# Operation Gridlock



## truthseeker (27 Nov 2007)

Does anyone find that there is any improvement in traffic due to Operation Freeflow?

From my point of view it makes things much worse. There is one junction in particular that I use going to work in the mornings and the road up to it is around a mile long. On an ordinary morning the traffic is backed up around a quarter of a mile, then the guards arrive to man the junction and the traffic stretches back the full mile!!!


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## elefantfresh (27 Nov 2007)

Right there with you - took me an hour this morning when it usually takes 20mins or thereabouts. Same yesterday. Wasters.


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## pc7 (27 Nov 2007)

coming through whitehall yesterday about 10 cars were in the bus lane, the guards did nothing! There were two guards who knocked on the windows of some of the cars, the cars stayed in the bus lane! It is infuriating! we obeyed the law and stayed out of the bus lane until it ended and we could turn right. So annyoying!


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## jonnyhotspur (27 Nov 2007)

I listen to Dublin City fm whilst driving home and find it to be excellent for traffic reports. In case you are unfamiliar with it, they transmit from The Dublin Traffic Control Centre from 4pm to 7pm. They utilise their traffic cameras and if you send them texts about traffic bottlenecks they have been know to give you more "green time" on request. 

The DJ (John Neary) is a funny chap and plays good music also. 
103.2fm 

They report in the morning also.


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## bigjoe_dub (27 Nov 2007)

103.2 live drive is excellent.  gives you a good heads up.


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## z103 (27 Nov 2007)

I found that 'Operation Move out of Dublin' worked excellently for me. I'm hardly ever stuck in traffic now.


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## ClubMan (27 Nov 2007)

truthseeker said:


> Does anyone find that there is any improvement in traffic due to Operation Freeflow?


Yes - to pedestrian traffic which suits me fine!


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## RMCF (27 Nov 2007)

I don't live in Dublin, but have visited it a few times over the last year or so.

I could not believe how shocking the traffic jams were in parts of the city - you would be quicker walking in many areas.

From what I saw it is now probably worse than many European capitals that I have seen, except these places have better public transport and even tubes.

There is going to be no decrease in congestion until people either start using public transport more, get charged for having only one person in the car, get charged for entering the city limits, or the Gov bites the bullet and do what they should have foreseen years ago - build an underground.


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## Newbie! (28 Nov 2007)

I thought operation freeflow hadnt started yet? In my area the guards are apparently in training. Took me 45 mins to get to work today - most it has ever taken is 16mins!! I watched the guards today. They stopped the cars everytime a pedestrian came to cross the road. There's pedestrian lights there  so theyd obly have to wait 3-4 minutes anyway. The guards also wont let cars pull up at the primary school - instead they have to park 5mins down the road - not sure what thats achieving. Hope it improves next week.


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## gipimann (28 Nov 2007)

Freeflow (or noflow!) began this morning - journey time from Drogheda just under 2 hrs......journey time last Friday from Drogheda 1hr 20 mins. Need I say more!


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## truthseeker (28 Nov 2007)

Is there any way of the general public giving feedback to the guards about this joke of a system?

Short of pulling up beside a guard at a hopelessly blocked junction and explaining that theres normally only a few cars there?

What are they basing their success rates on?

Everyone in my office was late this morning due to this mess.


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## jonnyhotspur (28 Nov 2007)

truthseeker said:


> Is there any way of the general public giving feedback to the guards about this joke of a system?


 
Contact these guy's. They're supposed to be in charge.


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## batty (28 Nov 2007)

RMCF said:


> I don't live in Dublin, but have visited it a few times over the last year or so.
> 
> I could not believe how shocking the traffic jams were in parts of the city - you would be quicker walking in many areas.
> 
> ...


 
Couldn't agree more.  The amount of people who use cars for short journeys is shocking.  i have a colleague who complained bitterly today that it took 90 minutes to travel the 2 miles from home to work.  


Walk or get a bus so!!


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## Caveat (28 Nov 2007)

batty said:


> i have a colleague who complained bitterly today that it took 90 minutes to travel the 2 miles from home to work.
> 
> Walk or get a bus so!!


 
Exactly! I find that hilarious - is this person that lazy that they would rather endure 90 minutes of frustration than a 20 minute walk?

(Am assuming of course that they are physically able to walk this distance - maybe they are not)


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## batty (28 Nov 2007)

Caveat said:


> Exactly! I find that hilarious - is this person that lazy that they would rather endure 90 minutes of frustration than a 20 minute walk?
> 
> (Am assuming of course that they are physically able to walk this distance - maybe they are not)


 
Yep nothing wrong with this person.

The secretary in our Dept recently insisted that she must get a taxi to travel half a mile to another office as she would "get too tired" walking.  She's not ancient BTW - in her 30's.

Maybe I just work with exceptionally lazy people??


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## RMCF (28 Nov 2007)

I think that we now live in a society that has the attitude "I have paid for my car so I am going to use it".

And this is fair enough - but as long as you are happy to sit in traffic for ages.

I can understand the problem though for many. A lot of people don't have a bus/train stop near them, and would have to walk quite a distance to one (and over the winter its handier to just get in your own car).

