The Irish Times - Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Gormley opposes decision on Dublin 'bus gate'

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MARY MINIHAN

MINISTER FOR the Environment and Green Party leader John Gormley has described the decision to temporarily scale back the College Green “bus gate” as “a retrograde step”.

Dublin city councillors voted on Monday night to lift the ban on private cars passing through the area during peak evening hours from November 18th to January 15th.

“I think the decision to abandon the ‘bus gate’ for the time being in the evenings is really based on fear not facts,” Mr Gormley said.

“I respect councils and local government and want to see more decisions made locally, but as a Dublin TD and resident, the decision Fine Gael and Labour councillors made was a bad one . . . It’s a retrograde step.”

Mr Gormley said the bus corridor was making life easier for people who used buses or bicycles, but the move by the council “steals time from them”.

He said that the last thing that should happen in a recession was for the city to be made less accessible.

“When I hear that car parks are not doing as much business as previously, I have to say that to me that sounds like good news.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said he was “disappointed” at the decision.

“But, importantly, he would welcome the fact that a fixed date has been set for its reintroduction,” said the spokesman.

Labour councillor Dermot Lacey stressed the scaling back was temporary.

“There are 43 agencies or bodies with responsibility for traffic in Dublin.

“When Ministers Dempsey and Gormley sort that out, maybe they can come back to us,” Mr Lacey said.

Representatives from Dublin City Council and Dublin Chamber of Commerce will appear before the Oireachtas transport committee today to discuss the issue.