Smaller trucks face ban from Dublin city centre

Articulated lorries with four axles are to be banned from Dublin city centre from mid-2009, despite strong opposition to the move from business lobby Ibec.

A Dublin City Council report has found that the ban on five-axle heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), introduced last February, has resulted in a reduction of 1,500 in the number of lorries on the streets each day.

It says the ban should be extended to smaller lorries.

However, the report also found that the council has spent more than €200,000, up to the end of August, on rebates to hauliers using the East Link toll bridge, a cost that is likely to increase, as the council has decided not to reopen any "surface" routes to Dublin port.

The six-month review provides a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the council's HGV strategy, including the success of the ban in removing lorries from the city, the operation of the permit system for deliveries to city businesses, prosecution of hauliers who break the ban, and the use of transit permits by lorries banned from the Dublin Port Tunnel.

Since February 19th last, lorries with five axles or more have been banned between 7am and 7pm from a city cordon encompassing an area between the Royal and Grand canals, as well as Sandymount, Ringsend and part of the Navan Road.

Two permit systems were introduced with the ban: one to allow deliveries to businesses within the cordon, and another to allow lorries that cannot use the Dublin Port Tunnel to access the port via the city streets.

The ban was initially opposed by hauliers, who said it would lead to increased costs and delays, particularly for drivers coming from the south of the country who would have to take the M50 to the northern entrance of the port tunnel to access the port, instead of using the direct route along the Strand Road/Sean Moore Road.

In response to these objections, city manager John Tierney undertook to review the strategy after six months. That review, seen by The Irish Times, will be put before councillors next week.

The report states that following the opening of the port tunnel last December, 2,600 five-axle vehicles per day voluntarily left the city, and a further 1,500 a day were removed by the HGV ban, leading to the conclusion that "the HGV strategy has achieved its objective".

The ban has been consistently enforced by gardaí, who have turned away "a large number of vehicles" at the cordon boundaries, the report said, and have initiated prosecutions against 150 drivers, who now face fines of €1,500 for breaking the ban.

Following pressure from the Irish Road Haulage Association, the council agreed to pay the East Link toll for hauliers who would have previously used city streets to travel between the north and south ports. This cost the council €200,000 during the period under review.

Hauliers also lobbied for rebates on the West Link M50 toll. The council refused, saying it had no responsibility for this toll. However, the report said the issue would be re-examined once the National Road Authority takes control of Westlink next August.

Ibec wants the council to re- open the southern access route to the port to accommodate hauliers travelling from the south, but the report recommends against reopening any surface routes.