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M50 thread

Amtmann

For all things M50-related.

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Quickelles

Aquarius34 wrote: »

If I offer my opinion I will let you know.

You already have, at great length. :cool:

Quickelles

Aquarius34 wrote: »

If I offer my opinion I will let you know.

You already have, at great length. :cool:

(The length is great btw; not the opinion)

sgarvan

Anyone got any idea what is going on with the M50 of late. Crawling from M1 junction or J4 Ballymun up to at least J9. This used to be an 10 minute journey, now taking 30 minutes. I have never seen it as bad in the 2 years I am driving the M50 as the last week or 2.

celticbest

sgarvan wrote: »

Anyone got any idea what is going on with the M50 of late. Crawling from M1 junction or J4 Ballymun up to at least J9. This used to be an 10 minute journey, now taking 30 minutes. I have never seen it as bad in the 2 years I am driving the M50 as the last week or 2.

Traffic looks like it back to pre-recession levels! (Plus schools and Xmas seasonal workers are back in many factories).

I think they may need to look at adding lights at junctions in much the same way as the M1 @ the Sanrty Junction which ensure that the mainline is kept flowing.

They could also look at adding bollards in all the Hatch markings at Junctions to stop lane hopping.

Chris_5339762

Is this the effect of Lissenhall/Drynan on the M1 now being unblocked? Traffic that was once queueing here southbound is now jamming up the M50?

[Deleted User]

Maybe it's time to introduce the variable speed limits, it'll reduce the "glug-glug" effect that happens when traffic approaches an obstruction too quickly.

Sheldons Brain

I think they may need to look at adding lights at junctions in much the same way as the M1 @ the Sanrty Junction which ensure that the mainline is kept flowing.

LA style ramp metering could help. But these roundabout lights in Ireland are not about improving the mainline, but about improving the roundabout. They typically batch traffic and send it down the ramp, which is the opposite of what you want.

Maybe it's time to introduce the variable speed limits, it'll reduce the "glug-glug" effect that happens when traffic approaches an obstruction too quickly.

While this is perfectly logical, cue the posts here complaining that a motorway should not have a 80kmh limit or whatever.

KevR

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

While this is perfectly logical, cue the posts here complaining that a motorway should not have a 80kmh limit or whatever.

In my opinion, it's perfectly reasonable for an urban motorway to have reduced speed limits at times when they are heavily congested. I wouldn't have an issue with 80kmh on the M50 when it's heavily congested.

Also, I think the limit on the M50 could be increased to 120kmh during the night when it's close to empty.

MrDerp

It's noticeably heavy alright.

I've queued at different times of the morning, where normally hitting J5 at 7.50 would be plain sailing, it's as bad as hitting it at 8.20 now.

It's a fight to get to the aux lane for J6 then, with all the merging traffic from the N2

L1011

I've seen far more breakdowns on motorways of late, with the associated blocked lanes or rubbernecking. There seems to be a general drop off in vehicle maintenance these days.

sgarvan

And once again this morning it was similar. Joined M50 at M1 at 7:55 and left at J7 at 8:25. It is just crazy at this stage. Is it caused by secondary roads off the motorway being congested and then the aux & inside lane clog up. And then the other lanes follow suit due to lane hoping.

Also got caught on M1 due to rubberneckers looking at a Garda vehicle sitting on the Garda ramp.

sgarvan

Flooding blamed for bad Dublin traffic jams

http://www.newstalk.ie/Flooding-blamed-for-bad-Dublin-traffic-jams

stevedublin

sgarvan wrote: »

Also got caught on M1 due to rubberneckers looking at a Garda vehicle sitting on the Garda ramp.

Maybe they were slowing down to the speed limit because they thought the Garda vehicle was operating a speed camera?

sgarvan

stevedublin wrote: »

Maybe they were slowing down to the speed limit because they thought the Garda vehicle was operating a speed camera?

