cgcsb wrote: » Belfast is an extremely poor example of public transport provision.
cgcsb wrote: » What is this based on? Cork is one of the largest cities in the EU without a light rail of some sort.
Deleted User wrote: How conducive to light rail would Corks geography be? I'm not very familiar with the city but I do recall there be some steep streets/roads as you move out of the city center
bk wrote: » Munster in Germany jumps to mind, city population 300k, metro 1 million (Cork is 124k city, 300k Metro), basically 3 times larger then Cork and it has no trams or U-Bahn or S-Bahn.
bk wrote: » I note you specified EU cities, thus now leaving out the UK which has many much larger cities with no trams.
bk wrote: » As a Corkonian I'm not fundamentally against the idea of a Luas line in Cork, but I do think that line is pretty borderline and a high quality BRT would likely do fine instead too, but sure if Dublin wants to drop a billion on Cork for CLUAS, then I won't complain. What I would complain about is if we don't get Cork BusConnects too. Buses in Cork are dreadful, bringing them up to the same level of quality and frequency as Dublin has today (never mind after Dublin's Busconnect) would be a revolution in public transport for Cork. I suppose that is where my fear is. That we would just get the money for a single Luas line that becomes a white elephant and then there is no money left over for the 90% of the rest of the city served by very poor bus services. Grand if we get both Bus Connects Cork and CLuas, but a single Luas line isn't going to fix the fundamental issues in public transport in Cork. Even talking about Luas in Cork feels like putting the cart before the horse, a single glitzy project before fixing the serious problems with most of the buses in the city.
MyLove4Satan wrote: » When I saw that Coventry proposal my first instinct was 'how very British'. Galway does not need a tram system and if if did a Tomorrows World item like that would not be it.
Sam Russell wrote: » If it could be done for €7 million per Km, 20 km would be €140 million which would do Knocknacarra to Douiska and out to Claregalway. With P&R at Claregalway, and Knocknacarra, or nearby, then there would be a good level of modal shift.
MyLove4Satan wrote: » I am sure it world, but there something 'on the cheap' about this system. Personally I think the orientation of Galway's entire transport network is wrong. There is an over emphasis on An Lar when the commuting patterns are kind of sideways away from the city centre between the suburbs and the industrial estates. I think the absolute number one transport issue in Galway now is the commuter rail project. All focus should be on that as the main game in town for now. As that would be the beginning of an actual public transport focal point from which to develop everything around.
PatrickSmithUS wrote: » Is this for real? There is zero need for light rail anywhere in Ireland outside of the M50.
Sam Russell wrote: » Probably is cheap, but then, that is the point. Assuming lightweight buses is part of the design brief, and that light track formation is also part of the brief, then that should be OK. However, would a rubber based BRT system not be much the same idea, with better flexibility? On the Galway layout, I would see a route going along the N6, from the Coolagh or Martin Roundabout to the Headford Road, and accross the QCBridge into Newcastle and onto Knocknacarra. A spur out to the Tuam Road as far as Claregalway, or at least as far as a P&R out the road, and also into Eyre Sq. [This is just a sharp crayon version]
He said the planned Cross-City Link bus route – which runs from University Road, over Salmon Weir Bridge, Francis Street and Eglinton Street to Eyre Square, Forster Street, College Road to the Dublin Road – would be the “obvious” one to be upgraded to light rail.
timmyntc wrote: » Unfortunately it seems those in charge dont share the same ideas. In 30 years time they will still be scratching their heads wondering why the traffic to parkmore is so bad - driving from knocknacarra to parkmore will always be quicker than a zig-zagging light rail route through eyre sq.
Sam Russell wrote: » Bothar na dTreabh has enough space for the tracks either side except for the junctions. It would allow full speed over those sections, while city centre running would not.
Deleted User wrote: » To route buses over the QCB would mean avoiding the city center. Why would you run a bus route that avoids the place where 30% of the population works? Here's the current network of routes The proposed bus routes as part of the GTS are laid out below. You'll note the QCB is not used, neither is the rest of the N6 as nobody lives or works there.
Deleted User wrote: » There's a reason there isnt even a bus route along your proposed route, nobody lives there. Here's something I put on the M6 thread that answers this proposal
timmyntc wrote: » This is the kind of narrow-minded thinking that has Galway city buses as poor as they are. People want to go from West of the corrib to Ballybrit/Parkmore People want to go from East of the corrib to NUIG Yet there are no direct buses that do this. The result is that the bus service is so slow as to be worthless, and instead people drive. If you could stay in your own car, listen to your own music, and still get to work quicker than the bus - why wouldnt you? That is the issue that needs addresses by Galway pt
cgcsb wrote: » What progress has been made on the city centre bus corridor? seems a simple project, a few signs and new road markings.
Deleted User wrote: » Have a read of the GTS In the meantime, all your points are already addressed on this page of the M6 ring road thread This won't go ahead until the pedestrian bridge is built at the Cathedral. Construction due to start next year last I heard. Once that bridge is done, the rest will be implemented as they need to remove one of the footpaths on the Salmon Weir bridge to widen the lanes. They are leaving the path facing the weir as that is a protected view
cgcsb wrote: » You seem well informed. Is there a website or document with at least a scrap of information about the overall busconnects galway project similar to what there is for the Dublin project and what's being developed for the Cork project? I see that there's consultation on the Dublin Road and City Centre corridors but there's no overall document/website to tell us things like: How many corridors are there, where will they go, what priority measures are proposed etc.
Deleted User wrote: » The list of current projects is here https://www.galwaycity.ie/maintenance-strategy-projects From that page you can get links to the project pages which contain the websites, drawings etc for each project
cgcsb wrote: » I see, so there is no information regarding the other corridors at present, or even how many there are. Fair enough.
Sam Russell wrote: » If the light rail is cheap enough, and will convert car users to use it, and reduces congestion, then that is need enough. It is a lot cheaper than the proposed bypass which will not reduce congestion, and will increase car use. Also the bypass will not be completed in a decade.
PatrickSmithUS wrote: » I've lived in Cork, Limerick, Wexford and Letterkenny. Locals will always drive rather than wait for a bus.
Sam Russell wrote: » Well, waiting for Luas and hopping off near the desired destination might be a better option than sitting in a traffic jam, then searching for a parking spot that requires paying for, and then walking to the desired destination. Park and Ride makes a lot of sense for Galway because of all the one-off houses in remote locations. The benefit of Luas type service is that the next one will be along in a few minutes - and the display counts down. Unlike buses, the arrival of a Luas is not a surprise. If it is reliable, quicker, and frequent, it will be used.
Sam Russell wrote: » The benefit of Luas type service is that the next one will be along in a few minutes - and the display counts down. Unlike buses, the arrival of a Luas is not a surprise. If it is reliable, quicker, and frequent, it will be used.
cgcsb wrote: » Buses can also achieve this. The main benefit of upgrading to light rail would be capacity enhancement. Current bus proposals are for a bus less than 'every 15 mins'. You need to have buses going every 5 mins before considering the upgrade to light rail in my opinion.
Sam Russell wrote: » I would agree with a frequency of 5 minutes for a bus, but bunching is always a problem with buses. Bus lanes and junction priority does help to reduce this. The benefit of Luas is that they are on dedicated spaces (tracks). However, I have sat on a Luas waiting 5 minutes at the Benburb St to cross over to Heuston Station because they had to wait for a light to proceed,. Luas loses some of its shine when it is not given adequate priority.
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