Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Help Keep Boards Alive. Support us by going ad free today. See here: https://subscriptions.boards.ie/.
If we do not hit our goal we will be forced to close the site.

Current status: https://keepboardsalive.com/

Annual subs are best for most impact. If you are still undecided on going Ad Free - you can also donate using the Paypal Donate option. All contribution helps. Thank you.
https://www.boards.ie/group/1878-subscribers-forum

Private Group for paid up members of Boards.ie. Join the club.

Farronshoneen Roundabout

1234568»

Comments

  • #212
    Jerry Atrick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 295 ✭✭Jerry Atrick


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123739169#Comment_123739169

    As are we all however are they thought through properly?



  • #213
    Meatball.Martin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭Meatball.Martin


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123739169#Comment_123739169

    The reason I was suggesting the WCCC implement the changes during the Summer was to let road users get used to the new format. Whereas now not only will we have the surge of back to school traffic shortly but there will be a new road layout to contend with. Not everyone keeps up to date with these things. They only notice change when it directly affects them. I am not sure if this will be as plain sailing as you envisage. And not many people like change!



  • #214
    Meatball.Martin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭Meatball.Martin


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123738639#Comment_123738639

    TBH my immediate reaction to this is : Waterford ain't Amsterdam or Paris. We certainly do not suffer from the congestion either of these metropolises. The CSO census of 2022 found the number of people who commute by bike was 2.9% of population. Cycling commuting peaked @ 7% in 1986 btw.

    By comparison : 11.2% of Parisians commute by bike. And 27% of Dutch people. The Dutch have been to the fore - in 1911 they owned more bikes per capita in Europe. And the country is primarily flat! In other words we are a long way behind. Maybe its our weather. Or our love of buying the latest SUV to keep up with the neighbours. Our government is not gonna prioritise two wheels over four. It will only pay lip service and spin it to their advantage.

    I doubt John Cummins or Mary Butler cycles around Dublin not to say Waterford. Maybe a photo op on the Greenway?



  • #215
    Asdfgh2020
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,842 ✭✭✭Asdfgh2020


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123742325#Comment_123742325

    so why does some minor changes to three streets / roads cause such upset / debate …?



  • #216
    Zionist.
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5 ✭Zionist.


    It was the Greens who did this, part of their active travel anti-car clusterfuk, it was far safer before, it's a green / anti-car measure, I see it all over the country, the problem is anti-car is also anti-ambulance, anti-fire engine, anti-police, anti-bus / public transport

    The irony of irony's being it is now considerably more dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and far more difficult for buses to negotiate



  • Advertisement
  • #217
    Jerry Atrick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 295 ✭✭Jerry Atrick


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123748997#Comment_123748997

    Anyone who travels via the city streets knows it's not a minor change. It will funnel more traffic into already over capacity streets. There is no joined up thinking in any of these initiatives which is my major issue and the powers that be are beyond reproach.



  • #218
    914
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,020 ✭✭✭914


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123749001#Comment_123749001

    As someone who cycles, walks and drives, farronshoneen is far safer from a cycling and walking perspective.

    That said the changes I would make, move the pedestrian crossing on the farren park side a bit more which would reinstate the filter lane while still allowing pedestrians to only cross single lanes.

    Move the pedestrian crossing on the Williamstown side further as the current crossing is right on the roundabout.

    For anyone who cycles, there is only one winner in an accident and that isn't the bike.

    Yes some cyclists are w***ers, as are some drivers, but the majority of town is not overly safe for cycling, I'd encourage anyone to cycle any of the main roads in the city to experience it.



  • #219
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 28,606 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123749001#Comment_123749001

    Cycle lanes make things more dangerous for cyclists now? Do you even cycle?

    I love when people trott out the anti-emergency services line.

    I'm all for cycle lanes that are as wide as a traffic lane that cyclists can use and in instances of an emergency the emergency services can use. Works great in the Netherlands.
    https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckcars/comments/155iwzc/fire_brigade_in_the_netherlands_using_bike_lanes/

    Imagine an ambulance being able to fly down the quays past all the cars or go around the out ring road really easily, would be fantastic and could easily help save somebody's life.

    Would you not be pro this given you think you think emergency services are so important? We should give priority to them above all traffic after all.



  • #220
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 28,606 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123749947#Comment_123749947

    Change doesn't happen overnight, it takes time to build a safer cycle and pedestrian spaces.
    The harsh reality that people have to get used to is people should not be using the city centre as a throw-way, they should drive around the city instead.

    Unless your destination is in the city or you are actually stopping on the way in the city then you have no place driving through it. Thats what causes traffic congestion, the countless cars that have no place in the area.



  • #221
    914
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,020 ✭✭✭914


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123752351#Comment_123752351

    I agree and if we are to encourage more cyclists, then we need to put in the infrastructure and begin to encourage the kids/younger generation to cycle as they will more than likely keep it up into adulthood.

    Trying to get more adults cycling now is always going to be a challenge.

    The amount of cars that I see going to schools is astounding, when the majority of those are probably 5-20 minutes cycle at most.

    Why? Parents would think the kids are not safe cycling to school, the lack of cycling infrastructure, the lack of bike parking at schools.

    Ireland really needs a whole culture shift which is difficult. I literally see parents drop their kids to the school gate by car and then turn back into the traffic to drive back down the road they just came up, it's bananas.

    Imagine if we had a safe cycling infrastructure and the parents encouraged the kids to cycle, the reduction in traffic would be huge at school times.



