Dublin traffic plans spark debate between business owners and Government parties
Updated / Thursday, 8 Feb 2024 17:26
There is "an obligation" to make the plan around new traffic restrictions in Dublin city centre work, CEO of Dublin Town Richard Guiney has said.
He was speaking on RTÉ's Today with Colm Ó Mongáin after the National Transport Authority announced €290 million funding to support the introduction of walking and cycling infrastructure to local authorities.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said he expects proposals to restrict traffic driving through Dublin city centre to start coming into effect from August.
"We know this plan is going to happen," Mr Guiney said.
He said the drop in footfall in recent years is largely due to the rise in the number of people working from home. He said from Monday to Friday the footfall has dropped by as much as 15%.
"That is a reality that we are just going to have to deal with."
More needs to be done to communicate these plans to the public, Mr Guiney said.
Speaking on the same programme, Green Party Councillor Janet Horner defended the new traffic restrictions to be put in place in key locations in Dublin so that public transport can be prioritised.
They are not going to restrict people who want to drive into the city but they will reduce the traffic going through the city, she said.
Initial plans will include a "bus gate around Bachelors walk" so "transport will flow much more smoothly there", meaning drivers will be redirected around a longer route, Cllr Horner added.
Also on RTÉ's Today with Colm Ó Mongáin, Keith Gavin from the Irish Parking Association has warned of "serious economic damage" by these measures.
"We have already seen an over 30% decline in car traffic coming in from the city centre," he said, adding the claim: "To spin it as cutting through traffic is disingenuous."
Increased traffic restrictions will put people off from coming in to the city centre, Mr Gavin said.
Council 'hell bent' on removing private cars - cllr
A Dublin city councillor has said Dublin City Council is "hell bent on getting private motorists out of the city".
Nial Ring said that he believes no one is looking at the impact it would have on businesses in the city.
Mr Ring is also lobbying to have the North Circular Road named after him.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that it reflects "a lack of joined-up thinking".
Mr Ring said it is not realistic to be thinking of everyone "cycling and walking around" as he described how a lot of people have to use cars to get to work, hospitals and other places.
"We are putting the cart literally before the horse in terms of transport problems."
Speaking on the same programme, Councillor Darragh Moriarty argued that the research carried out by the council shows that six in ten cars are not going to a destination in the city centre.
"They are trying to get through it to get to somewhere else. There are numerous other alternative routes that they could take rather than clogging up our city centre streets. I think the quays, for example, haven't worked for decades," he said.
Mr Moriarty added that councillors have set ambitious targets to reduce city centre traffic by 40% by 2028 and, in order to reach those targets, they have to enact actions like this.
He said decisive actions are needed to give more priority to public transport, cyclists and pedestrians.
"This is not about turning people away from the city centre. These plans, in my view, will achieve the opposite of that," he said.
He added that it is about making the city centre a place that people want to spend time in and "unblock the city" of the current traffic jams.
Fine Gael lobbyists want everyone to use their private cars as Uber cars, this would allow them to use the public transport corridors.
Tim Lombard the Fine Gael Retard:
Ridesharing services like Uber could be the solution to rural Ireland’s taxi shortage, a Fine Gael Senator has said.
Today, Taxis for Ireland Coalition will arrive at Leinster House to urge TDs to introduce reforms that will alleviate the situation.
During the pandemic, a significant number of drivers quit the profession and many never returned to it after restrictions came to an end.
