Sir, - I have waited with bated breath in recent weeks to see what bold imaginative initiative would issue from Fingal Council in deciding how best to use the unique resource that is the former Phoenix Park racecourse. I dreamed that the council would look at the Dublin city traffic chaos, which has a huge impact on so many of its residents, and lay down a marker by creating a park-and-ride facility in co-operation with Dublin Corporation. This would be linked to a quality bus corridor through the Phoenix Park and along both North and South quays, plus a DART link from a station at Ashtown. Then, having begun thus, they would repeat the experiment with a similar facility - also connected to the DART - at Baldoyle.
No doubt such an initiative would have many potential pitfalls, such as the need for significant investment in public transport, but at least it would begin to address the problem of daily gridlock.
Now I see the fruits of their sage deliberations. What do you get when you cross the N3 with the M50? Yet another 1,000 houses (and probably another 2,000 cars). - Yours, etc., Brendan Treacy,
Drumree,
Co Meath.