Plus they then might have to walk quite a bit to their place of work when they arrive. Again in snow and rain!!

But I would like to see more initiatives for car sharing. The next time you are in a traffic jam take a look around at the number of cars with 1 person in them. Then imagine the number of cars taken off the road if every car had 4 in it. It would make a massive difference. Yet very few employers try to start up car sharing schemes. Perhaps with the wealth now in the country larger employers shoudl look into starting their own bus service?

Me, I'm just so happy that I live 5 miles from work and it takes me 10mins to get there !!


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## shnaek (28 Nov 2007)

RMCF said:


> I think that we now live in a society that has the attitude "I have paid for my car so I am going to use it".



This isn't necessarily true. I would be delighted if I lived within 20mins/30mins walk of work. I did without a car until I was 26, and would have lasted longer only three months of using public transport in the south west drove me to buying a car. It was either that or the loony bin. Our transport system here isn't too far off the standards of our health system. The word for it rhymes with 'light' and begins with an 's'.


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## z103 (28 Nov 2007)

> Maybe I just work with exceptionally lazy people??



There's a shop just down the road from me. It's so close that walking probably takes the same time as driving, once you pull out of driveway, park etc...

I generally drive to the shop and I'm in my thirties.
Conclusion is that cars make people lazy. I'm getting fatter too.


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## aonfocaleile (28 Nov 2007)

batty said:


> The secretary in our Dept recently insisted that she must get a taxi to travel half a mile to another office as she would "get too tired" walking. She's not ancient BTW - in her 30's.


 
This gives me the impression that you work in the Dept of Transport, where the secretary is female and in her 30s or 40s. DoT also has a number of builidngs around the city centre which are all within a mile of one another......the irony


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## Sunny (28 Nov 2007)

aonfocaleile said:


> This gives me the impression that you work in the Dept of Transport, where the secretary is female and in her 30s or 40s. DoT also has a number of builidngs around the city centre which are all within a mile of one another......the irony


 
Could she not just be any office secretary??? Why jump to the conclusion that it is the Dept of transport???


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## batty (28 Nov 2007)

Originally Posted by *aonfocaleile* http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=530786#post530786 
_This gives me the impression that you work in the Dept of Transport, where the secretary is female and in her 30s or 40s. DoT also has a number of builidngs around the city centre which are all within a mile of one another......the irony_

Could she not just be any office secretary??? Why jump to the conclusion that it is the Dept of transport???

2nd poster is right.  It is definitely NOT a government department

In reply to another poster who said that cars make you lazy - can I be pedantic & say that a car is inanimate object & can't "make" you do anything!!


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## gipimann (28 Nov 2007)

leghorn said:


> There's a shop just down the road from me. It's so close that walking probably takes the same time as driving, once you pull out of driveway, park etc...
> 
> I generally drive to the shop and I'm in my thirties.
> Conclusion is that cars make people lazy. I'm getting fatter too.


 
Ah but which is making you fatter, the drive to the shop, or what you buy when you get there......


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## truthseeker (28 Nov 2007)

gipimann said:


> Ah but which is making you fatter, the drive to the shop, or what you buy when you get there......


 
or the number of sweets you consume in the car while waiting at junctions manned by guards that ends up turning a 5 minute journey into a 45 minute wait?


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## aonfocaleile (28 Nov 2007)

batty said:


> Yep nothing wrong with this person.
> 
> The secretary in our *Dept *


 
The capitalisation of the word 'department' is extremely common across the civil service, hence that was the _impression_ I got. No one is jumping to any conclusions. But thanks for the clarification Batty.


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## batty (28 Nov 2007)

aonfocaleile said:


> The capitalisation of the word 'department' is extremely common across the civil service, hence that was the _impression_ I got. No one is jumping to any conclusions. But thanks for the clarification Batty.


 
heh wasn't being smart!!  I use the word department all the time as in Accounts deapartment, HR Department??  What do other peopel call the area of the company that they work in - section, team, group?


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## z103 (28 Nov 2007)

> can I be pedantic & say that a car is inanimate object


Well maybe on the M50 (or Dublin in general now, it seems) cars are inanimate. My car, however, moves


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## batty (28 Nov 2007)

leghorn said:


> Well maybe on the M50 (or Dublin in general now, it seems) cars are inanimate. My car, however, moves


 

I meant inanimate as in lifeless or inorganic.  I better keep my dictionary close to hand if posting if future


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## Caveat (28 Nov 2007)

batty said:


> inorganic


 
Well what about the biofuel cars then?


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## batty (28 Nov 2007)

Caveat said:


> Well what about the biofuel cars then?


 
Inorganic not non organic


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## HelloJed (3 Dec 2007)

ClubMan said:


> Yes - to pedestrian traffic which suits me fine!


 
I've had the same experience - walking to and home from work has become a more pleasant experience. Maybe the Operation Freeflow refers to pedestrians rather than cars?


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## elefantfresh (3 Dec 2007)

I beat operation gridlock today!!! I left for work 45 minutes earlier!!
sigh...


