The business community in Dublin city centre is calling for an immediate suspension to the College Green bus corridor. SHANE O'DONOGHUEreports
DESPITE THE announcement of reduced prices for on-street parking at crucial shopping times, the Dublin City Business Association (DCBA) has called for the immediate suspension of the College Green traffic restrictions near Trinity College in Dublin, citing a significant drop in revenue generated in the city centre since the scheme was opened on July 27th.
At Monday’s monthly meeting of Dublin City Council, a petition signed by 174 members of the Mandate trade union working in Brown Thomas was presented asking for the bus gate to be removed as the workers fear for their jobs.
"We're pressing for a suspension of the bus gate as it is," David McCormick, chairman of the DCBA, told The Irish Times.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. At the very least a derogation for Thursday night shopping is needed,” he said.
“Our position is that we have always felt that the bus priority measure in front of Trinity College and the College Green was premature. Without the Macken Street Bridge in place it was always going to have a detrimental effect.
“The evidence is very clear in terms of business at this stage. It has affected both occupancy of car parks and footfall – most significantly on Thursday nights,” he said.
In response, Brendan O’Brien, head of technical services in the Roads and Traffic Department of Dublin City Council, said the bus corridor’s purpose is to ease the passage of public transport through the centre of Dublin at peak traffic times. In this regard, he said, it has already been counted as a success.
“In terms of what it was set out to do, to help free up public transport in the city centre, our information and the information given to us by Dublin Bus suggests that the bus corridor has been a success.
“Additionally, as there is less traffic in that area, it is a better area for pedestrians and cyclists,” he said.
Dublin Bus reports a significant improvement in fleet operation in and around the College Green area, with journey times being less variable than before. That is despite the displacement of traffic causing congestion elsewhere.
Conor Faughnan, of AA Ireland, suggests the quays on the north side of the River Liffey are notably busier.
“There is evidence that there is heavier traffic on the north quays because of the bus corridor. You’ve got more traffic coming down Christ Church and heading onto the quays,” he said.
“That is a much larger flow than it was before and there is some congestion . . . there seems to be less traffic through the affected bus-gate area. The picture will become clearer in the next few weeks.”
The DCBA stresses the importance of drivers to the survival of inner-city retailers and says a considerable reduction in the number of motorists shopping during the all-important Thursday late-night opening hours is one of the biggest knock-on effects of the new bus corridor.
“The car-borne shopper is critical to the viability of any city centre,” said McCormack. “And while we are very supportive of all measures to encourage commuters to use public transport, we do need the car-borne shopper to have free, unhindered access into the city centre because they would be a very significant part of the spend.”
He acknowledges a major part of the problem is that drivers tend to avoid the College Green area completely, regardless of the time of operation.
The restrictions are from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday. During those times the affected zone is only accessible by buses, taxis and cyclists.
Faughnan likens the effect to that caused by the hours of usage for bus lanes. “You certainly see the same phenomenon in bus lanes. If a bus lane is marked at all there’s a tendency to not go into it. It’ll take time for people to become familiar with this. For example, you can access College Green and all the car parks there but motorists tend to think you can’t go there at all.”
Dublin City Council has employed the use of an electronic VMS (variable message sign) in Christ Church to tell motorists when the affected area is open to regular traffic but, according to the AA, there has been at least one occasion on which the sign was displaying incorrect messages.
McCormick says information has not been conveyed adequately to the public. “They have perceived that the whole issue of bringing a car into Dublin is a hassle.”
Dublin City Council is monitoring the situation and is aware of the DCBA’s position. “Our traffic statistics for the area show that, off-peak and weekends, a large proportion of people are still using the area,” said O’Brien.
“We’re always ready to meet with the business community and discuss if there are particular difficulties and what can be done to improve that. We’re committed to providing a comprehensive six-month review of the situation.”
In response, McCormick said that the restrictions were imposed prematurely. “We understand there have to be restrictions of private cars but this was premature; it was before the Macken Street Bridge was put in and this is the point we made at the outset. Yes, by all means bring in these measures, but in an integrated and holistic way, not in this piecemeal way.
“The problem is that we’re now waiting six months to see the results and the damage will have been done.”
At Monday’s meeting, John Tierney, city manager of Dublin City Council, confirmed he will update the Lord Mayor – with regards to losses incurred by businesses – at the next meeting, following discussions with business representatives.