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THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Authority (NTA) has launched a public consultation on the first phase of its “core bus corridors” project – which is part of its overall BusConnects plan to upgrade bus travel in Dublin.
These “corridors” will see continuous bus lanes from parts of the greater Dublin area to the city centre, and the NTA says that this will be both ease traffic congestion in the capital and shorten journey times.
Phase one includes the routes from Clongriffin, Swords, Blanchardstown and Lucan to the city centre.
NTA CEO Anne Graham said: “With the city set to grow by 25% by 2040, the level of congestion will increase, and people’s quality of life will be eroded unless we take the appropriate actions now.”
When finished, the corridors across the whole city will have 230km of dedicated bus lanes, and 200km of cycle lanes.
In the case of Lucan routes, it means that routes that take up to 50 minutes to get to the city centre would then take only 30-35 mins, according to the proposals.
However, this will necessitate trees being removed, extensive road works, a reduction of on-street parking and, crucially, the loss of portions of gardens, garden walls and fencing for some property owners.
Across the 16 corridors in the capital, this will affect 1,300 property owners. Across the four listed today, it will affect over 300.
Upon the finalisation of its proposals for areas in the first phase, the NTA contacted the owners of properties alongside the planned corridors to inform them of the plans.
Over the coming years, it will enter into a planning process with An Bord Pleanála where the homeowners will receive compensation for any parts of their property lost.
“The proposals we have put forward are not fixed or finalised,” Graham said. “Only when we have engaged with those affected and with the general public will we decide on final preferred routes for each corridor.”
The public consultation for the first four corridors launches today, and runs until 15 February 2019. You can find out more information here.
I wish they’d just get on with it. These things get talked about for years and nothing ever gets done.
@Steve B: just wait from the nimbyism backlash.
@Michael Carolan:
Correction: Not My Front Yard
@sequoia: touché
@Michael Carolan: To be fair, it isn’t only nimbys. Number 75 is gone, and the principal of our local school asked parents whose kids use the bus to send complaints. There is at least 2 more secondary schools served by that bus. That is hundreds, if not thousands, of parents objecting just for this one route.
Just build an underground and be done with it.. We’d have an unbelievable underground system for the money that’s spent on bus lanes and two tram lines
@David Garland:
Please provide figures to back up that (ridiculous) claim.
@David Garland: Can’t understand why this has not been done by now. Most major cities have one why not us.
@Peter Jo: it’s because it’s our destiny….
Wait, no, our density, that’s it.
@Patrick Nolan: How is it ridiculous? The Luas cost a few billion yet we only have two lines. How much will it cost to buy land and go through the Court system for years.. How much money was lost to businessesin the City when it was been dug up for the Luas..
@David Garland: I would prefer an underground system. Firstly, it beats waiting in the wind and rain. Secondly, they wouldn’t have to excavate as much as all that. And I was working in town while the Luas was going through and there was barely any impact. Granted, there were a few hours without water or power – not a big deal, no one needs to close up for that – also completely avoidable if the diggers know where to dig.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: Barly an impact.. You are joking.. When the original Green Line was been built Pubs on the top of Harcourt Street brought the Luas owners to Court because their business was down so much. You couldn’t go near College Green, Dawson Street or that general area for months because of the works..Even now when it’s all finished College Green is a nightmare for traffic 10 hours of the day..
@Ronan McKeon: mcfly?
@David Garland: several countries including Japan have offered to build commuter services for Dublin in the past. The idea being that they would pay for their construction through fares. Our government rejected all such proposals. Opting instead for shambolic systems like Dart and Luas. Probably because their was no money for contractor cronies to make and no pockets to be skimmed from in the Japanese proposals
Do people here not realise there is currently an underground system in the planning stage called Metrolink? Has got a lot of bad press from the Nimby crew and is likely to be held up for that reason. In any case you can’t have metro lines everywhere so buses are needed.
@Shaner Mac: That underground has been in the planning for near 20 years and is only one line.. At the moment the NTA want the Metro to use the Luas green line when it gets to the Southside.. Which is a joke
@Patrick Nolan: https://in.reuters.com/article/us-musk-tunnel/elon-musks-boring-co-to-build-high-speed-airport-link-in-chicago-idINKBN1JA224
@David Garland: https://in.reuters.com/article/us-musk-tunnel/elon-musks-boring-co-to-build-high-speed-airport-link-in-chicago-idINKBN1JA224
Big debate in work here, is Die Hard a Christmas film? Need answers and reasons thanks
@t-rex orange county: Its definitely a Christmas film. Its set on Christmas eve and he’s going to an office Christmas party. ;-)
@t-rex orange county: it’s not Christmas until someone falls from the top floor of the Nakatomi building
@t-rex orange county: The first one is a Christmas movie, the second is for going on holiday and the rest are for when you have a front lobe lobotomy.
Happy to help….
@t-rex orange county: “now I have a machine gun ho ho ho”. Wouldn’t work any other time of year. A Christmas film.
@David McShite:
Nope. Second one is Xmas eve also
Both movies are Xmas movies. Third one is summertime and that’s it because there are no other die hard movies.
Although Bruce Willis has stated they’re not Xmas movies, he’s patently incorrect.
They should be paying to purchase the house, a house – the drive to park the car is instantly devalued.
@Dáithí O Raghailaigh: they still have driveways in the image above. I think it’s a great idea. About time we had some radical thinking to make public transport work better.
@Darren McCormack: so much for Climate change destroying more green areas
@Darren McCormack: they should be persevering all the green so much for Climate change
@Geraldine Fenton: Okay Geraldine. You’re probably the type of person who moans about nothing changing and then when it changes you moan because of something else. If this is successful it will get people out of cars and onto buses for their daily commutes. I think that’s a positive for the environment.
@Darren McCormack: your right ,i agree,as long as the buses are green aswell.
@Sean Beinead: Even if they’re not, it’s still a positive move. Ideally they would be more green and energy efficient though.
@Darren McCormack: not really ,even the most eco friendly buses are worse than cars at the moment and changing one for the other is a waste of time with regard to the environment,hopefully they’ll start to roll out electric buses around the same time,the russians and other countries already have this in some cities.
@Sean Beinead: That would be great to see alright but I find it hard to believe that a bus full with say 90 passengers is worse than 90 people in cars.
@Darren McCormack: Its a common misconception that providing more buses, better journey times etc will lead to more people getting public transport. In reality unless the bus drops you relatively close to your destination you will still drive. I live in West Dublin and work in Dublin Port, should be a relatively straightforward commute on Public Transport, however, it would require 2 buses, a Luas and a walk of 20mins at the end. All in all a 1 hour 45min public transport commute but 1 hour 15 in my car. Too many buses serving non sensical routes along back roads and through housing estates. Bus numbers and frequency not as big a concern as the route the bus takes.
@Caped Crusader: I agree. Aren’t they introducing more orbital routes also?
@Darren McCormack: current bus stock are stretched already that means if people are going to leave their cars at home we need more buses,so its changing one environmently unfriendly for another,i think they should really transfer the buses to electric before the infrastructure is upgraded, update the infrastructure all at once including the electricity supply infrastructure for the buses if thats how their going to work it.
@Darren McCormack: well said dr evil
@Dáithí O Raghailaigh:
What about the needs of elderly or disabled residents who need to park in their driveway close to their front door? Will they be forced to move house?
@Darren McCormack: to the best of my knowledge i think the BusConnects plan is shelved as there was so many complaints. It is to be revised but you can be sure the NIMBYism will take over and it wont provide the necessary changes. In my case i think it will mean an extra bus so 3 buses, Luas then walk. The point i am trying to get across is that anyone commuting for work doesnt have the time to get up half an hour earlier or home half an hour later so the vast majority will drive to save the time. There will never be a time when a majority uses Public Transport over private.
@Damian Kelly: LOL
@John Hagin Meade: They’re only planning on taking a section of the driveway. They’ll still have a driveway. We’ll in the image above they do anyway.
