Bus Lane on the North Quays from O2 to Memorial Bridge?

dcr22B · 01-11-2011 5:26pm #1

With all the resurfacing works going on with the Bavaria Grand Prix track North Quays from the Custom House to the O2, I have noticed that they have road markings for what appears to be a bus lane outside PwC/NCC.

Anybody know if it's going to stretch all the way back to the O2?

I use the 33X every morning and it would be bloody excellent if that was the case as on average, I spend 10 minutes on the bus between the O2 and Jurys Inn at the moment.

pclive · 01-11-2011 6:43pm

Yes bus lane on the way, should make a big difference

joegriffinjnr · 01-11-2011 6:52pm

Should be good news for Swords Express and some Bus Eireann passengers too.

BrianD · 01-11-2011 11:09pm

And the free parking for people in the area goes! There were no parking restrictions on that side of the road since at least '06 as the bus lane was imminent.

dcr22B · 02-11-2011 11:11am

BrianD wrote: »

And the free parking for people in the area goes!

Bummer for them but great news for coaches coming in off the ferries as well as those coming from the airport through the city centre. It creates a better impression that public transport is well catered for in Dublin by removing as many obstacles as possible to a smooth passage through the city.

monument · 02-11-2011 11:20am

Somebody skipped public consultation.

antoinolachtnai · 02-11-2011 2:37pm

Was done in 2007, I think.

monument · 02-11-2011 2:44pm

Bit of a long gap.

antoinolachtnai · 02-11-2011 2:49pm

The issue is the resurfacing of North Wall Quay. They are done now from Memorial Road to New Wapping St. The remaining stretch still needs to be done I think.

schemingbohemia · 02-11-2011 5:37pm

monument wrote: »

Bit of a long gap.

But done.

monument · 02-11-2011 5:56pm

schemingbohemia wrote: »

But done.

Sure, I wasn't saying otherwise.

I don't have a problem with the idea of bus priority. If I had a say, it would have been done as a two-way segregated BRT on the north quays from the Point all the way to O'Connell Street / the proposed bridge before it.

BRT without taxis or cyclists, and general only one-way on part of the quays even if that means doing the work on reworking junctions and flows. Provision for cyclists two-way on both side of the quays but not mixed with buses -- cyclists mixing with buses with no room to pass isn't good for buses or cyclists.

dcr22B · 03-11-2011 10:20am

monument wrote: »

BRT without taxis or cyclists, and general only one-way on part of the quays even if that means doing the work on reworking junctions and flows. Provision for cyclists two-way on both side of the quays but not mixed with buses -- cyclists mixing with buses with no room to pass isn't good for buses or cyclists.

Is there not a cycle path already in place from the O2 down to Memorial Bridge already that can more than adequately service the needs of cyclists? Or am I missing something here?

monument · 03-11-2011 11:13am

dcr22B wrote: »

Is there not a cycle path already in place from the O2 down to Memorial Bridge already that can more than adequately service the needs of cyclists? Or am I missing something here?

You're missing something.

There's a load a sections where the cycle track is missing / was removed / ripped to bits / never put in place. It's used as a footpath by many people out walking and due to it's design it really is just a very disjointed one-way track which only "works" when you illegally cycle on the footpath -- footpaths which can be fairly busy at times. There's no on / off points and crossing points along the track to side roads across the road between the start and the end.

It starts off at the 02 behind what is used as a parking space. It goes into a single lane in one direction at traffic lights just before the convention centre (not currently shown on street view). It just ends at both ends of a plaza-like on the quay side in front of the convention centre. It then goes on for about 10m and ends at the bridge with only a really narrow footpath crossing the canal other than the road. If you get on after the canal bridge there's only a ped crossing going straight ahead on the new Samuel Beckett Bridge, and after that bridge the short section of two-way cycle track has been converted into a just as useless short one way cycle track with no legal connection to the bridge and 100m before you're back on the road again. After the building here on the quay side you're diverted back onto the cycle track but again only for 100m before off again. After 150m on road you can go back on again, but no marking around here to show its a cycle track so even more people walk in it.

dcr22B · 03-11-2011 12:45pm

Thanks for that.

Judging by the new road markings on the resurfaced westbound road from Memorial Bridge to the O2, they've factored in cycle lanes and once they do away with the parking on both sides (not sure if they'll do it on the city side past the PwC building), there should be ample opportunity to run a bus lane, cycle lane and normal traffic lane with the space avilable to them.

schemingbohemia · 03-11-2011 3:37pm

monument wrote: »

Somebody skipped public consultation.

monument wrote: »

Sure, I wasn't saying otherwise.

eh, i'm trying to square these two comments but struggling unless you've invented a new variant of logic.

monument · 03-11-2011 5:52pm

schemingbohemia wrote: »

eh, i'm trying to square these two comments but struggling unless you've invented a new variant of logic.

