Apr 10
24
Well Road Traffic Queues
I was disappointed with a recent report to the Roads and Transportation Functional Committee.
For the last number of months, since the roundabout in Douglas Village was removed by Cork County Council, I have being requesting an that alternative route be provided for traffic coming off the Well Road, and wishing to travel the Douglas Road, other than being diverted around Douglas Village. The following is the text of the report. I would be very interested in any suggestions you may have in alleviating the traffic queues on the Well Road.
“The ban on the right turn on the exit from Well Road onto Douglas Road was introduced in 2003 in order to improve the road safety and traffic flow at the junction. The problem was that there is no room for the storage of right turning traffic, and one car turning right regularly blocked a large number of vehicles turning left to access Douglas Village. The Gardaí at the time fully agreed with the proposal.
As part of the proposal to ban the right turn exit from the Well Road, it was proposed to change the traffic management controls at the junction of Woodview/Well Road in order to allow traffic exit onto the Douglas Road from the Well Road. In order to ensure that Woodview would not become a ‘rat run’ for traffic avoiding the traffic signals at the junction of the Well Road/ Douglas Road, it was also proposed to introduce a ban on exiting Woodview onto the Well Road. The net effect of the change of traffic management on Woodview would have been that, while there would be a change in the direction of the tidal traffic flow, the traffic data had indicated that there would be no overall increase in traffic volumes using Woodview.
A survey was carried out of the residents in Woodview, and a large majority voted for no change in the traffic arrangements in Woodview. The proposed new arrangement for Woodview incorporated new traffic signals at the junction of Woodview and Douglas Road, and even if was decided now to introduce the proposed new system, the issue of funding for the works could not be guaranteed .
The options for traffic which formerly turned right from the Well Road onto Douglas Road are as follows:
- Turn right into Hettyfield and then onto Eglantine Park to traffic signals at the junction with Douglas Road.
- Turn left at the junction with Douglas Road and then right along the new road at the refurbished Douglas Village Shopping Centre parallel to the South Ring Road. Turn right onto South Douglas Road and then access Douglas Road via any of the link roads such as Belvedere Lawn, Tramore Lawn, Rhodaville Estate/Rathmore Lawn, Rosebank or Cross Douglas Road.
Accordingly it is recommended that the current traffic arrangements at the junction of Douglas Road/Well Road remain as they are.”
