Merrion Gates closure plan shelved

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has shelved plans to close Dublin’s Merrion Gates level crossing to traffic and build a flyover between Strand Road and Merrion Road in Dublin 4, following huge local opposition. However, the authority has warned that traffic congestion at Merrion Gates is likely to worsen and a solution will have to be found in the future. It is also developing a new off-road cycle route, likely to involve property acquisition at Seapoint. In October 2016, the NTA published plans to tackle lengthy tailbacks on the Merrion Road and Rock Road caused by the funnelling of traffic through Merrion Gates into the narrow Strand Road towards Ringsend.

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Plan to close Merrion Gates to build the Sandymount to Blackrock cycle path may be deferred

A €48 million plan to close Dublin’s Merrion Gates level crossing to traffic and build a cycle path from Sandymount to Blackrock is in disarray, almost 18 months after first being proposed. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has said it can find no “viable alternative” to the construction of a two-way traffic flyover between Strand Road and Merrion Road in Dublin 4, a proposal which has been strongly opposed in the surrounding area. The NTA is now considering splitting the project to allow the section of cycle track south of the Merrion Gates to progress, while deferring the controversial flyover and gates closure. A committee of councillors from Dublin city and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown will be convened in the coming weeks to consider the move.

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Transport authority board did not review Government Metro announcement

The board of the National Transport Authority (NTA) did not review the announcement by the Government of the new MetroLink project before it was published last month. The €3 billion MetroLink is a central element of the Government’s new infrastructure programme. Minutes just published of a recent NTA board meeting also appear to show support at the board for the Dart Underground project, funding for which was not included in the recent 10-year Government programme. The NTA said that details announced by the Government last month as part of its investment programme were reviewed by NTA management but not the board. In response to queries it said that the board would review the final selected route and project after a public consultation programme now under way. A spokesman also said the board had been updated regularly on progress on the Metro plan, including details of the emerging preferred route, announced on March 22nd.

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'Over budget, over time, over and over again' - the curse of thinking too big

Last Thursday saw the release by the National Transport Authority (NTA) of the preferred routing for the next addition to the Dublin tram system, formerly called Metro North and re-christened MetroLink. This will be an expansion of capacity on the existing Green line from Sandyford in the south of the city and a new line, much of it underground, through the city centre and on northwards to the airport and Swords. The trams will be bigger than those originally ordered for the Red and Green lines but will operate on the same gauge of track, narrower than mainline or suburban rail. They will squeeze in 500 passengers, mainly standing, when fully loaded, versus around 300 for the shorter first-generation Luas trams. Suburban trains are bigger and can take 1,000 passengers or even more. Total cost for MetroLink is estimated at €3,000m, which would make it easily the most expensive single project ever undertaken in Ireland.

Read the full article @ Irish Independent

Car-pooling website unveiled

A new website that connects people looking to car pool has been launched by the National Transport Authority.

Free to use, carsharing.ie, is part of a 'smarter travel' initiative already being used by several organisations such as Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and NUI Galway, with over 1,000 people already sharing lifts to and from work.

The authority hopes the site will encourage commuters to seek lifts instead of driving alone, thereby taking a number of cars off the roads.

"It is a key part of our smarter travel policy - with petrol going up and more people becoming aware of our environmental challenges, we can use technology to get people together," Minister of State for Transport Alan Kelly said.

"Our pockets and environment will benefit - this will make it easier, cheaper and more sustainable to get people from A to B. it will be especially useful for games, concerts and other events."

Mr Kelly said the site was designed to aid those who do not have immediate access to such services or were not within walking or cycling distance of their destination.

The site includes an interactive map to help people plan their journeys and either get in contact with members of a privately formed group or the wider public group who might be travelling the same route.

Director of public transport at the authority, Anne Graham, described the website as an alternative option to single-usage cars and part of its overall travel planning initiatives.

"The service is open to everyone to use in workplaces, organisations, clubs and individually all over Ireland," she said.

While the 2006 census showed that only six per cent of commuters regularly car pooled on their way to work, a survey carried out last year by the authority found that 44 per cent of car drivers would consider it as a commuting option.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Transport body dismisses claims it has no interest in bus corridors

THE NATIONAL Transport Authority has described as “utter nonsense” claims by environmentalists that it has “no interest” in the provision of more quality bus corridors (QBCs) in Dublin.