After I was corrected by antoinolachtnai, I said "Bit of a long gap" -- in saying that I was no longer disputing that public consultation happened but just saying that there was a long gap.

rgfuller · 04-11-2011 12:17pm

pclive wrote: »

Yes bus lane on the way, should make a big difference

The junction with "Commons Street" will likely cause a problem - cars regularly back up here during rush hour(s) and will end up flooding into the bus lane to get by.

markpb · 04-11-2011 12:30pm

rgfuller wrote: »

The junction with "Commons Street" will likely cause a problem - cars regularly back up here during rush hour(s) and will end up flooding into the bus lane to get by.

A yellow box and zero enforcement should keep the people in DCC happy that they've solved this particular problem.

gurramok · 04-11-2011 9:27pm

Hopefully they'll also drop the pro-toll bridge ban on vehicles turning left onto Samuel Beckett bridge from the North Wall quay. Less traffic citybound heading towards Memorial bridge is a good thing.

monument · 04-11-2011 9:48pm

gurramok wrote: »

Hopefully they'll also drop the pro-toll bridge ban on vehicles turning left onto Samuel Beckett bridge from the North Wall quay. Less traffic citybound heading towards Memorial bridge is a good thing.

Unlikely to drop it now -- At rush hour traffic moving across the bridge from the Docklands and further out via Guild Street / Seville Place / Sheriff Street and across the bridge is already bumper to bumper, and Cardiff Lane is bumper to bumper.

And if you were to allow right turns onto the bridge it would also back up traffic along the quays -- creating congestion for buses, Guinness port traffic etc.

Anyway, isn't the right ban not part of the bridge permission conditions?

gurramok · 05-11-2011 2:36pm

monument wrote: »

Unlikely to drop it now -- At rush hour traffic moving across the bridge from the Docklands and further out via Guild Street / Seville Place / Sheriff Street and across the bridge is already bumper to bumper, and Cardiff Lane is bumper to bumper.

And if you were to allow right turns onto the bridge it would also back up traffic along the quays -- creating congestion for buses, Guinness port traffic etc.

Anyway, isn't the right ban not part of the bridge permission conditions?

Right ban? I was talking about the left turning ban. So what's preferred, continue to let the traffic go all the way down to CHQ and back again via Pearse st or drop the left turn ban completely and allow southbound drivers access Cardiff Lane?
Of course both routes are congested, do we really want CHQ to be more congested which affects city centre traffic and buses from Busaras more?(thats the present arrangement)

monument · 05-11-2011 3:29pm

gurramok wrote: »

Right ban? I was talking about the left turning ban. So what's preferred, continue to let the traffic go all the way down to CHQ and back again via Pearse st or drop the left turn ban completely and allow southbound drivers access Cardiff Lane?
Of course both routes are congested, do we really want CHQ to be more congested which affects city centre traffic and buses from Busaras more?(thats the present arrangement)

Sorry, yes, left ban.

Yes, it would seem that it's much preferred that traffic continues on rather than trying to turn left and slowing or block both the quays and the already congested bridge. Of course both routes are congested, but the bridge and both the roads leading from and to it are already gridlocked, not only congested.

dcr22B · 06-12-2011 2:17pm

From AA Roadwatch's Dublin page:

Motorists are advised that a new Bus Lane is in operation inbound on North Wall Quay from after The O2 to Memorial Bridge from 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday. Vehicles illegally parked will be clamped.

Great news for us 33X users

Qwerty27 · 06-12-2011 2:24pm

Wonder when that warnig was posted as a line of cars in the bus lane have all been clamped! Not sure how much advnace warnign was giving but more easy money for the clampwers by the looks of things!

D'Peoples Voice · 06-12-2011 2:33pm

gurramok wrote: »

Hopefully they'll also drop the pro-toll bridge ban on vehicles turning left onto Samuel Beckett bridge from the North Wall quay. Less traffic citybound heading towards Memorial bridge is a good thing.

NTR IS raising €50 million by selling the East-Link toll bridge in Dublin and a range of other Irish road assets,.............
He described the move as a “major milestone” for NTR, which began operating Dublin’s East-Link in 1984. The concession, which was the State’s first public-private partnership, will run until the end of 2015. NTR reassured the market that the facility will run “as normal” under new ownership.

http://www.ntrplc.com/News/News-Article/ntr-sells-road-assets-for-50m/

Accepting how broke the Government are, surely the cost of buying out the East-Link could be considered as a cheap solution to some of Dublin's traffic? Clearly it costs LESS than €50 million, if NTR are selling it and a range of other assets for €50 million- no?

dcr22B · 06-12-2011 2:37pm

Qwerty27 wrote: »

Wonder when that warnig was posted as a line of cars in the bus lane have all been clamped! Not sure how much advnace warnign was giving but more easy money for the clampwers by the looks of things!

That's extremely harsh as I didn't see any advance warning of it or any actual bus lane signs showing times or that it was now actually in use.

