jungle
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@THE_Chris wrote:
and maybe those dedicated bus lanes wouldnt be full of wankers who park in it a la McCurtain street.
All cars that park in bus lanes should be towed.
The problem is that they are allowed to. The city’s bus lanes only operate for a few hours a day.
However, I would have expected that all bus lanes would be clearways for the hours that they are not operating as bus lanes.
We also have a problem of lack of continuity at bus lanes. Effectively, the current bus lanes were put in to guide buses around the worst traffic blackspots. But there were many other places on the so called green routes that they could have been introduced. Summerhill South is broad enough to accommodate inbound and outbound bus lanes. It’s on the Number 6 green route and is also used by the Number 3 and airport buses as well as buses accessing the Capwell Bus Depot. You’d have to ask why it wasn’t included in the places where bus lanes were put in place.
@Spinal Tap wrote:
Whats the point of spending 160 million if you have to walk such distances ? Have our great unions scuppered the bus idea ? Just wait until the bad weather arrives.The new terminal is fine but when I travel by air I just want to get in and out of airports as quick as possible so how about spending a few euros on a few buses ?
As I understand it, buses are the responsibility of the ground-handling companies (Aer Lingus, Servisair, Sky) rather than the airport itself. At present none of the handling companies provide the service. Even if they did it is probable that a number of the airlines would refuse to pay for it. So, the handling companies don’t provide it…
If Cork Airport expands further, it will need to put in place stands that are across one of the runways from the current terminal. In these circumstances a bus is the only feasible solution to transport passengers to stand.
Although, if this was done, they would probably use the remote stands for freight and leave the ones on the terminal side for passengers, so there would still be some level of wait for buses…
@Pug wrote:
absolutely fair point and i take it “on board” if you pardon the pun. Why then wasnt a travelator within a corridor, i.e. not out in the wind and or some sort of shuttle bus type vehicle built in to the budget to cater for this? This sort of stuff is what makes me wonder who plans these things.
The bus situation in Cork is crazy. In Edinburgh and Rotterdam I have been bussed to the terminal from less than 50m away, With the old terminal in Cork, you could walk from stand 16 to the terminal, which must have been a distance of several hundred metres. Having all those pedestrians wandering around is not condusive to smooth airfield operations anyway. The new terminal is at least a little more central to the stands, but a bus system should definitely be put in place.
@Pug wrote:
small point but i flew in to the new terminal last week. I’m told its aer aranns fault ( i hold my hand up there if I am wrong) in that they wont pay for the more expensive parking in front of the new terminal but the plane was parked at the old terminal and we had to walk all the way up to the new one and climb 3 flights of stairs to get in. Escalator anyone? Think of that in the winter in the wind and rain. Welcome to Ireland in the 21st century.
I agree with almost all of the rest of your posts, but I’ll just try to answer this one.
Some of the stands (1-5) in Cork Airport are not capable of accommodating a 737-800 (Ryanair) or A320 (Aer Lingus. These aircraft will consequently end up occupying most of the stands in front of the new terminal. This is especially true in summer when there are charter airlines bringing in even more similarly large aircraft, Because Aer Arann aircraft are able to fit on these stands, they are likely to be put there so that they don’t occupy a stand that could be needed by a larger aircraft.
@THE_Chris wrote:
Cork – Carrigtwohill is built to motorway standard as far as I am aware. I know thats not much, but its something 😀
How does the Ballincollig bypass fall short of it?
@THE_Chris wrote:
Still quite expensive though 🙁 Munich was a great link, and everytime I used it it was full. Cant imagine why they got rid of it.
Honestly, I think the A320 is too big an aircraft for a lot of routes. I suspect there are a number of routes out of Cork that could work with an aircraft the size of a Fokker 100 or an Embraer 190, but unfortnately the incumbent airlines at Cork Airport are either using A320/B737 size aircraft or turbo-props, which don’t have the range.
@THE_Chris wrote:
Munich was cancelled awhile back. Bloody madenning, it was so useful. Now it involves doing a trip to DUBLIN, no thanks, or going Kerry – Frankfurt Hahn and driving on the Autobahn for 7 hours.
If you need to do it, your best bet is a connecting flight. I know someone who had to fly it recently and got it for E260 with a connection in Amsterdam. It does require booking a fair while in advance to get a price like that, but by booking it as a through flight, you get your bags taken care of etc.