It’s been done to coincide with private operators taking over Dublin Bus routes. They wouldn’t consider it when bus transport was a totally state run public service.
Go figure.
@Dave Doyle: how you figure that? Was Dublin bus not awarded their existing routes till 2024.
@Dave Doyle: “Go Figure”
Are we in America now?
@Anthony Whelan: No they were not.
Doing all this and still no buses on roads that have bus lanes marked out already. Loads of unused bus lanes throughout Dublin. Cannot fulfil bus services as is.
@Eugene Tyson: yeah, so let’s do nothing but complain then.
@Fozz: D.o.p.e… it’ not about doing nothing. They built bus lanes and didn’t put any buses on them and they are sitting idle for years. Yet they want to spend more money and expand bus lanes. I say use the ones they built years ago first before building anymore… i.d.i.o.t.
@Eugene Tyson: Nonsense. There are lots of buses and..taxis using bus lanes. They look empty because vehicles move quicker in them.
@Fred Coloe: stupid comment. Plenty of bus lanes with no bus routes.
Maybe we need start building underground transport. And realize never will be enough space for cars,bus,bikes and people.
Let the fight begin
There will be people genuinely upset about the loss of gardens etc but others will know that the longer they can delay this the better as house values will climb significantly in the area because of the bus lines which in turn will lead to higher valuations on the lost garden.
The jump in valuations has probably already started
Some farmers rode this particular horse to an absolute Fortune during the motorway building phase some years ago.
Why don’t they run the bus lane down the middle of the road. Usually traffic is heavier heading in one direction (into city in the AM, out in the PM). Lanes in the middle of the road could be assigned direction depending on time of day. Passing points in certain areas etc etc
@Bob Murray: Letting people out in the middle off the road.. What could go wrong
@David Garland: Yep! Fair dues. Too busy thinking about the buses! Need a coffee..
@Bob Murray: no it could work! Let them out and have the mad tuc tuc lads get them to the path. Don’t do yourself down.
Be nice to own one of them gardens
Resist the plan to seize garden space & cut down trees.
Why, because we live on Malahide road, Coolock parish, & six trees were removed to extend public pathways to the RC church, & not replaced with any traffic noise & pollution measures.
Result is perpetual traffic noise, blaster exhausts, sirens, horns, screeching brakes, from 0530 to 0300, & Windows have to be kept closed. Trebled when the port tunnel is closed, which is very frequently.
As soon as we open the porch, our nostrils are scorched with heavy exhaust fumes.
Be warned, require them to buy you out, & move away from this perpetual torture & health risk.
Real cost 6-700 million. Estimate 1.2 billion. Final cost 2 billion.
W
I love the way they use go ahead buses in the illustrations.
Wonder will there be as much protest when water meters were being installed
Lose or be paid market value for and land they lose
Why dont the government invest money into underground transport. It’s makes so much sense. It will give a well proven and environmental mode of transport, create jobs,massive revenue income , boost tourism and provide a safe and fast transport service. Surely Ireland can afford this…
@Derek o Driscoll: they are, infact about €3bn is being invested in this at present. That doesn’t change the fact that the bus system needs a serious improvement.
Not a word about the relief from hedge trimming, grass cutting and arguments over where the cut-price shrub should go……
How about getting onto Elon Musk and have him unleash his boring machine..
There’ll be a bleedin fortune made out of this
Bus Connects has proven to be unwanted but the NTA keep pushing the plan. Which is undermined by privatising the Public Bus Transport Service. This has failed miserably in the UK and a similar design failed miserably in Wellington NZ.
The road designs shown are dangerous for pedestrians, car users and cyclists. Shared Space is unsafe and has been proven to not suit Ireland or the UK. The Green Party are now saying this.
Nowhere does it mentioned disabled parking bays and what shall be done with them.
@Gary Kearney: nothing of the sort has been ‘proven’ quite the opposite in fact. Anything the Green Party say is basically a lie, they are opposed to most environmentally friendly policies. There are currently no plans to privitise any PSO bus routes as the UK did with their stupid ‘bus wars’. To do so would be impractical.
Dublin
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