Light rail can improve city, inquiry told

Dublin city centre would become an attractive and environmentally friendly place in which to live, work and visit following the commissioning of the light rail system for the city, the author of the Environmental Impact Statement associated with the system said yesterday.

Mr Bernard McHugh, managing director of McHugh Consultants, who was giving evidence at the public inquiry into the making of a Light Railway Order, said light rail transit would provide an attractive new urban transport service, reducing private car use and improving air quality.

LRT, he said, would link up with Heuston Station and in time be extended to Connolly Station where it would interface with the existing DART service.

It would also be a short walk from the country bus station at Busaras and would provide convenient interchanges with city buses at the city centre, Tallaght Town Centre and elsewhere along the route. Through-ticketing would be available to allow passengers to switch between train, tram and bus.

In the city-centre area, the construction of LRT would enable more extensive areas of pedestrianisation and public transport priorities to be implemented.

"The new LRT system for Dublin is intended as a clear statement about the future role of public transport in the DTI area," said Mr McHugh, who added that he believed it would provide an attractive alternative to excessive use of the private car in the greater Dublin area.

The population living within a walking catchment area of the line between Tallaght and Middle Abbey Street was about 65,000, while the number employed in the same catchment area was about 120,000, he said. Mr McHugh said he expected this figure to increase as a result of the operational phase of LRT as employment opportunities increased in local shops and services.

While there would be temporary community disruption while the line was being built, the construction was expected to create 300 jobs. Localised traffic restrictions would cause delays, but alternative routes would be sign-posted well in advance.

The proposed LRT route impacted on one proposed Natural Heritage Area, the Grand Canal, which would be affected by LRT bridge construction at two areas. These were at Davitt Road, near Vincent Street West where there would be a pedestrian bridge, and at Grand Canal View, beside Suir Road where there would be an LRT bridge across the canal.

"Careful construction of the new bridges will minimise impacts on the water habitats of the canal," Mr McHugh said.

The construction of the LRT between Heuston Station and Abbey Street would include the relocation of buried pipes and cables. The work would be phased to ensure any negative impacts on air quality would be localised and minimised.

When the route is operational towards the end of the year 2002 its impact on air quality indicated a substantial improvement in the city centre, due to its use of a clean energy source. The reduced level of private car traffic would also contribute to this.

Mr McHugh also said the LRT would have a beneficial impact on property by increasing the attractiveness of the area and strengthening the overall property market in the vicinity of the route, based on experience in other cities.

For Dublin Corporation, Mr Dick Gleeson, a deputy city planning officer, said it was the corporation's belief that the line would have a major role to play in urban renewal.

"Being able to get from the city centre to Smithfield in a matter of minutes by way of LRT will radically alter the way citizens use the city," Mr Gleeson said.