Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A NUMBER OF cyclists have spoken of their experiences of falling from their bicycles while traversing the Luas Cross City works on O’Connell Street in Dublin city centre.
At the GPO, the street is currently reduced to one lane, shared by mostly buses and cyclists, with the Luas tracks, not yet in use, running down the centre.
Cycling alongside in-service Luas tracks can be hazardous as one or both wheels can easily become trapped in the rails’ grooves. That is exactly what has happened to many people in recent weeks.
Currently, Luas Cross City is installing a track link between the Red and Green routes, together with the tram service’s expansion towards Broombridge in Cabra on Dublin’s northside.
51-year-old John Brereton was cycling along the O’Connell Street single lane corridor on his way home from work last week when his wheel became trapped, sending him flying over his handlebars with a bus directly behind him.
“It could easily have been fatal,” he told TheJournal.ie. “If I’d fallen any other way, there was a bus behind me which missed me by a foot.
It’s really easy to slip into the groove, I must have lost concentration for a second when it happened, I went face down just before where the pedestrians cross.
I’ve had loads of other people contacting me saying the same thing had happened to them. They need to do something because it’s just lethal at the moment, a tragedy waiting to happen.
Bar “a few cuts and bruises” John was relatively unscathed following his accident. Tracy Cassidy meanwhile suffered the same fate at the same spot on Friday 13 January, but her head took the full impact of her fall.
“I used to take that route every day so I was well aware of the danger of it, but now that they’ve extended the works into the street there’s no way of avoiding the tracks,” she says.
Before I knew it I’d tipped over with a bus right behind me. My head is still completely numb all over. The ambulance guys told me if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet I wouldn’t be here today.
While Tracy was being treated at the side of the street, another two cyclists became trapped in the embedded rails. A man working on O’Connell Street who came to her aid told her the accident was the eighth he’d seen that day in the same place.
“They need to tell people to avoid O’Connell Street. I definitely won’t cycle around there now. It’s an accident waiting to happen alright,” Tracy says.
Blackspot
TheJournal.ie paid a visit to the single-lane works site. At present, the lane is being shared by buses and cyclists with about a foot-and-a-half of clearance on the left side of the lane for those on bicycles to navigate.
Luas Cross City told us that the grooves had been filled to bring them to the same level as the road surface and while this appears to be the case a significant indent of about an inch was still visible upon inspection between the rail grooves and the tarmac.
Yellow and orange signs warning cyclists of the presence of tram lines are in place on O’Connell Bridge and on O’Connell Street before the GPO (although there are no signs that we could see to tell cyclists of the impending single lane).
“I avoid O’Connell Street myself, although I have heard of people falling off at that place,” said Mike McKillen of the Dublin Cycling Campaign. “A girl spoke to me last week who said she had fractured her wrist at the site, and another two cyclists came into me today with the same problem.”
The toll is mounting up and more needs to be done than is currently the case. Last week I asked Luas Cross City if they were going to indicate a direction for cyclists to approach tram lines at right angles. But they should really be telling people not to cycle down O’Connell Street at all.
McKillen added that Luas Cross City could face legal action over the accidents.
Once accidents start piling up the obvious thing to do is to bar access. Then it might force the city to solve the problem.
Luas Cross City
A spokesperson for Luas Cross City told TheJournal.ie that necessary works have created the “pinch point” at the O’Connell Street site.
“It is an unusual area,” they said.
What we have done is filled in the tracks with temporary fill on that part of O’Connell Street, but it is a bit of an anomaly of a location where the road has been narrowed.
Signage should be in place to alert cyclists to tracks.
In TheJournal.ie’s observation of the site, many cyclists are in fact choosing to dismount and walk along the parallel pedestrianised area beside the GPO rather than risking the single lane of traffic. Many more, however, are continuing to use it in tandem with swiftly-moving buses.
“The safety of cyclists has to be an imperative,” says Fine Gael councillor (and prominent cycling advocate) Paddy Smyth. “If there are going to be spaces where cyclists are using the same space as Luas trams then we have to make it as safe as we can.
“If people are falling then it has to be sorted out as soon as possible,” continued Smyth, adding that he would be submitting a motion to council to ensure the issue “is a priority for the local area”.