Down to 20km. Nothing to do with the speed limit. The section is 120km until after where the Garda vehicle was stopped.

Jayuu

I really would love to know what exactly has changed over the last few weeks.

I've been driving the M50 from the N32/R139 (Junction 3) to the N4 (Junction 7) since the end of January as part of my daily commute. In the first six to seven months of that I could have counted the number of days on one hand where traffic congestion was terrible and most of those were due to accidents on either the mainline or at an exit. But in the last few weeks the congestion seems to have become the norm.

My commute from Coolock to Maynooth used to take me around 35-40 minutes regularly and I could do it in even less time generally. In fact a few times I would have been easily able to exceed the 100kph speed limit if I had wanted to (and to be honest I sometimes did). But in the last few weeks I don't think I've done in less than 50 minutes and in some cases it has taken well over an hour and the idea of being able to break the speed limit is ridiculous.

I now regularly come off at either Finglas (via the N2-N3 link) or Blanchardstown and then get to Maynooth via the back road at Dunboyne as opposed to staying on until the N4. Something must have changed. Are there suddenly way more cars on the road? Listening to traffic reports Junction 13 seems to have become a major bottleneck and is possibly the source of the congestion in the mornings. Has anything happened there over the last while? Even if it has it seem incredible that it could cause tailback of between 15 to 20 kilometers.

[Deleted User]

Is it anything to do with the Newlands Cross rebuild?

tonc76

The number of lanes at Newlands X has not been reduced and I believe the contract states that the existing number of lanes are to be maintained throughout the works so I doubt that is what is impacting the M50

Jayuu

As if to make a mockery of my last comment the road was congestion free between the N32 and N4 this morning. So I was fifteen minutes early for work because I was allowing myself extra time!

L1011

Jayuu wrote: »

As if to make a mockery of my last comment the road was congestion free between the N32 and N4 this morning. So I was fifteen minutes early for work because I was allowing myself extra time!

Most primary schools closed today.

Carawaystick

sgarvan wrote: »

Down to 20km. Nothing to do with the speed limit. The section is 120km until after where the Garda vehicle was stopped.

That was a standing wave caused by the first drivers slowing, then the next slowing more and the next slowing more etc, until you have traffic at a standstill.

pretty pointless use of traffic corps time after the jam built up, unless he was checking for hgv's in the lane nearest the median

[Deleted User]

Carawaystick wrote: »

That was a standing wave caused by the first drivers slowing, then the next slowing more and the next slowing more etc, until you have traffic at a standstill.

pretty pointless use of traffic corps time after the jam built up, unless he was checking for hgv's in the lane nearest the median

That's why (enforced) variable speed limits are so successful, it stops that type of activity dead!

Jayuu

MYOB wrote: »

Most primary schools closed today.

Hmm, good point. I always wondered whether school traffic had an impact on the M50 because I would have thought that it was local traffic. But I suppose if there is extra traffic in general on the roads, the feed off points from the M50 become clogged easier which then potentially pushes traffic back onto the road.

Still though it was not like this during the Feb-Jun period this year when schools were open.

Carawaystick

[Deleted User] wrote: »

That's why (enforced) variable speed limits are so successful, it stops that type of activity dead!

How would that stop jams? You've traffic coming from the north, slowing down to some reduced limit, which will be ignored like the 60 limit was during the widening works, unless you've a cop doing a speedcheck

L1011

Jayuu wrote: »

Hmm, good point. I always wondered whether school traffic had an impact on the M50 because I would have thought that it was local traffic. But I suppose if there is extra traffic in general on the roads, the feed off points from the M50 become clogged easier which then potentially pushes traffic back onto the road.

Still though it was not like this during the Feb-Jun period this year when schools were open.

It is mostly local traffic - but whenever kids are off there is a vast increase in the number of people taking days off work too.

