Brennan promises bus lane funding

Funding for the extension of quality bus corridors (QBCs) to Cork and Galway, and the doubling of the number of QBCs in Dublin, was promised by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of Traffic Management Guidelines, the State's first manual of its kind,Mr Brennan expressed dismay at continuing traffic congestion in Dublin and in regional cities.

He said he was making €3 million available this year for implementation of QBCs in Cork while a smaller sum, dependent on the readiness of plans, was available to start the process in Galway. In Dublin the cost of doubling the number of QBCs from the current nine was estimated at "tens of millions" of euro.

Mr Brennan also revealed that he has asked the capital's planning and transport authorities - including the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO), Dublin City Council's Director of Traffic, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann - to bring forward "as a matter of urgency", an enhanced traffic plan for the city. By 2005, the Minister said the M50 and the current phase of Luas will be complete, and that together with the port tunnel they "will have a dramatic effect" on congestion in the city. But he said there was a need to "do what we can do immediately" in terms of "practical solutions".

Dublin Bus had demonstrated its effectiveness with passenger numbers up by more than 40 per cent since QBCs were first introduced by the DTO in 1997.

However it made no sense to invest significant sums in the development of a bus fleet which was "mixed in with the private car in traffic jams at peak times".

Asserting that the various bodies with responsibility for traffic management, including his department, need to get their "act together a little more", the Minister called for more co-ordination between the various transport and planning authorities "in terms of what we can do immediately as well as the short term".

He said the manual would assist future transport infrastructure planning by providing a policy document for planners and government officials which details the designation of roads and their strategic function.

Mr John Henry of the DTO said the needs of all road users were addressed in the guidelines. "Of particular significance is the fact that they give guidance on the provision of suitably designed facilities for cyclists, pedestrians and the disabled.

This is especially important given the findings of recent research conducted by the DTO which reveals that of the total of 460,000 people who commute to work or school each day during the peak hour of 8am and 9am, 19,000 cycle while 48,000 walk."