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Dock Road - new traffic arrangements

thesimpsons

another of my worst fears came true concerning the City Council's traffic management plans - they've made another mess of the dock road. Left turn only lane coming off roundabout at Jury's Inn for next two left turns and followed by a parking zone outside Dolan's area. the two lanes don't start again until the Topaz station. It was working fine with all day long free flowing traffic apart from the odd rush hour hiccup. Theres never a problem with parking down that end of town and they could have easily just made the parking zone a night time one. I've never yet failed to get a space in the streets leading off Dock Road during the day time so once again, after a lovely 2 years of free flowing traffic on the dock road, we will be back to a congested exit route from the city.

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Kess73

You will be told that there is the tunnel to avoid the Dock road.

But the mighty planners don't seem to realise that every car that uses the Dock road has not come across Shannon bridge, and that the tunnel is useless to those leaving town in the evenings/going to town in the mornings etc.

I don't think most motorists even twig the left only lane is there, as at the first set of traffic lights many try to drive straight out of the left only lane and end up in the parking spaces and then try to force their way into the single lane, then as you said, it splits into two lanes again at the Topaz only to merge into one lane just before the next Topaz a few hundred yards away.

source

It should have been two lanes out, one lane in from Shannon Bridge to the Cement Factory from the start, that merge at Summerville Avenue is stupidity of the highest order, and it's what causes the tailbacks that are there at the moment at rush hour.

Liam Byrne

Kess73 wrote: »

You will be told that there is the tunnel to avoid the Dock road.

That's not an acceptable response because the tunnel isn't strictly a "public" road - you have to pay to use it.

I suspected that this tactic would be enforced to try to get more cars to use the tunnel, when in actual fact what they need to do is to reduce the charge on the tunnel to €1.

thesimpsons

Kess73 wrote: »

You will be told that there is the tunnel to avoid the Dock road.

But the mighty planners don't seem to realise that every car that uses the Dock road has not come across Shannon bridge, and that the tunnel is useless to those leaving town in the evenings/going to town in the mornings etc.

they also don't realise that even when coming in the Condel Road and proceeding to the Dock Road, the tunnel still isn't any good if you have work, business or school anywhere along the Dock Rd/SCR. The tunnel was built as a bye-pass, and for that its great, but thats it full stop. Heard an interview with the Manager of Direct Route on radio few months ago and he was moaning that people didn't use the tunnel for going to the schools on SCR, etc. I'm not sure what world he lives in but it must surely be the same one as the city council.

bazz26

Noticed it last night. A big neon sign warning motorists of the new system sitting outside the 95FM building and I still seen people using the wrong lane right up to Dolans where they met parked cars. Can only imagine what it will be like at rush hour.

To be honest I have always used the right hand lane until I get past Dolans because 9 out of 10 times there is either a taxi or a van right parked right outside the door.

Slightly off topic but what is the point of the Clonmaken toll plaza? Does anyone actually use it? I have no reason to use it myself but passing regularly on the Condel road I hardly ever see any vehicles come or go from the tunnel through that plaza. I also read recently (cannot find a link to the article) that they were disappointed with the volumes through that plaza.

Mc Love

I always use that clonmacken exit - tis very handy for getting to Shannon matches getting to Thomond park

zuroph

I think its fine

Berty

I often use the Clonmacken exit. I will be using it tonight as well as I head from Newport to Kileely. Saved around 5-10 minutes depending on traffic. Will be heading through around 6:30.

Any later I wouldnt bother with the tunnel because traffic would be light.

When there is a match in the Gaelic grounds or Thomond Park the Tunnel is a dream for the city.

Speaking of the Dock Road. I tend to avoid the dock road like the plague.

MarkR

I was there yesterday, spotted the giant flashing sign. The other numpties in the left hand lane didn't, and then swung out in front of me.

Should have put out models with placards.

phog

MarkR wrote: »

I was there yesterday, spotted the giant flashing sign. The other numpties in the left hand lane didn't, and then swung out in front of me.

