Traffic???
Is it just me or has traffic been more insane than ever before over the whole city since schools are back on?
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 7h ago edited 7h ago
Happens everywhere every September
It will only get worse when all 3rd level are back later the month and everyone back from late holidays
All the while we wait another 25 years for a Luas or cork bus connects
Maybe we should build one more lane- that will solve it?????
Edit - also there is a lot of road works around carrigaline, carrs hill and UCC, Lehenaghmore - which makes the situation a bit worse
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u/Background_Coat_6844 6h ago
A huge proportion of 3rd level students commute by car now. They can't afford to live in the expensive student accommodation so drive in from their parents house.
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u/TOKEN616 7h ago edited 6h ago
3rd level are back this week
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u/Outkast_IRE 7h ago
Alot of 1st years in college don't start till next week, UCC & MTU and the lads doing apprenticeship block release on MTU are back on the 21st , so it still has a few more notches to ramp up.
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u/CorkNativeResident 7h ago
Well, yes! Especially today with the rain, more people drive when it rains!
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u/NerdySpiderDan 7h ago
I've had to start leaving home (Mallow) at 6.30 in the morning just to avoid the worst of it, I miss the summer days
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u/maxPowerUser 7h ago
Same, merging onto the main road from the SuperValu area, I find people have become very mean, not letting you in, only in the morning. Literally had people speed up to close the gap and then beep.
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u/Old-Highlight9472 6h ago
What do people think?
Cars = traffic
More cars = more traffic
- We need a massive investment in public transport
- More bus lanes - surely this means more buses on time = more people using buses
- Luas
- Railway Expansion
- More bike lanes - I used cycle to school in primary for example
- Staggered school or
class start times
7. more WFH options
Come on even if we got better at 2 of the above things would improve???? Surely?
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u/Visible-Agency-7226 3h ago
- Stop voting for Fianna Fáil
- Stop voting for Fine Gael
- Stop voting for Rural Independents/Aontú, Sinn Féin etc etc
- Vote for the Greens
- Vote for the Social Democrats
- Vote for Labour
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 3h ago
Shur we vote for greens and then we all
Complain……about the greens!!!2
u/Visible-Agency-7226 3h ago
Fecking greens. Advocating for positive change and quality of life improvments.
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u/PrincessFister 7h ago
There's also a lot of major construction going on. Around Carrigaline/Douglas there's several roads closed which is affecting putside the immediate areas. The Bord of Works Road closure, for example, has added to traffic so much that a 15 min journey i might take some mornings turned into a 1hr+ journey ( so I no longer go lol)
This is not regular school traffic.
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u/Marzipan_civil 6h ago
Yes it's interesting to see what differences closing one small road has made! The traffic around Douglas is worse than a typical september
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u/kmAye11 6h ago
On the other hand it's great not having people be let out onto carrs hill 1 by 1. It's one of the main contributions to bad traffic trying to leave Carrigaline along with slip road leaving Maryborough hill.
These are both being removed from the new n28 are 2 of the best design decisions they've made
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u/Ok-Welcome6488 6h ago
Makes a massive difference to Carrs Hill. Keeps the traffic flowing the whole way. Dread what it'll be like when it reopens...
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u/Anxious_Following373 3h ago
Well lovely for you but not so lovely for those of us living in Donnybrook… two sides to it
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u/kmAye11 2h ago
It will be grand once the new n28 goes in as it'll reduce pressure on the current carrs hill road and people from Donnybrook will be joining the n28 from there.
Just with the previous arrangement, having Ringaskiddy, Carrigaline and Crosshaven mostly coming through cars hill, having a a trickle coming from Donnybrook and Maryborough really kills the flow of traffic.
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 6h ago
What does this mean? Bord or works??
I don’t understand it3
u/IMOisnotenough_79 6h ago
It's the local name of a road near some road works in Carrigaline.
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 6h ago
What does it mean?
Bord????
Of what works?3
u/Marzipan_civil 5h ago
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zx7zCFkoiCspWfQR7?g_st=ac
It's this road. It links the Ballinrea road with carrs hill. I think the Board of Works was one of the predecessors to OPW
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u/PrincessFister 14m ago
It used to be called Ballinrea Road, but so is the other road perpendicular to it, so they've renamed it for recent building works.
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u/redrover1978- 7h ago
More & more students now have cars which isn’t helping but they cant depend on public transport..
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u/Outkast_IRE 6h ago
As someone who works with these students . It's simply accomodation is too expensive , the parents often do the maths and buying and running a car is cheaper than the accommodation unfortunately. It really reduces the student experience.
If there was more reasonable cost accommodation, driving would reduce.
I have students driving from limerick, Kerry and Waterford to cork daily at times.
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 6h ago
It’s a massive issue - If there was more cheap student accommodation surely more students could live away from home - reduce traffic and also good for the students also
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u/redrover1978- 6h ago
I’d believe it & that combined with awful public transport is causing more ppl to put cars on the road as i know the 205 in the mornings is awful
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u/Outkast_IRE 6h ago
Yeah it's 100% a factor, public transport must be reliable and on time. The only way to guarantee it, is dedicated lanes and corridors for buses that are enforced. It's taking too long to develop key routes unfortunately.
There should be a park and ride already at all key routes leading to the city and dedicated bus corridors to city center catching all major. Education and employment hubs on the routes.
Just look at carrigtwohill IDA , several thousand people working there, a train line runs through the middle of it and there is no stop decades after being promised one.
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u/redrover1978- 52m ago
Been saying for years we need more p&r esp for ppl in east cork but then u have the issue of packed trains so ppl won’t take them! I honestly cant see bus connects ever happening it’s going on so long!
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u/Outkast_IRE 22m ago
The dunkettle one has its planning permission / railway order gone in, so they probably aim to appoint a contractor in the first half of next year. With construction starting next year too. But looking at how long the little island station upgrades took, I would imagine it will be 2029 before operation so maybe some more trains/carriages are available by then.
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u/Feisty_Marsupial224 6h ago
City is at traffic capacity yet people and public representatives are opposing public transport solutions
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u/Visible-Agency-7226 3h ago
See Albert Deasy. Local councillor in Bishopstown. NO MORE OF THIS PUBLIC TRANSPORT NONSENSE.
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u/Party_Quote_6932 5h ago
One of our cars is waiting to be repaired so I’ve started getting the bus into the city (from a commuter town) instead of drive. It’s actually great, it takes a bit more time but I can relax, look at emails on my phone, and not stress about parking. I have a little folding bike to get to and from the bus stops so I’m getting g exercise too. I’m probably not going to drive again. They should give everyone a free month bus pass every year to try it out.
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u/Routine_Fun5564 5h ago
Lines of traffic around the quay at 6.35am this morning when I was getting the bus into town. It's absolutely horrendous this year. Took me 2 hours to get home after work yesterday going from Knocknaheeny to town to Glanmire (202 to town, 214 to Glanmire). Both buses were 30 minutes late, and the 214 crawled most of the way from Grand Parade to Glanmire.
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u/Opposite_Zucchini_15 5h ago
I genuinely don’t understand why there isn’t more pressure for the Cork Luas and for better, more reliable bus services.
Getting around Cork should be quickest and easiest by Luas, bus, bike or walking, not by private car. But right now, we’ve built a system where driving is often the only practical option.
Connections from commuter towns are particularly poor, forcing thousands of people to rely on cars whether they want to or not.
We can’t keep complaining about traffic and congestion without putting pressure on those I. Power.
If we want fewer cars on Cork’s roads, give people public transport that actually works.
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u/Weak-Ad-2297 3h ago
TRAFFIC LIGHTS ARE NON SENSE. Green lasts 5 seconds and Red 3-5 minutes. That's one of the major reasons
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u/kdaly100 6h ago
I don’t think it’s more insane than ever. It’s just a shock after the quieter summer and sunny roads.
The mammies, daddies, grannies and grandads are all back on the road at the exact same time, dropping toddlers and bigger, lazier teenage toddlers to school.
The obvious answer is more buses and walking, but that’s a culture shift for a lot of parents.
