side is that two lanes with a cycle lane between them heading towards the Skehard road ?

Christ, didnt spot that at all. And then round the corner as you turn left onto Skehard Rd the bike lane is on the inside! Jokeshop.

TheChizler

Clamball wrote: »

The cars are still being parked across the path and being backed out of driveways.

Sure but the wider footpaths give you the space, visibility, and time to avoid problems.

I think the road is wide enough if they reduced the footpaths to allow a bus lane and a cycle lane in each direction. This would be the optimum for growth into the future. Why not have a bus lane in each direction if the road is able to take it?

Cost of implementing and maintenance costs? Sure it would be nice to have but there should be a potential benefit before something is implemented. Going eastwards the bus lane will avoid the traffic jams that back up as far as Cork Con some mornings, but what traffic is there ever going the opposite direction? Would bus journey times be reduced by having a dedicated bus lane on a road that is free-flow except for match days?