If this is happening on O’Connell St, then it has the potential to happen elsewhere.
So it’ll basically be an iPod nano with a strap attached… But twice the price
Not just ANY strap. It’ll be an iStrap.
And it will tell iTime, just like normal time but with an extra 0 on the end because its better.
I’d say its a load of bull. Who wants to charge their watch twice a day?
Nail on the head.
I can’t wait to point and laugh at anybody wearing an iWatch.
Don’t forget that Sony did this about 5 years ago…….so look out Sony, apple gonna sue your ass…….Steve Jobs thought of it while on the toilet 6 years ago
Nah me and countless other kids thought of it way back in the 80′s.
Meh, I haven’t worn a watch since the 1990′s and don’t intend to start again now. Unless it can do something a smartphone can’t there seems little point really. That won’t stop the fanboys queuing up for them though.
What an awful product. It’s an Apple so there are people, mostly hipsters, who will buy it. I can’t wait for the day Apple is finally crushed. 75% of all phone activations are now Android.
Would hipsters not avoid apple products? I thought hipsters hate anything popular? I’m so confused
You need help, ask your grandmother an apple a day keeps the doctor away but I’d say it’s too late in your case.
Hipsters see the watch as outdated. Ergo they will embrace it and ruin it for the rest of us watch wearers.
They’re already working on their timepiece infringement case they’re taking against Rolex
What a ridiculous idea,I have liberated myself from apple,and switched to android.
Liberated?
Apple make great products, I have been using a G4 Dual Powermac in my home studio for over 10 years, bought it second hand, it was made in 1998 and is as solid as a rock…..unlike windows.
Sent from my iPhone!
Your brainwashed Julian. You have obviously never ventured too far into modern technology if you think your 14 year old mac is still “solid”. Your studio sounds great.
Yay! Something else to break and or get stolen!
You’d want to be an awful eegit to get ur watch stolen off ur wrist!
There is a Sony Smart watch already available and Samsung tried this before and failed.
Theres already a very good Sony Smart watch- this is not an original idea, just Apple sticking an “i” on it so the apple addicts will pay 5x the price for it. l changed to Android this year and would never go back, apple are very restrictive, over priced and have lost their creativity.
What about an iHat with a screen in the brim that folds down in front of your eyes?
The battery, a printer, the headphones and whatever else could all be built in and people would start walking into walls as well as crashing their cars!
Not that far fetched.
There have been some advances in projected touchscreen technology. If the watch could project a screen onto a wall or other surface, with all off the swipe, pinch, slide functionality enabled, you’d be looking at mobile computing without the restrictions of a small screen.
Throw in 4G technology and cloud storage and you don’t even need to much memory. You could even virtualize the running of your apps. This would keeping the memory and processing requirements down to the minimum to manage the touch screen, and would allow space to be kept for the projection requirements.
No offence rob but you are a complete idiot
I’m really hoping this isn’t true. I have a shed load of Apple kit, imac’s, macbook pros, ipad , iphones etc so I’m not a hater but if this occurs the behemoth that is Apple will wipe out Pebble who have come from nowhere, reached out on kickstarter, invigorated a community and innovated in the area. For Apple to just sweep in and steal (as they have done since IOS5) the drive created by the little guy to make mass profit would be yet another negative development for competition in the consumer electronics sector. Come on the underdog.
Watch straps for the iPod Nano have been available for quite a while now and personally I don’t think they look too bad. The idea of buying an actual “iWatch” does sound stupid but if you already have an iPod Nano the strap isn’t that much of an outlay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XexrkV7SBkA
I had one and it was great for jogging and the gym looked great too. Not so great as a watch because it takes a second or 2 to switch on. Also, its not watetproof. Mine died cause i got caught jogging in a light shower with no pockets.
The only reason 75% of phone activations are Android is because its literally hundreds of types of Android Phone against ONE type of iphone. That being said, I think Apple are going to have to really pull rabbits out of hats to make the iPhone 6 in any way desireable. As for the watch, I can’t imagine it will do much other than tell the time, the current temperature and link by bluetooth to the phone in your pocket, and show the same notifications as get on it. I don’t find that particularly desireable in any way.. so maybe Apple will surprise us with something interesting… have nothing against Android, and really all I have against Apple is there bloody useless itunes program! Personally I think they should come up with some kinetic iphone that charges itself as its used. Now wouldn’t that be useful?
