It's a national secondary road?
Why would it be reduced. Doubt you get much speed up with the all the roundabouts.
If this piece in the Western People is accurate (from March), some 15 to 20 metres is due to be replaced.
Where does that greenway go exactly, is it basically bypassing the town from the Newport road over to the Castlebar road?
A couple of photos of the new N5 taken yesterday near Westport. Lovely approach to the town.
Looks a lot worse now. This is 1/4 Billion euro project. Just build the feckin wall and move on.
I was curious because the design speed of the Westport relief road is only 85kmh according to the planning documents. I thought the posted limit would end up being 60 or 80 on that basis. Surprised to see it's 100.
Also, it's quite close to the town, though you couldn't call it urban. Cycling and walking route alongside it. And it's pretty short so timewise the difference in the time it would take to to get across at 80 versus 100 would be seconds.
The current Castlebar - Westport road is a complete mess now. Road works everywhere. Unmanaged traffic. Its an absolute joke now. They really need to open the new road.
It was only a matter of time before a local councillor noticed there are no signs to Ballina on the new N5. He's not doing himself any favours by referring to Ballina as the biggest town in Mayo either - that hasn't been true for 20 years!
Clr O’Hara and s 100% correct.
There is no logical reason why Ballina is excluded from road signs.
Ballina is the one to f the main urban centres within the county and should be sign posted.
It has not received a proportionate share of central government resources for years
Clr O’Hara is 100% correct.
Ballina is the one of the main urban centres within the county and should be sign posted.
It has not received a proportionate share of central government resources for years.
A name on a sign is not too much to ask
Well it depends on what roads branch off the bypass and where they go. There may be perfectly logical reasons for it.
It's not like somebody just randomly decides what to put on them, there are rules around all of that and we have to stick to them. Otherwise every councillor in the country will be agitating for their town to be put on signs all over the place.
I would think there are rules alright but it's still strange that Foxford would be on signage but not Ballina. Whether it's roads or trains, you see Westport on signs in Dublin because its at the end of the line regardless of what towns are in between. Within Mayo I would think Ballina as the sizable destination would have more prominence.
Again the reality is that as you travel eastbound on the N5 from Castlebar, Foxford is on the first national route that directly diverges from the N5 (the N58) so that would explain the signage. At this point Ballina is on a secondary diverge (at the end of the N58 itself) from the N5 and so including it would not be necessary from an advance signage perspective and potentially confusing.
Looking at Google maps when do you come to the N58 split there are secondary signs for Ballina and the N26, and obviously at Swinford where the N26 diverges Ballina is the terminal destination of the N26 and so is the main signed destination.
Also looking at Google maps shows that where the N5 starts in Longford on the very first sign after the roundabout Westport is correctly listed as the terminal destination and immediately below it in brackets is Ballina, followed by Strokestown as the next destination and the same seems to appear on the first sign after Strokestown. That is because from a westbound perspective Ballina is a major town on a national route that diverges directly from the N5 (the N26). It possibly shouldn't be there as there are other national routes (the N61 and N17) which diverge off the N5 before the N26 and they aren't signed.
With all of that being said given the actual signage on the N5 one can hardly make the case that somebody is trying to down Ballina from a signage perspective so I think the councillor really doesn't have a case to make.
No road off the bypass goes to to Ballina, the N58 further east goes to Foxford, then N26 to Ballina. Some of the Mayo councillors aren't really painting themselves in good light throughout this project.
Ok I see what you mean. Yes Foxford is the last town on the N83 if travelling east from castlebar. I had forgotten to separate the N83 from the N26. Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense.
Local elections are next year.
Varadkar is performing the official opening on June 15th, according to Alan Dillon on Midwest radio.
Latest updates re the N5. The second piece is basically saying that we need lots more sprawl and ribbon development along the old N5, to help solve the housing crisis 😑
The article might be a bit misleading when its says between Westport and Castlebar. I presume it really means development on the old N5 but near or within the town boundaries. Planning nowadays will hardly permit big housing estates or commercial parks outside towns.
Officially being opened on June 15.
I know that's the official date but have they opened the Westport side yet or are they waiting for the official date to open it?
Google Earth now with imagery of the Westport end of the road.
Couple of photos of the Westport end from Jack Walsh. The new greenway here looks great, I can see it becoming a very popular jogging route.
I'm really weary of the way we design cycle paths lately, its a recipe for disaster having shared paths with pedestrians. The amount of near missus I've had with walkers/runners oblivious to their surroundings either through being engrossed in conversation with their buddies or wearing earbuds. Throw dog on leads (especially the extendable type) into the mix and it becomes easier and safer to cycle on the road.
It's good to see the Westport relief road is a normal 100km/h road. I had expected footpaths on both sides and a 60 limit, but with the barrier between road and footpath, the 100 limit seems fair enough.
Wasn't open as of yesterday anyway. I think it will open on the 15th, the official opening day.
Brilliant, nothing better than brand new cycling infrastructure which cyclists won't use.
As motorists we are quick to give out about badly designed roads, so it's not unreasonable to point out the flaws in the current way cycle lanes are being designed here.
It depends what you mean by cyclists. The cycling club groups you see out at the weekends will always use the roads due to the sheer numbers they have while avoiding the need to slow down crossing side roads etc.
The cycle track will get plenty of use by locals looking for more leisurely exercise and also as part of the towns emphasis on active travel by providing a safe corridor for getting around to school and work etc. IMO it looks wide enough to accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists. A lot of towns would love to have that type of segregated track facility and it will attract tourists for the same reasons.
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