“The allegations that the quality bus network project office is targeted for ‘dismantling’ and that the National Transport Authority is ‘an agency which has no interest in their construction’ are utter nonsense,” a spokeswoman said.

James Nix, transport policy co-ordinator for the Irish Environmental Network, had claimed that low-cost, bus-priority measures were not being progressed in favour of promoting much more expensive rail schemes such as Metro North.

The authority’s spokeswoman said Dublin City Council had agreed to transfer the quality bus network design office to the authority where it was operating in the same manner.

“Work is continuing, as it had been prior to the transfer, in the design and delivery of QBC schemes.

“In addition, the remit of the office is being widened to include delivery of other sustainable transport schemes such as quality cycleways, accessibility schemes, development of recreational cycling and walking routes, as well as providing technical assistance,” she said.

Given the authority’s wider remit it was also intended to “utilise the capabilities of the office to support the delivery of QBCs, cycling and walking projects in regional cities” as well as in Dublin “and it will continue performing that role in an undiminished manner”.

Referring to delays in the implementation of the North Wall QBC, to link Busáras with the Dublin Port Tunnel, the spokeswoman said the route required resurfacing.

She said that as soon as this was done “later this year” lane markings for the QBC would be laid down.

Mr Nix had also claimed that a proposed QBC in Bray, Co Wicklow, which local councillors had voted to facilitate by removing space for parking on the town’s main street, was “not now to progress as planned” and that work on it had actually been halted.

The National Transport Authority’s spokeswoman said it had agreed with Bray Town Council to fund widening of the existing bridge over the river Dargle, and this would now proceed as “a key element with significant potential for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport”.

Bus priority measures on Florence Road would also be introduced “as soon as possible”, while a lower-cost scheme, involving less disruption to retailers, was now planned for Bray’s main street that would deliver the QBC objectives and give “better value for money”.

Referring to a proposed QBC for the N81 in Tallaght, the spokeswoman said that the central section of it had been omitted because it would have a “very low bus flow”.

However, she said construction of the other sections would commence in the third quarter of this year.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

NTA opens consultation on transport in Dublin to 2030

THE NATIONAL Transport Authority (NTA) has opened an “extensive” public consultation on its draft transport strategy for the greater Dublin area, looking to 2030 and beyond.

“When our economy grows, we need to be ready for the additional journeys and traffic that this will bring,” said NTA chief executive Gerry Murphy. “Long-term transport planning plays a fundamental part in preparing for this future.”

The strategy includes implementation of both Metro North and Metro West as well as Dart Underground, a new Luas line from Lucan to the city centre with a possible extension to Poolbeg and another line serving the southwest (via Kimmage).

It also envisages extending the Luas Green Line to Bray, followed by southwards extension of Metro North enabling its services to run on to the Green Line. This would involve more tunnelling in the city, south of St Stephen’s Green.

Dealing with suburban rail services, the strategy proposes an additional track between Balbriggan and Connolly, Cherry Orchard and Inchicore, together with closures of level crossings, to enable increased train frequencies and reliability.

It also pledges the introduction and further development of Smartcard ticketing, a transition to an integrated zone-based fare system within the metropolitan area and good quality passenger interchange points with waiting areas and well-planned connections.

Mr Murphy said the NTA’s strategy was “not simply a list of transport infrastructure measures”, but also proposed changes in the management and operation of the existing transport network “to make best use of what we already have available to us”.

In addition, the strategy, drafted over the past three years, “sets out policies to integrate land use planning and transportation service delivery, and highlights the importance of personal travel management in ensuring that the region fulfils its true potential.”

There had already been consultation with members of the public and with business and community and public representatives. The draft will be finalised for presentation to the next Minister for Transport in May/June following the last round of public consultation.

Copies of the strategy and its associated environmental documents are available for download and comment on the NTA’s consultation website, 2030vision.ie. They are also on display in its offices at Dún Scéine, Iveagh Court, Harcourt Lane, Dublin 2.

Public comments and feedback are welcomed until the closing date of April 11th.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie