The new M1 motorway could become as congested as the M50 if the current cap on retail warehouses is lifted to facilitate an Ikea furniture store on the north side of Dublin, according to a study by consultant engineers hired by rival retailers.
Swedish retailer Ikea has expressed an interest in establishing a store of 28,000 sq metres (301,390 sq ft) near Dublin, but this could only happen if the retail warehousing cap of 6,000 sq metres (64,584 sq ft) is lifted.
The study, commissioned by the Irish Hardware and Building Materials Association, was based on a hypothetical site on the south-east side of Swords, close to Dublin Airport and some six miles north of the city centre.
Consultant engineers T.J. O'Connor and Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick said this site was chosen because its proximity to a high-quality road network would make it accessible to car-borne traffic from all over Ireland.
They estimated that a giant retail warehouse at this location, next to the Airside Business Park, would increase traffic volumes on the M50 by 5 per cent on weekdays, 7 per cent on Saturdays and 9 per cent on Sundays.
"The M50 is often congested, particularly during peak hours both on weekdays and at weekends. During the week, a relatively small increase in daily traffic volumes will compound the problems already being caused by commuter traffic."
At weekends, the study found that the increased traffic generated by Ikea would have the greatest impact about 3 p.m., "causing the peak volumes to rise to levels similar to those experienced during morning weekday peak periods".
Traffic on the southern section of the M1, between Whitehall and Swords, would increase by 7 per cent on weekdays, 10 per cent on Saturdays and up to 13 per cent on Sundays, according to the consultant engineers.
"The resulting peak flows would be more than 2,500 vehicles per hour on Saturdays and nearly 3,000 vehicles per hour on Sundays in each direction - significantly higher flows than are already experienced on the congested M50."
Although traffic volumes on the N1 (the Swords by-pass) have fallen since the M1 opened just east of it, the study found that they would be increase by 19 per cent on weekdays, 25 per cent on Saturdays and 32 per cent on Sundays.
"The additional traffic on the N1 could cause serious congestion, particularly on the approaches to the airport roundabout," according to the study, which said this could be relieved by building a new access road from the M1.
It said however that the traffic generated by a huge Ikea store would use some 13 per cent of the M1's capacity. "The additional pressure on this southern section of the M1 could result in levels of traffic congestion similar to the M50."
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, is still studying whether to lift the current cap on retail warehouses. However, he has made it clear that any large-scale development would have to be in line with the National Spatial Strategy.
