Traffic 'choke points' could cripple capital

The Automobile Association (AA) has identified eight key traffic choke points which have the potential to bring Dublin to a standstill in minutes.

The agency has pinpointed the sites following recent incidents, in one of which Dublin came to a standstill, with traffic delays clogging traffic back as far as Swords on the M1, after a truck overturned near the Point Depot near the East Link toll bridge.

The choke points they identified are:

l M50 motorway

l North and south quays

along the Liffey

l Pearse Street

l East Link toll bridge

l Port Tunnel

l Red Cow roundabout

l Swords Road

l Doyle's Corner in

Phibsborough

Tressan McCambridge of AA Roadwatch says that Dublin commuters are particularly vulnerable to road foul-ups because they are so car-dependent.

"The fact that we are so car-dependent and have a serious problem with over-capacity on our roads means that it's all down to luck when it comes to getting stuck in traffic jams. The current lack of public transport options also means that people have very little choice but to travel by car.

"And if a vehicle breaks down, it could take a half an hour to clear it, or it could take hours, and those delays will linger and have a knock on effect.

"Some days we can be lucky and other days the traffic situation can be disastrous."

This was clearly illustrated recently, when it took six hours to remove a truck that overturned near the Point Depot, resulting in a major traffic backlog in the Port Tunnel and on the M1. North Wall Quay and East Wall road were also badly hit as a result of the incident.

The accident provoked Fine Gael to call for an emergency traffic plan for the capital, while the party's transport spokesman, Fergus O'Dowd TD, has described the traffic situation in Dublin as balancing on a knife edge.

"The traffic in Dublin is appalling and we have an inadequate organisation to deal with it.

"The fact that one vehicle can bring the whole city to a halt is frankly unacceptable and it just highlights the lack of proper traffic management.

"I think it is something that you might expect to see in a third-world country," he said. "Obviously, the economy has grown over the past few years -- but the public transport system and infrastructure hasn't kept pace with the demand."

There has been 150 per cent growth in traffic since 1993, with an extra 300,000 cars present in Dublin in the past five years alone.

Meanwhile, the publication of the Dublin Transport Authority Bill is expected soon.

NIAMH HORAN
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

Major traffic changes to make M50 even worse

TRAFFIC on the M50 motorway is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, the National Roads Authority (NRA) admitted yesterday.

Sweeping new traffic arrangements being put in place from tomorrow are likely to lead to further congestion on the northbound lanes of the motorway, and it will be at least November before things improve.

Outlining the major diversions yesterday, a spokesman for the contractors SIAC Ferrovial said that traffic impact was "unavoidable" and diversions being put in place would take a "significant" period of time to "settle down".

But there was some good news. The N4 interchange is likely to be finished ahead of time, meaning commuters travelling into the city centre from Lucan should see improvements early in the new year.

The major changes affect the N4 (Lucan), N7 (Red Cow) and Ballymount interchanges. Traffic diversions will be put in place from tomorrow so that major works can be completed and the €1bn upgrade finished by its 2010 deadline.

Between now and Christmas there will also be some night-time work on the M50 as sign gantries must be erected, and it is hoped to have sections of the completed motorway opened to traffic in its final layout early next year.

Until then, two lanes of traffic will be open in each direction between 6am and 10pm, but lane reductions may come into effect at night-time. Also from next month, a recovery service will be put in place for the duration of the works in the event of accidents or cars breaking down.

The main changes affect the interchanges as they are transformed into freeflow spaghetti junctions, which will allow motorists to enter and exit the M50 without having to stop at traffic lights. The diversions should be complete by the end of November.

From tomorrow, the main changes to the N7 / Red Cow are:

l The off-ramp from the M50 southbound to N7 outbound (to Naas) will be closed. Traffic will continue to the Ballymount interchange where it can u-turn back to the N7 using a dedicated freeflow lane. This will be in place for up to four weeks. In early November, the new link from the M50 southbound to N7 outbound will be substantially completed and opened and the u-turn at Ballymount will cease.

l In mid-October, a new freeflow loop road allowing traffic coming from Naas on the N7 to enter the M50 southbound will be opened.

The main changes to the N4 (Lucan) interchange are:

l Traffic from the city centre going onto the M50 northbound will no longer be diverted via the Liffey Valley junction as a new freeflow loop roads will be opened.

l Vehicles coming from the city centre, and entering the M50 southbound lane, will be diverted via the Liffey Valley junction before making a u-turn and heading back towards the city centre where they can use a slip road to gain access to the southbound M50.

Irish Independent