IS THERE A PARTICULAR junction in Dublin that always manages to make you break out in a cold sweat, and feel as if you’ve narrowly avoided death each time you pass it?
Our beloved fair city isn’t always an easy one to manoeuvre in a car, and there are a few spots that feel particularly stressful and irritating when you’re behind the wheel.
We’ve rounded up the worst, most hair-raising traffic spots around the city.
The location: Managing to combine six extremely busy South Dublin roads, this famous roundabout is located at the intersection of Walkinstown Road, Bunting Road, Cromswellfort Road, St Peter’s Road, Greenhills Road, Ballymount Road AND the M50.
The problem: This accident-prone stretch is particularly annoying because of its confusing layout, meaning motorists don’t often know which lane to be in (or some would argue, how to indicate).
What other people are saying:
The location: Originally the site of a massacre during the Easter Rising, North King Street, its intersection with Church Street (close to Smithfield) is particularly irritating as it combines multiple busy streams of traffic and cyclists heading in and out of the city centre.
The problem: Well, as a member of our news team noted, ”the junction is an absolute deathtrap in about three directions”.
What other people are saying:
The location: Within the heart of Dublin 8, a few hundred metres from St Patrick’s Cathedral, this intersection has a number of competing lanes from several different directions.
The problem: If you’re driving from the canal, the junction at Patrick Street can be a nightmare as Cork Street, The Coombe and Francis Street all merge. As one commuter said: “It regularly takes me as long to drive the last 2km of my journey as it does the first 18km.”
What other people are saying:
The location: Among a number of industrial zones between Ballymount and Drimnagh.
The problem: The lane layout where the Naas Road and Long Mile Road intersects is particularly complex. Though one irritated commuter told us: “The traffic jams there wouldn’t exist if people knew how to merge properly.”
What other people are saying:
The location: Just beyond the gates of the idyllic Phoenix Park, and of course the pleasant home and gardens of Michael D Higgins.
The problem: There is a particularly stressful stretch of road as you move towards Ashtown, an area which a member of our news team labelled “a death trap for drivers”.
It’s a combination of about six dangerous situations mixed into one almighty trap. Four exits converge on one large intersection. You end up with situations where there’s queues at all four exits and no lights to tell anyone definitively who has the right of way. Most people who use it are experienced with it so find a way to navigate the madness.
What other people are saying:
The location: Just between Dublin City University and Beaumont.
The problem: This particular junction is a little like multiple dual carriageways crossing into each other, made even more complicated by the inclusion of unreliable traffic lights and recently installed bollards.
As another member of our news team shares:
I’ve often seen it backed up as far as the Port Tunnel entrance. One of the big problems is the green light to turn right towards DCU. It stays green for about three seconds and so often the person at the top of the queue only realises they can go after it turns orange. So generally only two-three cars get through at a time which adds to the backlog.
What other people are saying:
Can you think of an even worse offender you regularly encounter on your commute? Let us know in the comments section.
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