MINISTER FOR Transport Noel Dempsey appears to be on a collision course with members of Dublin City Council and the city’s retailers over plans to introduce a “bus gate” in College Green.
Plans for the bus gate envisage a public-transport-only route from Dame Street across College Green to Westmoreland Street. A similar restriction would be in place for private traffic coming in the opposite direction, from D’Olier Street around College Green and into Dame Street.
However under the current proposal, traffic will still be allowed to come from D’Olier Street via College Street and across College Green, to lower Grafton Street and the Nassau Street area.
The bus gate will make it difficult for private motorists from the southwestern and southern approaches to the city to access the central district, including Temple Bar car parks and those in the O’Connell Street area. Motorists finding themselves confronted by the bus gate will be simply expected to turn back.
Complex circuitous routes via the quays will be necessary for private motorists to reach Temple Bar the O’Connell Street area car parks.
Both Mr Dempsey and Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan have expressed impatience with the City Council on the progress of the restrictions. Mr Dempsey said at the launch of the Government’s new sustainable transport strategy, Smarter Travel, that he had hoped the preparation work would have been in place by the “back end of last year” and he gave this coming July as a deadline for having the barrier in place.
Later, speaking on the radio, radio Mr Ryan accused opposition councillors on the Council of dragging their feet.
But Dublin Chamber, which represents business interests in the city, said it believed the plan was “premature”, as its main purpose was to deal with traffic congestion in the city centre during Metro North. It said car access to the city centre was still important to retailers, who did not need further impairments to business, given the current downturn.
A spokesman also questioned the wisdom of limiting access to O’Connell Street in advance of the proposed bridges across the Liffey at Hawkins/ Marlborough Street and Macken Street to the north quays.
The Dublin City Business Association was even more adamant in its opposition and said there was no need for the move as most commuters do not access O’Connell Street, but 60 per cent of the area’s shoppers do, arriving and leaving by car outside of rush hours.
The 60 per cent who arrive by car are responsible for 70 per cent of the retail business of the O’Connell Street area, a spokesman maintained. It “will be seriously detrimental to the Dublin economy” and “will inevitably lead to job losses”, said spokesman Tom Coffey.
Labour councillor and chairman of Dublin City Council Transport Policy Committee, Seán Kenny rejected Mr Dempsey’s criticism that councillors were not moving as fast as they might and said the committee members only formally saw the plans for the first time at the last strategic policy committee meeting.
Fine Gael leader on the council Gerry Breen was even more critical of the ministers, and extended his criticism to the plan itself calling it “a folly to beat all follies”.
The plans are now on display at the Civic Offices and on the Dublin City Council website.