  • Advertisement
  • #222
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 28,606 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123752392#Comment_123752392

    Its an awful lot less stressful to do kids drop off at creche or schools, I've been doing it years with a cargobike.
    I get the best parking and during rush hours I can pretty much beat any car to the destination.

    Rain isn't a major concern, I can count the number of times each year where I wear full rain gear (incl rain pants).

    The biggest blocker to both parents and kids is safety, people have to feel safe and know their kids will be safe.
    Some paint on a road doesn't cut it,



  • #223
    iseegirls
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,126 ✭✭✭iseegirls


    The primary school that my boy attends sent out messaging last term that there are no facilities for bikes to be stored on the premises - despite a healthy green area surrounding the school, and they should not be tied to any of the railings surrounding the school. Absolutely bonkers - actively discouraging the use of bikes and cycling in that instance, while the cars continue to build up more.



  • #224
    Zionist.
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5 ✭Zionist.


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123752338#Comment_123752338

    And is this how it has been designed . . . . that would be a no

    It's an anti-car design that made a busy relatively safe roundabout now very congested and less safer than before

    A cycle lane could have been expanded on the margain but they didn't . . .



  • #225
    914
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,020 ✭✭✭914


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123753339#Comment_123753339

    And if that was to happen we would have people complaining about the trees being removed to make way for it.



  • #226
    Jerry Atrick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 295 ✭✭Jerry Atrick


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123753339#Comment_123753339

    Cabaal too busy dishing out 'harsh realities' to notice. Cars should just drive around the outskirts of city! Yes, if the roads network was there. People pay their road tax and PAYE etc to have these ill thought out ideas implemented at the flick of a pen. The whole road network in city needs to be redesigned imo. Not gonna happen though.



  • #227
    914
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,020 ✭✭✭914


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123753374#Comment_123753374

    The road network needs a re-design? I presume that would involve one way streets? I don't see how else you do a road re design around the city without one way.

    Or are we doing to do the usual "get the quay back to four lanes"?

    One way systems would definitely help to introduce proper cycle lanes etc.



  • #228
    Jerry Atrick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 295 ✭✭Jerry Atrick


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123754637#Comment_123754637

    One way system fine by me as long as everything is part of a credible system. What we are enduring now is mini projects that do not complement one another and are short term thinking. The Williamstown Rd has no bus lanes or stops on it and houses being developed at a rate or knots. Where is the future proofing there?



  • #229
    914
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,020 ✭✭✭914


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123754906#Comment_123754906

    I did email the council in the past about the lack of a cycle lane in the Williamstown road and was told the roundabout was phase 1 of that project.

    Perhaps in time all these mini projects link up but unfortunately Ireland is very slow when it comes to delivering these kind of projects.

    To give an example the council purchased the land along the Williamstown road where the grass verge is with the intention of adding a dual cycle lanes, that must be 20 years in the works.



  • #230
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 28,606 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123753374#Comment_123753374

    Nobody pays road tax 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

    Mentioning tax as a reason why motorists should be given priority over everything else is utter nonsense, everyone pays tax. Everyone is entittled to safe infrusture and the most vulnerable should always take priority when it comes to designs.

    Changes cannot happen overnight and they happen on a phased basis. No different to what other countrys including the Netherlands have done, it took them decades to change.



  • #231
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 28,606 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    You can bet they have parking for cars though.

    One carpark space can comfortably fit between 6-15 bikes, depending on bike type.

    Its about priortities, do they want to have storage for one car which likely had 1 person in it, or between 6-15 student bikes.



  • Advertisement
  • #232
    Jerry Atrick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 295 ✭✭Jerry Atrick


    Apologies, motor tax/road tax. Call it what you will. No one suggesting anyone should have priority over other users but the engineers and planners should be making better decisions and plans. Quite a few things are quickly implemented when the will is there and not always an improvement.

    Militant cyclists who have no need to drive, can't see the wood from the trees and seem to think they should 'take priority'.



  • #233
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 28,606 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123756030#Comment_123756030

    Motor tax, its been called that for some time and its worrying that people think its called something else.
    It has nothing to do with roads and the tax take isn't even close to covering the cost of our roads network.

    They have made decisions and plans, but change is hard for some people. Many fear change and struggle with anything thats different, they often lash out and name call using such silly terms such as militant cyclists 😂

    Nobody is asking for priority when it comes to cyclists just for other road users to be safe, but its in drivers interests to have more people cycling and more people on buses as it will reduce traffic congestion. By being against cycle infrusture and bus lanes you are actually in favour of more traffic congestion.

    I find it amusing that I can see this as a motorist, but others cannot.

    Priority within the city should actually be given to buses first off, they are far more efficent at moving people then cars. Rice bridge for example should have a dedicated bus lane in each direction, same for up to and back to Ferrybank.

    The planners and engineers are at the early stages of a network, this takes time to build out and connect together.
    It cannot happen overnight and it may upset some people but its in the interest of the city to change.

    On your claim that cyclists think they should be given priority, I just like to use roads without fear of being killed. its not a big ask.

    In built up areas, roundabouts and busy junctions I'll generally take the lane to ensure I'm safer but this upsets many motorists even though I have an automatic right to do so. They forget that other road users exist and they are outright hostile to them, it doesn't matter if they are adults or children.

    Its because of this changes have to be made, bottom line is children should be able to safely cycle to school and more adults should feel safe cycling to work and college. It's in everyone's interest for this to happen and it ultimately reduces traffic congestion.



Advertisement