Massive Blanchardstown road interchange upgrade mixes cycling and walking

— People cycling expected to stop at up to six traffic lights to make one turn.

A large-scale road-widening project planned in Blanchardstown is centred on adding capacity for cars and bus/BRT with low priority for cycling and walking.

The Snugborough Interchange Upgrade project includes a new bridge across the N3 and “widening of all road approaches” to the interchange.

Fingal County Council claims that the projects includes “new high quality pedestrian/cyclist facilities”. But, even with massive road widening, cycling and walking is planned to be mixed at junctions, the widths of cycle paths are sub-standard, cycling is mixed with both heavy traffic and with pedestrians.

Even where there are segregated cycle paths, there are few signs of buffer space between the paths and busy roads.

Despite the Manual for Urban Streets and Roads telling councils not to have staggered crossings nearly all of the junction legs have staggered crossing. In line with guidance, all current slip turns are removed, but one new one is added.

The project reports and drawings can be found at consult.fingal.ie; and submissions can be made via that page or in writing no later than Thursday, February 23, 2017.

A sample of the maps and drawings for the projects are provided below without comment:

IMAGE: Before and after: A drawing of the new bridge and wider roads with a satellite view of the existing layout.

LINK: Junction on Google Maps.

The main junction:

A close-up of the main junction:

Road towards the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre:

Snugborough Road towards the west:

Main Street:

Existing and planned bridges over the N3:

Extended underpass: (our highlighting in pupal)

Northern junctions:

Snugborough Road towards the north/east:

Waterville Row:

 


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5 comments

  1. This junction sums up everything wrong with road planning in Ireland. When the new road to bypass Blanchardstown was built there was no connection to the bridge or the junction so all traffic for the Snugborough road or shopping centre had to go through Blanchardstown resulting in horrendous traffic problems. Only years later did they connect the n3 to the junction and bypass the main St in blanchchardstown. This will be the third major disruption at the junction.
    It would be so much easier and cheaper to do it right first time but the money spent is only tax payers money and anyway if they did it right first time there might be a shortage of projects for planners and engineers.

    Reply
  2. Which route/turn crosses 6 traffic lights?
    I’ve gotten used to the junction on bike though I am always using the southern side, never going up Snugborough Road to the NAC.

    Reply
  3. A candidate for the worst junction in Ireland. These changes look largely cosmetic. The cycling changes at least allow cyclists to get back on to the cycle lane after traversing the junction without breaking the law by crossing a pedestrian crossing as is currently the case. Other than that, more of the same, very little improvement all round.

    Reply

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