Sir, - I hope that when the National Roads Authority's proposed road linking Dublin with the South-East is built (The Irish Times, February 24th), there is a little more consideration taken of the needs of the non-motoring public than has hitherto been in evidence.
The NRA is as yet uncertain if the road should be a dual carriageway or a motorway. There is of course a world of difference between the two, and not just for motorists. As most of your readers are doubtless aware, cyclists, pedestrians, moped riders and learner drivers are not allowed on motorways, but when this type of road is built they are not catered for elsewhere. They are simply forgotten. Many "minor" roads are closed off permanently to traffic e.g. River Road at Blanchardstown, New Road at Dunsink, roads east of Naul close to the Balbriggan by-pass and so on.
Doubtless the road engineers apply some obscure formula when deciding which roads to close and which to leave open. This however is counter-productive as it forces people in the categories mentioned above, as well as local motorists, onto roads they would not choose and the major roads get busier as a result. Traffic interchange is concentrated on fewer and, as a result, busier road junctions. This has a knock-on effect on the very roads that are being built to circumvent the traffic problems in the first place!
But should we continue to build this type of road at all? The planners of the NRA seem to be among the last dinosaurs of the transport planning world, still labouring under the illusion that more roads will "solve" our traffic problems. Other countries are cancelling major road schemes altogether as they realise that more roads simply mean more cars. Why aren't we learning from their mistakes?
Finally, I hope that when the Waterford bypass is built, the landscape through which it is routed is considered in the design. Cutting a swathe through the countryside simply isn't good enough. It is imperative that every effort is made to soften the impact on the environment. Much greater use of landscaping, earth banks, cuttings and even cut-and-cover techniques should be made, particularly in the more sensitive areas. - Yours, etc.,
Colm O'Brien, Riversdale Park, Dublin 20.