For Munich, you can check out http://www.klm.ie (The KLM site can be fiddly, so make sure you look for all flights rather than just the cheapest) or http://www.britishairways.com . Czech Airlines and Malev can be worth looking at for other destinations.
@browser wrote:
Finally, and on a slightly diff note, I see on the web site that there is no longer a Cork – Munich Aer Lingus route. Anyone any idea when this stopped and if there are other Aer Lingus destinations that have been ditched in recent times. You always hear of new routes opening but not about closures….
Milan was ditched a while ago. Faro was off the Winter timetable, but came back for the summer. Nice stops at the end of next October, but again that may be a Winter/Summer thing.
If you make an effort, you can still get the Shakey Bridge going…
It’s funny, you should say about a boardwalk down by the Opera House. I was walking along there the other day and thinking about how unpleasant the general environment is down that way. With the four lanes of traffic and the narrow footpaths and the difficulty crossing the road, I wondered if it might impact on the ability of new businesses in the area to trade properly. Perhaps a boardwalk could be incorporated into a new plan for the area.
@Thomond Park wrote:
Do the airbridges at Cork Airport count as a pedestrian bridge?
What’s with the plural in that sentence? 😀
Two observations
There have been some roadworks recently on Leitrim St and Hardwicke St. The standard of repair done afterwards is apalling. I’ve long noticed that contractors in Cork seem to leave the road in a terrible state compared to what I’ve seen in Dublin or the UK. Is this because they are allowed to do this, but that contractors in other locations are more considerate or is there a serious enforcement problem in Cork City Council.
And on the subject of enforcement… On a quick trip through the city centre today, I came across cars and trucks that were parked on double yellow lines on South Main St and Barrack St. As the city council is so determined to clamp and tow people who overstay in legitimate spaces, why are they allowing these vehicles, which are serious obstructions and possibly even a road safety problem to remain.
dave123->I don’t think anyone in Cork would wish to see Shannon closed down. Somewhere further back in this debate I made a point that closing Cork down would give Shannon a monopoly, which would be bad for customers. The same applies in reverse.
Following this logic, it is best not to view the airports as having unique catchment areas. Although people in close proximity to the airport will probably chose to fly from their local airport and probably connect, for people who lie between the airports, a number of factors will be taken into account. For example, I have a large number of relatives in Waterford. If a direct flight is available from Waterford, they will use it. After that, Cork is their airport of choice. However, they will use Shannon and Dublin too. A number of factors, including route availability and price will be taken into account and a choice made as a result. The fact that people like them have a choice is a good way of keeping the airports on their toes, even if a properly competitive situation is still pending.
Anyway, I’m considering requesting that all this talk of a single West Coast airport be put into a thread of its own. It is not entirely pertinent to the question of transport in Cork and serious points about public transport and the road network are getting drowned in the constant arguing on this point. Any opinions?
While potential light rail and other developments are hugely important to the future of the city, I’d like to hear a few ideas for what can be done to improve the situation immediately. Essentially, these are things that cost very little to implement and can be in place rapidly. Even bus lanes take time to build and I’m talking about measures that could be in place within 6 months if the will was there.
So, here are a few starters
- Pana for public transport only – This was the plan anyway, but with the building works on Grand Parade, it’s even more relevant. Traffic is queuing back onto Merchant’s Quay and Parnell Place and snarling up the city centre. Buses are getting stuck in huge delays making them less attractive as an opttion and also meaning that frequency isn’t what it might be
- Buses not to remain idle in the city centre – Again, a bus that’s sitting on Patrick St waiting is one that could be used to increase the frequency of the bus service. It makes a mockery of the idea of cross-city routes.
- Extend the 6 – When it goes into town, it should go to MacCurtain St and the train station too. On the other side, it could servce the industrial estates by Musgraves, but more importantly could link Douglas and Grange to the airport. Regardless of airport passengers, there are a large number of people who commute from the Grange are to the business park daily.
The last of these might require investment in extra buses, but overall, I reckon there could be significant benefit derived for little investment. More importantly, they could be achieved quickly.
A lot of the Cok’s tourist attractions are at the edge of the Metropolitan Area – Midleton Distillery, Cobh Heritage Centre, Blarney Castle. One thing that Cork needs is a 2/3 day public transport pass (possibly including reduced entry to attractions). Cork City could make a great base for visiting such places, but at the moment this is impractical.