Qwerty27 · 06-12-2011 2:52pm

agree with you there but from my office I can see at least 4 cars in a row clamped. I cycle that stretch to and from work and only noticed last nite that "Bus Lane" had recently been painted.

nasty shock for people when they collect their car after work....

dcr22B · 06-12-2011 3:04pm

To be fair, the bus lane has been painted for a good month at this stage but there were no signs saying that it was in operation (I'd know as I get a bus down that stretch every morning).

gowens999 · 06-12-2011 9:10pm

Quite harsh all right, no notice given at all that the bus lane was in operation.

Patser · 06-12-2011 9:26pm

gowens999 wrote: »

Quite harsh all right, no notice given at all that the bus lane was in operation.

Drove in from the Airport through the tunnel this morning (drive for Bus Eireann) and there were bright orange signs on traffic cones every 20m saying 'Bus Lane Now In Operation'. At times they were a bit hard to see due to all the cars parked in the lande, including a yellow regged Astra parked nose in (tail way out almost into normal traffic lane:eek:) and my favourite a black new model Civic parked in the Yellow Box where the road narrows just before the Samuel Beckett bridge (where old swing bridge mechanism is). It looked like part of the yellow box was missing, almost like it ahd been painted around the Civic but further back it looked fairly obvious that some of the cars had pushed the cones out of the way.

I'd say the cones went in yesterday but since the bus lane isn't operational after 7pm, cars probably started parking there (probably for an O2 or Grand Canal Theatre gig) and created a continuing thing til this morning. But it was 8.30am I drove in, there were loads of signs up and bus lane was operational from 7am. So people were obviously chancing it.

bmaxi · 06-12-2011 9:58pm

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

http://www.ntrplc.com/News/News-Article/ntr-sells-road-assets-for-50m/

Accepting how broke the Government are, surely the cost of buying out the East-Link could be considered as a cheap solution to some of Dublin's traffic? Clearly it costs LESS than €50 million, if NTR are selling it and a range of other assets for €50 million- no?

Would that not work only if the toll was removed? Irish Governments don't have a great track record in that regard.

dcr22B · 07-12-2011 9:58am

Noticed that Civic is still there this morning and I was sitting upstairs on the 33X yesterday morning, I hadn't noticed them cones but they were still there this morning (albeit with signs removed).

Plenty of blue and white bus lane signs poiinting out the operational hours also all the way from the New Wapping Street junction to the Samuel Beckett Bridge.

Three cars still clamped in the lane this morning. A VW Golf (proudly sponsoring Leinster Rubgy said the sticker on the side), an Opel Corsa and the afforementioned Civic. It's quite funny seeing the yellow box unfinished!

I retract what I previously said about the harsh treatment of motorists being clamped yesterday after reading Patser's post.

That Astra you mentioned and a Mini Cooper are parked nose in again this morning and they should be clamped also IMO as the buses have to stop and wait for a gap in the traffic to get around them.

Will be brilliant when it's a clear run the entire way down the Quays

bk · 07-12-2011 11:18am

Sounds like they will have to start towing cars.

pclive · 07-12-2011 11:47am

No cars blocking the bus lane now
The astra and mini cooper are also gone

gowens999 · 07-12-2011 11:16pm

Honda Civic still there...with the yellow box painted around it. I think this illustrates the lack of notice that was given in relation to the commencement of the bus lane, they literally just showed up once night and started painting!

dcr22B · 07-12-2011 11:17pm

gowens999 wrote: »

Honda Civic still there...with the yellow box painted around it. I think this illustrates the lack of notice that was given in relation to the commencement of the bus lane, they literally just showed up once night and started painting!

I'd be sticking it on the back of the truck and hauling its ass well and truly out of here.

dcr22B · 08-12-2011 10:28am

The Civic is still there but to be honest, it's not really causing an obstruction.

Today's Helen Keller award goes to the red Golf who is parked in the bus lane surrounded by bus lane signs! For that person, I'd be lifting it and charging them double for their idiocy.

gowens999 · 08-12-2011 2:20pm

Well you can hardly blame the Civic owner. They've obviously left there car where there were no road markings, thinking it was perfectly safe. And now they're going to come back to a yellow box and a bus lane painted around it that weren't there before!

dcr22B · 08-12-2011 2:27pm

gowens999 wrote: »

Well you can hardly blame the Civic owner. They've obviously left there car where there were no road markings, thinking it was perfectly safe. And now they're going to come back to a yellow box and a bus lane painted around it that weren't there before!

Maybe it's because I always saw one car parked one after the other along teh Quays there but I don't think I've ever seen a car parked that close to the bridge.

pclive · 08-12-2011 2:45pm

Car has been towed now

bk · 08-12-2011 3:35pm

pclive wrote: »

Car has been towed now

Ahh, big wave out to the guys and gals of Dublin City Council reading boards

Bus Lane on the North Quays from O2 to Memorial Bridge?

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