Heard new product is gonna be a Hoover called i suck :)
Talk about a world of distractions. Having an iPhone is bad enough but I’ll never get any study done with an iWatch. I like being able to check the time without squinting at yet another screen thanks.
More likely an ipod that can be worn on the wrist with wireless headphones or something.
Nobody still wears watches do they?
Ok i will try again. Hopefully it wont be deleted this time.
I cant see a straight bloke wearing this gadget because he would be a laughing stock.
Is that PC enough.
Bizarre comment
Or the new apple toilet called the
i-can
Surprised they don’t have this out already it wouldnt have all the features just notifications etc.. and most importantly the ability to switch what your listening to or check progress time in a fitness app. Sony already have the smart watch cost less than 100 euro and it links to your experia phone brilliantly… Really good product in my opinion
Apple disrupts telling the time. Didn’t Nokia or somebody do this before? Can’t see why Apple would bother when one of their accessory people can make it.
What the iWatch could look like.
I still don’t get the whole ‘kick apple users’ thing Derek/Dessie.
Apple products :-
~ Generally are more stylish
~ Generally have higher specs than similar products
~ Usually last longer than similar products
and of course
~ Cost more!
So, if you want a class leading product that looks great, works great, will last for a long time and you have the money…. Buy an Apple product.
If not, then buy something else, but FFS, don’t keep ranting about fanboi’s and hipsters.
Apple may not always be the first to invent something but whatever they do (tv excluded) usually leads to a tech step forward which has to be a good thing right?
Already got the strap for the nano and turned on the clock to be the main screen! Works fine! Just too lazy to charge my watch!!! Doesn’t seem right!
For what it will cost I hope there’s a button on it for when I am just about to get a parking ticket that says … Beam me up Scotty I’m in trouble :)
There’s a watch called an I’m Watch which does this. it’s about €350. A watch has advantages over a phone especially if you are travelling or at the races :)
Who would want to be seen wareing on of these remember the digital watch where are they now or the calculator watch gone and forgotten
You could easily have an analog clock display instead of a digital one.
As others have said, most of this has been done before, but there are some useful potential features.
- Check messages/mail/SMS received without taking your phone out of your pocket.
- Change the song you are listening to.
- See who is ringing and answer (assuming using headphones as handsfree)
- Localised alerts e.g. Pedestrian access ahead closed, 50% off instore, we have that cd/dvd/game on your wishlist available instore, expect rain etc
- Sat nav for walking, check your watch and an arrow points you in the direction,
I think this is the most logical argument here, I like the idea of the location based marketing potential. Rumours are Apple are looking to acquire FourSquare so something as portable as an iWatch could make sense.
Also, GPS watches are quite a lucrative market with the likes of Garmin making them, if the money is there to be made, why not give it a go?
Looks like a copy of Motorola’s motoactv.
After a few weeks you’d end up with eyes like Peter Lorres
imagine an imore? everything apple has done into one device. an hologram type device that is integrated into a small little key ring. activate it and out jumps some annoying 3d spokeperson / cartoon of your choice. you get the idea. maybe i should patent now so i can sue apple for infringement! i admire the way apple has developed / reinvented themselves. but honestly i just cannot stand the impractical software and its functions. had an imac, g4, iphone 3 & 4, ipod. never again. truly android from here on in.
Any chance that Apple will set up a manufacturing plant for the iClog here! Come on IDA, go meet Tim Cook or invite him to the Gathering!
As a self confessed Apple fan I have to say this is ridiculous!! I have an iPhone and an iPad but I’d be mortified to wear one of these, iDump this idea please Apple!
What the iWatch could look like……..
I think no one here read the article properly, “Intel came up with the concept and Apple is now “interested” in building it out.”
I first seen one of these watch phones few years back and always wondered if you could use it in prison and nobody would notice ..just a random taught lol
have your say