QUALITY OF life, environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness should underpin a vision to guide transport planners in the greater Dublin area, according to the results of public consultation by the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO).
People identified accessibility and stress reduction as key objectives for a 20-year transport strategy covering the period 2010 to 2030.
The feedback also emphasised the importance of ensuring access to jobs and services.
Respecting the natural environment was also often mentioned, with a key issue being carbon dioxide and other emissions from transport, which many felt should be addressed by encouraging a shift to public transport, walking and cycling.
When commenting on the main issues, people noted that the legacy of past planning decisions was constraining the options open to planners in the future.
People also said it highlighted the need for more "joined-up thinking" on transport and land use.
Among the 3,500 people who completed the DTO's online questionnaire earlier this year, many pointed to the impact that long travel times were having on communities and business, and called for urban areas to be designed more attractively.
DTO director John Henry said the public input would inform the "guiding principles" of the new strategy.
"We will launch a second phase of public consultation on this in early 2009, and we plan to come back to the public a third and final time in late 2009 before publishing a final transport strategy for the greater Dublin area in early 2010," Mr Henry added.
Information on the www.2030 vision.ie website has been made available in Irish, English, Polish, Mandarin Chinese and Lithuanian.
It was accessed largely by people in Dublin and surrounding counties.
