11,000 fewer vehicles in Dublin city rush hour

Dublin city centre traffic has eased significantly over the past 10 years according to new figures from Dublin City Council, which show a drop of almost one sixth in the number of cars entering the city during morning rush hour.

Despite a widespread perception that city gridlock has increased in recent years, council figures show the number of motorists commuting to the city centre each morning has fallen by more than 11,000 since 1997.

A count of vehicles, taken at each road into the city centre between a cordon stretching from the Royal Canal on the city's northside to the Grand Canal to the south, shows the numbers of cars entering the city between 7am and 10am has fallen from 73,561 in 1997 to 62,489 in 2006, a drop of more than 15 per cent.

The survey also found a fall in the number of goods vehicles entering the city during the morning peak. Some 30 per cent fewer lorries and vans were coming into the city, from 3,283 in 1997 to 2,291 last year.

The figure is particularly surprising considering the survey took place before the city council introduced its ban on Heavy Good Vehicles (HGVs) in the city.

Conor Faughnan of AA Ireland said that while the figures did show fewer commuters entering the city centre, orbital traffic around the city had worsened.

"Traffic in the centre has been improving but that's not for a moment to say that Dublin's traffic problem is solved - that would be self-evidently ludicrous."

Mr Faughnan said he was more surprised by the reduction in the number of goods vehicles, but said it could relate to an industry changeover to larger lorries.

The reduction in car traffic could partly be due to improvements in public transport, he said.

The council survey found that the number of buses entering the city had increased by 15 per cent, from 1,459 to 1,680 last year.

The most disappointing part of the survey, Mr Faughnan said, was the reduction in the number of cyclists from 5,628 in 1997 to 4,839 in 2006. The number of motorcycles increased from 1,618 to 2,395.