[Deleted User]

Carawaystick wrote: »

How would that stop jams? You've traffic coming from the north, slowing down to some reduced limit, which will be ignored like the 60 limit was during the widening works, unless you've a cop doing a speedcheck

Variable speed limits backed up by average speed cameras will prevent the "glug-glug" effect you get when traffic approaches and goes through a congested section.
Traffic flows better at a steady speed of 60kmh, rather than lurching between 120 & 10 with lots of hard acceleration & braking in between.

Davy

M50 NB road markings before junction M1 interchange are being done tonight and tomorrow. Gantry signs will probably need to be done at the same time.

Guy:Incognito

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

While this is perfectly logical, cue the posts here complaining that a motorway should not have a 80kmh limit or whatever.

It would be pointless. The traffic at peak times already flows at under 100. If I can manage to do 100 in the driving lane ( in fact this happens at all times of the day and traffic volumes) ill be travelling faster than plenty of cars in the middle lane. The rest will continue to do 100+ in the outside lane.

A major issue is all the idiots that insist on driving in the middle and outside lanes regardless of whats going on. A large percentage of those then need to make 2 or 3 lane changes to exit the motorway and only start doing so in the last couple of hundred metres before theyd miss the exit altogether.

The other issues casueing slowdoens then are things like people not leaving proper gaps when driving , 1 for a safe stopping distance and 2 to allow others to merge. The fact that 90% of the drivers joining the motorway all pile in to the right lane on the slip that only leaves about 20m of a gap to merge from while driving bumper to bumper instead of staying in the left lane and having the whole way to the next junction to merge at their leisure when its safe. Where do these people think the left lane goes? Off a cliff?

Sheldons Brain

The traffic at peak times already flows at under 100.

No doubt. But if this traffic is made of up of people speeding up and slowing down and doing 100 for bits and 60 for bits, it would all work better if people just did 80, so the speed limit would still help.

A large percentage of those then need to make 2 or 3 lane changes to exit the motorway and only start doing so in the last couple of hundred metres before theyd miss the exit altogether.

I;d actually paint a solid line in the vicinity of exits so that you can't zoom in from the middle lane, such as I've seen in France, especally on the M50 which has an auxiliary lane

Guy:Incognito

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

I;d actually paint a solid line in the vicinity of exits so that you can't zoom in from the middle lane, such as I've seen in France, especally on the M50 which has an auxiliary lane

Everyday I see people entering and exiting the M50 across the hatch marks. The lines mean very little to these people. Bollards is about all that would stop them.

murpho999

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

It would be pointless. The traffic at peak times already flows at under 100. If I can manage to do 100 in the driving lane ( in fact this happens at all times of the day and traffic volumes) ill be travelling faster than plenty of cars in the middle lane. The rest will continue to do 100+ in the outside lane.

A major issue is all the idiots that insist on driving in the middle and outside lanes regardless of whats going on. A large percentage of those then need to make 2 or 3 lane changes to exit the motorway and only start doing so in the last couple of hundred metres before theyd miss the exit altogether.

The other issues casueing slowdoens then are things like people not leaving proper gaps when driving , 1 for a safe stopping distance and 2 to allow others to merge. The fact that 90% of the drivers joining the motorway all pile in to the right lane on the slip that only leaves about 20m of a gap to merge from while driving bumper to bumper instead of staying in the left lane and having the whole way to the next junction to merge at their leisure when its safe. Where do these people think the left lane goes? Off a cliff?

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Everyday I see people entering and exiting the M50 across the hatch marks. The lines mean very little to these people. Bollards is about all that would stop them.

Whole issue is by the drivers not being thought to drive on motorways properly and AFAIK it's still not on the new curriculum which is ridiculous in this day and age.

I thought I could drive, moved to the Netherlands and had to take driving test with compulsary course (none of this provo/learner licence crap there).

Discovered that I did not know how to enter motorways correctly at good speed (people joining 120km traffic here at 60km is just crazy), poor lane discipline and exiting where all eradicated.

It really needs to change here but won't of course.