Bicycles, Phoenix Park and traffic

Another strange feature is the amount of cars that enter on Chesterfield Ave & then try to exit at the side gates necessitating a ten point u turn.

You would think that since unnecessary travel is prohibited during this phase of an actual pandemic that drivers would put a bit of thought into the journal they are about to undertake.

And as for just parking wherever you feel like it, well, I wouldn't do it, that's all I can say.

As long as it's not used as justification for opening all the side gates!

Or just didn't want to pay VRT

Stark wrote: »

Or just didn't want to pay VRT

Wouldn't surprise me, loads of them going around...:(

Hurrache wrote: »

Stupidly the law doesn't apply to non residents of the Republic.

I keep wondering is Covid19 different once you cross into the UK, pointless having a lockdown when someone from a different jurisdiction less than 2 hours drive away can do what they like....:mad:

Back to the new normal in the Park this morning with about 5 cars and 15 cyclists on a circuit of the perimeter. The cul de sac section of the Military Road from near St Mary's to the S bends had been blocked off first time round but the cones were removed later. Lots of rubbish collecting being done after the hoards of visitors at the weekend.

They've been working on restoring the gates ever since the Pope's visit and some of them must be finally ready for hanging (hopefully in a closed position).

Pinch Flat wrote: »

There's barely any pedestrian / cycling cross points. The Zoo especially is an accident waiting to happen - no safe crossing there. Same at the other points where people might want to cross.

Are there any at all?

Hurrache wrote: »

Around by the Garda HQ side there's a couple of raised crossing points, similar to the ones at the roundabout at the Castleknock end. But you get a lot of people in cars taking no notice and just ploughing on over them without any consideration that people may be about to cross.

I've never understood why there's no crossing on Chesterfield avenue, in fact why there's isn't loads. Without them the park is effectively split in two if you're there with a family.

They're just speed ramps with lines painted on them. I think calling them crossing points is misleading, as it implies there's something meaningful there. People in cars don't take any notice because there's no onus on any driver to give way in law, unless there's a bye-law for the Park I'm not aware of.

I had a really nice cycle around the perimeter earlier. No Garda checkpoint anywhere that I noticed today. Place was packed with non car folk which was great. In fact, on the eastern side, heading toward the Garda HQ, the road was busier than I've ever seen it with families, bikes, runners, pedestrians. It was a wonderful thing.

Dreading the return to carmality when none of this can continue.

Pinch Flat wrote: »

The message is "motorists, you have priority. Crack on"

Did they move the stop sign beyond the cycle lane when it was marked out, so that cars when stopped would straddle it, rather than just before the cycle lane?

This is my most frequent point of conflict: https://goo.gl/maps/szZe7jwSrQgeN7VX7

Coming from Parkgate Street I'm always on the road at that point, and looking to get on to the cycle track. 50/50 whether there'll be someone at the yield blocking access. And they're in a perfectly correct position!

What annoys me further is that the OPW could paint the yield further back, so that yielding to cycle traffic is included. Or inevitably there's a row of parked cars to the driver's left, so the driver could move their car forward 2m without adding obstruction to the traffic on the main road and free up access to the cycle lane.

But when you stop and wait, you either get a puzzled look of 'what did I do?' or an exasperated 'what do you expect me to do?'

The solitary pedestrian crossing on Chesterfield Avenue.

Decided to try a circuit this morning sticking as close to the perimeter as possible. Managed to stay off-road for most of it on lovely dry woodland paths. Only ran into one dodgy section east of the pedestrian gate at Chapelizod and ended up retreating. On 28 Conti 4 Seasons and they handled the rougher bits well. Added a lap on the roads to finish.

https://strava.app.link/19F7LqZQS6

https://www.relive.cc/view/vevYVyej5JO

It's time some activists painted the crossings on themselves

Despite it being a Bank Holiday, the perimeter roads in the Park were still pretty quiet this morning at 11.00. I counted 130 bikes and 10 cars on my first circuit although it was starting to get busier by the time I finished. Okay, there were some walkers, joggers and cyclists who didn't seem to know where they should be on the North Road but any problem ones responded to a ding of the bell! I expect for the rest of the week it will be a lot quieter.

Hopefully this won't all change in a week's time if the threatened reopening of the side gates goes ahead.

Weepsie wrote: »

I imagine it got worse and I've seen pics of the bins this morning which suggests maybe it's not cars or cyclists or joggers, it's just people.

Fair play to the OPW staff in the Park - by 11.00 they had most of the mess tidied up including the area around the Wellington monument. They'll have a similar task ahead of them tomorrow morning.

Sunday and Bank Holiday afternoons are always going to crazy up there and at any public park or facility in or near the city. Until people start bringing their rubbish home with them, no Council is going to be able to keep up with the volume of stuff being dumped.

From today's Irish Times:

OPW reverses plan to open all Phoenix Park gates to traffic
Olivia Kelly

The gates of Dublin’s Phoenix Park, which have been closed since March in response to coronavirus travel restrictions, will not be reopened on Monday as planned, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has said.

Following the introduction of the 2km travel restrictions the OPW closed the park gates to traffic with the exception of the Castleknock and Parkgate Street entrances.

These gates remained open to allow the continued use of Chesterfield Avenue as a through-road, and to maintain access for park residences, such as Áras an Uachtaráin and the US ambassador’s residence, as well as Garda Headquarters. However, all car parking in the park was banned.

In line with the Government’s roadmap for the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the OPW reopened some car parks, including the facility beside the papal cross, on May 18th, but parking remain banned on Chesterfield Avenue with the hard shoulder instead converted into cycle lanes.

It had planned to reopen all the gates from 10am on June 8th, in line with phase two of the roadmap, but following consultation with the Garda has now decided to delay the reopening until June 29th and will be keeping this under review, a spokeswoman said.

In addition to the new cycle lanes on Chesterfield Avenue, the peripheral roads of the park have become heavily used by cyclists and walkers, particularly young families, since the gates were closed, and the side roads have largely remained free of traffic, even with the reopening of some of the car parks.

Green Party councillor Michael Pidgeon, who has campaigned against the use of the park as a throughway for traffic, said the decision was very welcome.

“It is fantastic news. It was very hard to see what need the reopening of the peripheral gates was serving. People who do need to access the park by car have still been able to do so over the last number of weeks, but having the peripheral gates closed has freed up those smaller roads for families and for kids learning to cycle, and keeping them closed is a reflection of how people are now using the park.”

Labour senator Marie Sherlock also welcomed the OPW decision and said it would allow space to be maintained for social distancing. “We have a sustainable situation in the Phoenix Park right now where people who need to use cars do have access. It is an experiment that has worked and I think there is a strong case to keep the perimeter gates closed in perpetuity.”

PP away from Chesterfield Avenue is a real pleasure at the moment. The odd car down the sided roads but not enough to worry anyone, and those that are around seem courteous.

This is what a city park should be.

Sure if there were no cyclists in the park the traffic would flow much better:rolleyes:

Main alternative would be N3 (navan road). Through Chapelizod and Blackhorse avenue are also options. Drivers don't like Blackhorse avenue because of all the speed bumps. Gets very narrow with quite a few speed bumps going through Chapelizod as well though it opens out into a race track once you get past Chapelizod onto the Chapelizod Road.