I’ve seen similar schemes in place in Helsinki and Madrid and there’s no reason it couldn’t work here.
@a boyle wrote:
there are several routes through cork which are appropriate for a central median reserved bus system.
Buses are better because they can give relief immediately whereas light rail will take a minimum of 6 years.
Although, I’ve generally disagreed with a boyle’s posts, I do agree with this.
The immediate priority in Cork has to be sorting out the bus service. We can dream of light rail all we like, but between political will and implementation practicalities, we’re not going to see it before 2015.
Bringing a bus service up to a 6-10 minute frequency should also give a realistic measure of where light rail is likely to be successful.
What is the timeframe for completion of the Water Street bridge? I seem to remember construction starting in 2007 was proposed at one point, is that still feasible?
Without that bridge, a redeveloped docklands will be quite painful for people in the Albert Rd area with all the extra traffic generated. Issues like that can raise local residents hackles unnecessarily.
Also, there’s likely to be an increase in the level of traffic truning right off Albert St. This could jam up through traffic on the South Link Road. Would it not make more sense to force Docklands/Blackrock bound traffic down Eglinton St and Albert Quay (Has it been renamed?) ?
@shrink2cork wrote:
Why will Maryborough Hill be closed to two way traffic for nine months to one year? Wait till the schools go back, then the fun will start…….
Can any one help?:confused:
It’s going to be closed til 2007 because they are widenin the road there.
@mickeydocs wrote:
Just wondering how Irish Rails proposed once an hour scheduled rail service to Dublin will fare now that Ryanair are offering flights to Cork that amount to half the cost and one third of the travel time?
Ryanair are actually cutting flights on Cork-Dublin in the winter, while Aer Arann and Irish Rail are increasing frequency.
The service has a number of flaws.
It doesn’t allow for connections in Dublin, which is one of the main reasons to fly to Dublin.
Unless you are heading to Dublin Airport or Swords, there is no time saving in going to Dublin. You will lose significant time if your destination is on the southside of Dublin.
Their last flight back in the evening is too early. You need to leave central Dublin around 4-4:15pm to make the flight, which is unacceptably early for business travellers or for people finishing up after a day working in Dublin.
There aren’t enough flights. If you need to change, Aer Arann can offer you a reasonable alternative flight. If you want to change your Ryanair flight, there will be a long wait, if there is a flight at all.
A standard train ticket still offers the flexibility of getting whichever train you want. Ryanair are going to hit you with a change charge.
Combined, these are killers for business travellers who have mostly stuck to the train and Aer Arann.
Ironically, given what I’ve said, the best way for Ryanair to make a go of the route would be to increase the frequency, not reduce it.
I just have a couple of points to address since I last saw this
Firstly, river buses… I agree that the idea of a river bus to Blackrock is dubious in terms of its viability. I’d be more interested in seeing a proposal related to the lower harbour. Given the population of Cobh and the number of jobs in Ringaskiddy, that could be a viable link. If consideration was being given to properly integrating public transport, it could also be used to link various lower harbour villages to the Cork-Cobh railway line.
As for the airport… The idea of a central airport with everyone having great transport links to it is nice in theory, but here’s what happens in practice. That airport gets a monopoly. It doesn’t worry about what it charges the airlines or about the level of passenger service it provides. Rather than providing an increased choice of routes, airlines gradually leave because of landing charges, I think we’ve seen that state monopolies are not the best at providing efficient or good service to the customer.
Furthermore, it’s great to talk about the link that Cork would get to the airport, but it would leave West Cork and South Kerry over three hours drive from Shannon and with no effective public transport option. That is the country’s premier tourist region after Dublin and it would effectively cut it off from international access. Cork Airport is not merely used by people from Cork City, but is the main airport for people from Mizen Head to the River Suir.
@Angry Rebel wrote:
Presumably as part of the work on the flyover, the lanes have been repainted on the Magic Roundabout and now make sense! They don’t disappear or merge anymore and should result in less crashes.
So simple….why couldn’t they have done it years ago?!
The local authorities in Cork have a unique approach to road lining. When one lane becomes two, one always has markings that emerge from the kerb rather than start in the middle of the road.
Much more interesting is Parnell Place, where if you go into the left hand lane and aren’t turning off, the markings will gracefully guide you into the footpath…
