Sometimes when it comes to cycling, it’s the little details that make the difference to an easy ride or a tortuous one. That appears to be the case with the near-completion of the High Street upgrade, aiming to provide a friendlier route from St Asaph St towards Cashel Mall for walking and biking.
Many locals will recall the controversy when the previous layout was installed at the intersection of Tuam / High Streets, particularly thanks to the 20 signal poles installed at what looked like a fairly simple location. It was planned to be more complex ultimately, servicing two tram crossings towards Ara, but a change in the tram loop allowed for a much simpler design to be developed and work started on that mid-last year (the section south of Tuam St to St Asaph has been put on hold for now).
The new layout simplifies signalised crossings to just one each for walking and biking (and now just six poles…). As well as the one-way cycleway continuing along Tuam St (with no more stopping for left-turners!), riders coming up High St can cross at the lights and use a short section of two-way cycleway to reconnect with the next bit of High St.
It’s not completely perfect; I still think the perpendicular corners after crossing Tuam St are too sharp (bikes don’t turn on a dime you know…). And the cycleway speed hump is a love-hate thing (technically with the wrong markings on it). But, coupled with the other features along this corridor, it provides another little improvement to getting around the central city safely.
Have you ridden through this new intersection? What do you think?