Should have put out models with placards.

Was heading out this way on Saturday morning, about 5 vehicles in front of me, the first few braked as they approched the new lights as they had gone amber, the jeep in front of me swung into the left lane and drove right up the the lights then jammed on his brakes, lights change to green and he speeds off to get into the correct lane again, he heads out along until the two lanes begins and satys in tight lane, there are cars on the left lane and just as comes to the entrance to the 1st Tpaz station opposite the entrace to the docks he swings into the petrol station without using an indicator ot giving way to the cars in the left lane.

He either didn't realsie that we were back to 2 lane traffic or just a complete jerk.

Doom

A fcked up road, I can imagine insurance companies saying, do your use the dock rd? Ya. That's a extra € 100 please

talkingclock

phog wrote: »

He either didn't realsie that we were back to 2 lane traffic or just a complete jerk.

the latter

stevemac

There was an article in the limerick post a few months ago that the business owners(clems and the other pub, can't remember its name) were complaining that there business was suffering because there was no parking for there customers on the dock rd. I think that there was parking there a few years ago and it was removed to make the third lane, they were told that when the tunnel opened they would get the parking back. I think there was a counciller backing them up in the article.

zuroph

stevemac wrote: »

There was an article in the limerick post a few months ago that the business owners(clems and the other pub, can't remember its name) were complaining that there business was suffering because there was no parking for there customers on the dock rd. I think that there was parking there a few years ago and it was removed to make the third lane, they were told that when the tunnel opened they would get the parking back. I think there was a counciller backing them up in the article.

yip, fair enough really. it doesnt make a huge difference, traffic doesnt really start to back up til much further up the road near the entrance to the post depot

thesimpsons

it was a clearway there for years, then they put parking there, then they took away parking and put in 3rd lane and now its back to parking again. Its a main atery road out of the city, no parking should be there unless its just at night. How many people use those pubs during daytime ? City council have a fine bit empty site just at the corner there they could have turned into a carpark at virtually no cost and made some money out of but that would have taken a bit of forward thinking. Far easier to pander to the 2 pubs.

moby2101

thesimpsons wrote: »

it was a clearway there for years, then they put parking there, then they took away parking and put in 3rd lane and now its back to parking again. Its a main atery road out of the city, no parking should be there unless its just at night. How many people use those pubs during daytime ? City council have a fine bit empty site just at the corner there they could have turned into a carpark at virtually no cost and made some money out of but that would have taken a bit of forward thinking. Far easier to pander to the 2 pubs.[/QUOTE

I Couldn't agree more...
Because Mick Dolan makes a song and dance about his lack of parking some bright spark in City Council cant react quick enough.
The levels of congestion here morning and evening are appalling at best, it would have been much more appropriate to regulate parking here at off peak hours..

..but then again should we be that surprised...look at who were dealing with.... LCC...

source

Does anyone think that City Council are giving out the wrong impression of their views on drink driving by providing parking spaces on such a busy road for 3 pubs, (the only businesses along that stretch).

Liam Byrne

thesimpsons wrote: »

Heard an interview with the Manager of Direct Route on radio few months ago and he was moaning that people didn't use the tunnel for going to the schools on SCR, etc. I'm not sure what world he lives in but it must surely be the same one as the city council.

He's on a planet where there's no problem forking out an extra €7.20 a day just to do the two round trips to school ?

No wonder the country is bolloxed if those with power to force us to pay are that out-of-touch with reality!

zuroph

foinse wrote: »

Does anyone think that City Council are giving out the wrong impression of their views on drink driving by providing parking spaces on such a busy road for 3 pubs, (the only businesses along that stretch).

dolans main business during the day was buses of tourists who wouldnt be driving, and reps, who wouldnt be drinking, stopping for food. Its a resaturant too remember.