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## cole (4 Dec 2007)

Operation Gridlock beat me today (again). Took me 45 mins to get out of my estate in Knocklyon (at 7.30am) and a journey which normally takes 40 mins took 1 hr 45 mins.  It's a joke.


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## truthseeker (5 Dec 2007)

the guard at the (firhouse/knocklyon) m50 roundabout this morning was ignoring the firhouse side and concentrating on making life difficult on those approaching from knocklyon, as a result i flew down from firhouse onto the m50 in no time. but it was clear to me that the knocklyon approach was being seriously hampered.


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## Mers1 (5 Dec 2007)

Had 3 guards this morning at the top of the Kingswood slip road on the N7 doing their best "Saturday Night Fever" impressions!!!! all traffic coming up to the roundabout on three roads was backing up fast! Unbelievable  Seriously though do they do have a look around before they start and see how the traffic moves and leave well enough alone.  

Lads keep the moves for the dance floor!!


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## elefantfresh (13 Dec 2007)

Just dawned on me this morning - have you seen the colour of the light sabers the cops are using? They're red - the colour of the dark side.


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## Purple (13 Dec 2007)

elefantfresh said:


> Just dawned on me this morning


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## Purple (13 Dec 2007)

cole said:


> Operation Gridlock beat me today (again). Took me 45 mins to get out of my estate in Knocklyon (at 7.30am) and a journey which normally takes 40 mins took 1 hr 45 mins.  It's a joke.


 Anyone that leaves for work that late in Dublin can't complain when they hit traffic.


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## Merrion (13 Dec 2007)

cole said:


> Operation Gridlock beat me today (again). Took me 45 mins to get out of my estate in Knocklyon (at 7.30am) and a journey which normally takes 40 mins took 1 hr 45 mins. It's a joke.


 


Purple said:


> Anyone that leaves for work that late in Dublin can't complain when they hit traffic.


 
Whats wrong with leaving for work at 7.30 - as he mentions it usually takes him 40 mins to get to work?? The issue is that he mentions that Operation Gridlock is now adding time to his journey.


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## Purple (13 Dec 2007)

People who drive to work using the same route at the same time every day know what lane to be in, where they should be going etc and so do not hold up the flow of traffic. This time of year you have a higher proportion of, for want of a better phrase, "'aul-wans" driving into town to get to the shops. These are the people who sit over the steering wheel looking terrified and confused, and generally slow things down for the usual commuters.


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## truthseeker (13 Dec 2007)

Purple said:


> People who drive to work using the same route at the same time every day know what lane to be in, where they should be going etc and so do not hold up the flow of traffic. This time of year you have a higher proportion of, for want of a better phrase, "'aul-wans" driving into town to get to the shops. These are the people who sit over the steering wheel looking terrified and confused, and generally slow things down for the usual commuters.


 
Have to disagree with that Purple, I take the same route to work everyday and there is no difference in traffic flow or volume EXCEPT on the junctions now manned by guards.


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## Yachtie (14 Dec 2007)

I see guards on many junctions and roundabouts on my way to work, but I still haven't seen one doing anything. 

As much as I agree with the poster who made a remark about one person eing in each car, there isn't much we can do about it. What are the chances of any of my neighbours in Co Kildare working in Sandyford, the same hours as I do and one of us never needing a car during the office hours so that we can car pool? Slim to none! Furthermore, if I were to use public transport, I would need to leave my house at about 5am and wouldn't be back until about 9pm. It takes me about an hour and 15 minutes each way and as much as I find sitting in traffic frustrating, at least it takes me a lot less time to get where I'm going than using the alternative.


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## truthseeker (14 Dec 2007)

Yachtie said:


> I see guards on many junctions and roundabouts on my way to work, but I still haven't seen one doing anything.



Really? My ones do a kind of funky chicken dance that appears to have no relevance to traffic signals of any sort. The one on the other junction I pass is usually texting or looking at the sky for inspiration.


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## RainyDay (14 Dec 2007)

Yachtie said:


> As much as I agree with the poster who made a remark about one person eing in each car, there isn't much we can do about it. What are the chances of any of my neighbours in Co Kildare working in Sandyford, the same hours as I do and one of us never needing a car during the office hours so that we can car pool? Slim to none!


You're missing the point. If you want to find reasons not to car pool, it's not hard. If indeed your expectation is that your car pool will match all the flexibility of having your own car, it definitely won't work. But if you really want to find a way for car pooling to work, you can do so. Maybe you could limit your trips during the day to 1 or 2 designated days per week? Or maybe you could travel by taxi, which is a more practical option if you are travelling around town anyway. Maybe you could fix your hours for 1 or 2 days a week to synch up with your neighbour, and do extra work at home in the evenings if necessary. If you want to make it work, you'll find a way.


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## Gordanus (15 Dec 2007)

The problem with the gardai seems to me to be that they keep over-riding the traffic lights.  All they should be doing is stopping cars going through on red & amber, and just leave the traffic lights look after the rest.  That's what they're designed to do, and most of them on major routes work in sequence.  But it's the amber- and red- jumpers who clog up the junctions and stop the system working properly.


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