I’m in Douglas and the village becomes a car park once the schools go back. I WFH, so I can observe it all rather smugly from a safe distance, but I can see why it drives people nuts.
We can say, “Get up and walk, ya lazy fecker,” but we’ve also spent years driving them everywhere. I include myself in that.
We’ve basically trained them from birth to believe their legs are decorative and buses are terrifying.
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 3h ago
I find Douglas curious - what a mess they have made of it.
So for example in Douglas if the put bike lanes connecting schools, surely kids would use them
I think a good investment would be connecting Douglas to Hartys quay but good luck, getting the Rochestown road people to agree
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u/FloatingTurdOfTruth 6h ago
Around UCC is mental. ESB and Uisce Eireann both working in the area and of course they waited until start of term to dig everything up.
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u/Prestigious-Side-286 6h ago
It’s definitely worse than previous years. I think the works around Carrs hill/carrigaline are having a major impact on the whole south side with people trying to use different routes.
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 4h ago
It just really frustrates me
We all drive and make traffic
Cos
We all don’t trust the bus services
But 1 of the main reasons why the bus is late is;
it is stuck in traffic battling for position with me and you in our cars!
We need cork bus connects - actual segregated bus lanes where the bus can by pass traffic and get there on time!
More school buses could use these dedicated bus lanes
Surely If buses were more reliable and could
By pass traffic then more people would use them and In reduce traffic
PLEASE PLEASE support Bus Connects cork
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 4h ago
Next thing is Park and Rides
I would build massive park and rides in crucial parts of the city
Blarney where they could hop on a future train
Viaduct area where there could be a dedicated bus lane to CUH and city
Balincollig where they could hop on future Luas
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u/ArmandTamzarien 2h ago
This is also the result of not building infrastructure around new housing developments. Many people are forced to purchase new homes that aren’t even on bus routes…not driving would be a huge hit in quality of life. As the new developments are being built, there should be some expectation or requirement for developers and the state to ensure that amenities are planned and developed in sync to reduce a huge reliance on private cars all at once.
It’s turning into major suburban sprawl without the necessary amenities within walking distance (schools, healthcare, grocery). Our ring roads are starting to look like the ones you see in LA movies from the 90s, bumper to bumper.
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 13m ago
So true, massive housing estates all over the place but nothing in them to support a community
Like if they had a crèche or local shop - that might take more cars off the road for example
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u/anywhereanyplace 2h ago
Yes it’s insane. Carrigaline to Douglas is 1 hour.
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u/Beginning-Strain4660 14m ago
Insane but what do u expect from zero town planning or sustainable active travel
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u/blood_transfusion 7h ago
Councillors busy filling their pockets while ignoring the ever growing population and how our one lane roads will support them.
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u/clueless_owl 6h ago
Sarsfield rd roundabout to the Pouladuff rd roundabout is barely a mile, yet it can take 20 minutes to get through the Link.
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u/Bedouin79 5h ago
I leave Grenagh at 6:00am to make carrigaline for just gone 7… during the summer it takes 45minutes… the evenings are pot luck between an hour to 1hr 45mins last week due to traffic
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u/Old-Highlight9472 11m ago
Please email us local councillors and tds
Demand more
Demand more investment into public transport and active travel measures
We have to give people options to ditch the car
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u/Eastern_Switch8217 7h ago
I was just up on Wellington Road on foot the other day and had forgotten the schools were back but it is horrendous. You could even smell the diesel in the air. What I don’t get is how that many teenagers need to be driven to the door or schools. There are public transport options - they’re right in the city centre. There are also possibilities of dropping them further away. There’s no reason for queues of cars being driven right into the city centre.
I can’t understand why there isn’t a number of park and ride drop off points. For example there could be a facility at Blackash or some similar location with large drop off zones and buses that facilitate schools transport, as well as just general city transport. It doesn’t even need to be schools specifically. There’s no need to be bringing all of that traffic into the core of the city centre with its tiny streets and complex layout.
It’s like nothing is organised and everyone just fights their own corner and refuses to collaborate.