There is no need for two lanes there, it only led to road rage as people raced each other to the queue up ahead. there is not traffic doubled up in that area, and the left lane for left turns only is a fair and simple system that works. Its shouldnt bother anyone if there is a car parked on a road that is wide wnough to accomodate it, and there is absolutely no need for two lanes at that point, only much further up the road.

source

zuroph wrote: »

dolans main business during the day was buses of tourists who wouldnt be driving, and reps, who wouldnt be drinking, stopping for food. Its a resaturant too remember.

There is no need for two lanes there, it only led to road rage as people raced each other to the queue up ahead. there is not traffic doubled up in that area, and the left lane for left turns only is a fair and simple system that works. Its shouldnt bother anyone if there is a car parked on a road that is wide wnough to accomodate it, and there is absolutely no need for two lanes at that point, only much further up the road.

Don't know about that mate, As you know Dock Road is my main route into and out of town. At rush hour traffic can and often does get backed up as far as Dolans and beyond I've often joined traffic at O'Curry Street. The reason for the road rage and idiocy from drivers isn't the existence of the two lanes, it's the fact that the lanes merge instead of continuing out the Dock Road. Which co-incidentally is what also causes the traffic jams.

zuroph

foinse wrote: »

Don't know about that mate, As you know Dock Road is my main route into and out of town. At rush hour traffic can and often does get backed up as far as Dolans and beyond I've often joined traffic at O'Curry Street. The reason for the road rage and idiocy from drivers isn't the existence of the two lanes, it's the fact that the lanes merge instead of continuing out the Dock Road. Which co-incidentally is what also causes the traffic jams.

At rush hour there is no parking allowed there. Its only til 4pm. And your main route into town should surely be via Mary I. For at least two reasons I can think of

source

zuroph wrote: »

At rush hour there is no parking allowed there. Its only til 4pm. And your main route into town should surely be via Mary I. For at least two reasons I can think of

I prefer to avoid the speed bumps and school traffic and students from the many schools jumping and pushing each other into the road, They annoy the crap out of me.

So it's going to be the same as the no right turn from Summerville Avenue to Dock Road between 1600 and 1900.....ie completely ignored by motorists.

You will have people parking there who are working nearby, they will not be rushing back to move the car at 1600.

It will also cause problems at night. If a person manages to get a parking space there at night, taxi's who were using that lane (illegally) to stop and wait for people coming out of Dolans, will now be stopping in the only lane of traffic blocking the whole place up, That road is too busy day and night to allow parking anywhere along its length. There's heavy movement on the Dock Road between 0600 and 0400 daily.

Insect Overlord

zuroph wrote: »

At rush hour there is no parking allowed there. Its only til 4pm. And your main route into town should surely be via Mary I. For at least two reasons I can think of

Am I one of those reasons? :pac:

Driving past Scoil Mháthair Dé, Mary I, St.Philomena's, Laurel Hill and Coláiste and St.Clement's is a serious pain at certain times of the day with the amount of kids, parents and students around. The speed-bumps on the same route are a pain the rest of the time.

zuroph

foinse wrote: »

I prefer to avoid the speed bumps and school traffic and students from the many schools jumping and pushing each other into the road, They annoy the crap out of me.

So it's going to be the same as the no right turn from Summerville Avenue to Dock Road between 1600 and 1900.....ie completely ignored by motorists.

You will have people parking there who are working nearby, they will not be rushing back to move the car at 1600.

It will also cause problems at night. If a person manages to get a parking space there at night, taxi's who were using that lane (illegally) to stop and wait for people coming out of Dolans, will now be stopping in the only lane of traffic blocking the whole place up, That road is too busy day and night to allow parking anywhere along its length. There's heavy movement on the Dock Road between 0600 and 0400 daily.

Seriously, have you that short a memory? your mates used to clean up down there, with a two truck every day at the dot of 4. Believe me, people rushed back to move their cars. traffic corp used to love that little spot.

its not the people parked at fault if a taxi decides to illegally stop. feck it I've had cars stop in front of me before, thankfully my vehicle has been fitted with a safety device called brakes.

