Sir, - Frank McDonald's article on the long awaited widening of the N11 between Foxrock Church and White's Cross (July 29th) is not entirely correct in suggesting that this removes the last bottleneck on this road.
As a daily user of this road for the past 10 years, there are two other bottlenecks that can be more frustrating than this short stretch of road, particularly as it would be infinitely easier and cheaper to rectify them.
The first is the Cabinteely/Johnstown Road junction. Here a right-turn filter is given to outbound traffic on every traffic light sequence irrespective of demand. From observation it would appear that a demand for such a filter arises in less than one in ten light changes. I also estimate that somewhere between 20 and 30 cars can move away from the lights on the outbound carriageway while the same numbers are held stationary on the inbound carriageway each time. This reduces inbound flow at this junction by up to 600 cars per hour (based on an estimated three minute sequence of lights) leading to unnecessary tailbacks, frustration and rat-running on the hard shoulder. Often cars at the head of the queue are tempted to move off on red or are "encouraged" by motorists behind to do so.
The second unnecessary delay is between Oatlands College and Mount Merrion Avenue, where there are four sets of lights in as many hundred metres. These lights do not seem to be linked in any way. Lights can change but traffic often cannot move as one of the four lights remains red. One of the sets of lights is pedestrian controlled but again with no apparent linkage to two sets of lights less than 50 metres away on either side. Both inbound and outbound traffic is affected here.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council is aware of both of these situations but is unwilling to actually do something. It is time to extend a real "Operation Freeflow" to all routes in and out of Dublin where consideration of actual obstructions to traffic flows are taken into account. - Yours, etc.,
Diarmuid Lynch,
Shankill, Co Dublin.