University College Dublin has called for the Luas light rail line to be extended to its Belfield campus so that traffic flow in south Dublin can be seriously reduced. The college says while it has about 20,000 students, up to 30,000 people use the facilities at Belfield, making it a "major traffic node" for Dublin.
The college has submitted a detailed plan to the Dublin Transportation Office. It says with increasing pressure on parking spaces and the surrounding road network, the situation is no longer sustainable. The submission, seen by The Irish Times, says the lack of an existing public transportation option from outlying areas has resulted in an "increasing dependence on car use" which, it estimates, has risen by 15 per cent at UCD in the last year.
"There has also been an observed decrease in bicycle parking numbers at UCD, indicating the reduction of students residing within two to three kilometres of the Belfield campus. Similar trends are also being observed with the staff population at UCD," says the submission.
The only dedicated public transport options, it notes, are the bus services on the Stillorgan Road, which are not available to thousands of students. UCD is outside the DART catchment and there is no longer a shuttle bus service from the nearest DART station at Sydney Parade to UCD.
Its submission says the current Luas plans would mean the nearest station to UCD would be at Milltown or Windy Arbour, about 1 km west of Belfield and outside walking distance.
It says instead the Luas project team should build a spur or loop line from Luas line B (which will run from Stephen's Green to Sandyford) to UCD from the west of the campus. This would allow access to the campus at the Clonskeagh or Roebuck entrances.
Alternatively, it says an orbital Luas/Metro service should be created involving UCD. This would link Luas and the DART and run through the campus. In the short term, a shuttle bus service between Luas stations and UCD should be provided using integrated ticketing.
The submission breaks down where UCD students come from. About 44 per cent are from Dublin, with 46 per cent from outside Dublin and the rest from Northern Ireland or overseas. It says 80 per cent of staff are from Dublin, 18.5 per cent from outside Dublin and 1.5 per cent from overseas.