TLDR If the traffic corp do their job, there will be no problem.

source

zuroph wrote: »

Seriously, have you that short a memory? your mates used to clean up down there, with a two truck every day at the dot of 4. Believe me, people rushed back to move their cars. traffic corp used to love that little spot.

its not the people parked at fault if a taxi decides to illegally stop. feck it I've had cars stop in front of me before, thankfully my vehicle has been fitted with a safety device called brakes.

TLDR If the traffic corp do their job, there will be no problem.

Nothing wrong with my memory mate, Let me put it to you this way, every Saturday morning despite signs all over the place saying not to park there as cars will be towed, There are cars left down in the Market area. Between 5 to 10 cars every Saturday morning towed because of this which causes a delay in the setting up of the market every Saturday morning.

People don't care that there's signs saying that their cars will be towed. They will take the chance, and in taking that chance they will cause an obstruction. Which takes time to move, and causes an even bigger obstruction while the tow truck is there moving it.

Common sense isn't as common as people think.

zuroph

foinse wrote: »

Nothing wrong with my memory mate, Let me put it to you this way, every Saturday morning despite signs all over the place saying not to park there as cars will be towed, There are cars left down in the Market area. Between 5 to 10 cars every Saturday morning towed because of this which causes a delay in the setting up of the market every Saturday morning.

People don't care that there's signs saying that their cars will be towed. They will take the chance, and in taking that chance they will cause an obstruction. Which takes time to move, and causes an even bigger obstruction while the tow truck is there moving it.

Common sense isn't as common as people think.

one occasional car, at an area that rarely gets traffic blocked that far back, in times with much less traffic, will not cause an obstruction for that long if traffic corp do their job.

People love to make mountains out of traffic molehiles on here. I predict it will all be fine, and that the real problem is much further out the road.

source

zuroph wrote: »

one occasional car, at an area that rarely gets traffic blocked that far back, in times with much less traffic, will not cause an obstruction for that long if traffic corp do their job.

People love to make mountains out of traffic molehiles on here. I predict it will all be fine, and that the real problem is much further out the road.

I predict you are wrong.

I travel that road every single day, both in work and out. That road despite lower traffic levels, does indeed get backed up and it gets backed up that far. I can also guarantee that once people start parking there and realising that there is parking there then there will be a lot more than one or two cars causing problems.

If you also take into account that, The Gardai arrive at the scene and request a tow truck. the tow trucks need to come from Castleconnell, into town at rush hour, So you're waiting about 30 to 40 minutes for the truck to arrive. Then it's another 10 to 15 minutes waiting for the car to be loaded. that's up to an hour for 1 car.

It's not good enough for you to say the traffic corps have to do their job, but there's rules and regulations around towing cars. Not only that but there are others involved. There's the people who are rude enough to park their cars there past the appointed hour. There's the private contracted towing company who the TC have to wait for in order to tow the car.

Once again the disruption is put onto the people trying to enforce the laws instead of those breaking the laws.

thesimpsons

driving out Dock Rd today and complete idiot ignores the road markings and flashing signs and continues driving on the left hand lane. Car in front of me indicates to turn left into O'Curry St/Alphonsus St (dunno which one its called) and finds idiot inside him driving alongside him and blocking his left turn. Annoyed as I am with the new arrangements I'll adhere to them but how bloody hard is it to look at road markings (nice new shiny paint) and great big bloody flashing lights. crash narrowly avoided.

Kess73

zuroph wrote: »

one occasional car, at an area that rarely gets traffic blocked that far back, in times with much less traffic, will not cause an obstruction for that long if traffic corp do their job.

People love to make mountains out of traffic molehiles on here. I predict it will all be fine, and that the real problem is much further out the road.

Been caught twice in three days in a jam caused by a car parked in the parking area at the wrong time.

Cars are still driving straight through the left only lane, and when they met the parked car on each of the two days, they then tried to force their way into the single lane.

thesimpsons

there appears to be new timed signage now - parking is from 9.30am to 4.30pm and clearway again afterwards. I'll have to drive by more slowly to catch the full details. Hopefully its that, that wouldn't be too bad at least.