The acceleration of traffic restrictions across Dublin city centre, which will see roadspace reallocated from cars to cyclists and pedestrians, has been approved by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan. The curbs are among 35 “pathfinder” projects designed to transform public transport, walking and cycling in 19 counties over the next three years.
Mr Ryan said he wants to see the phased removal of cars from Dublin’s College Green from next year, in advance of the development of a new civic plaza. However, he also said he also wanted to see “major changes” on the north and south quays at sites such as Beresford Place, which runs around the Custom House; Gardiner Street, Pearse Street, Tara Street and St Stephen’s Green.
“Dublin City Council has been specific about what they plan to do around College Green. We will have to come forward with similar proposals for the likes of Beresford Place and do it in a co-ordinated way,” he said.
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The wide multi-laned one-way traffic routes on Tara Street, Pearse Street and St Stephen’s Green were no longer appropriate for the city, he said.
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“I think it is absolutely right for us to say that within three years we’re going to move away from the current system, which is all about getting cars through the city, towards something that’s much more favourable to public transport, public realm, and pedestrians and cyclists.”
Apart from College Green and Dame Street, he said, the changes being advanced would not result in a “car ban — not completely”.
“We need to take that road space and use it to make a better public environment a safer place to walk and cycle,” he said. “The car has its place but it’s not in multi-lane motorway systems through our city centre.”
The pathfinder projects have already been allocated funding, mostly as part of the National Transport Authority’s annual active travel grants. However, in what Mr Ryan described as a “tight funding environment”, some pathfinder projects would secure funds if they met their timelines while other projects might not.
An implementation team would oversee local authorities progress and would hold their “feet to the fire”, Mr Ryan said. If they failed to meet timelines their pathfinder status and funding would be withdrawn and allocated to another project.
The 35 projects currently in the pathfinder pool include a train station in Moyross, Co Limerick, the electrification of buses in Athlone, Co Westmeath, and the Galway Cross City Link to provide a bus and cycle corridor across the city.
Other Dublin projects include inland segregated cycling facilities in Dún Laoghaire and Blackrock, the development of an 11km cycle network in Tallaght and the transformation of Castletymon into a 10-minute neighbourhood using walking and cycling infrastructure. In Fingal, a project will be undertaken to improve cycling connectivity between Swords and Dublin Airport.
Cycle networks and corridors will be installed in several counties including Wexford, Longford, Meath, Waterford, Louth, Westmeath, Wicklow and Cork.
“There is a real issue in transport that it takes decades to deliver projects and what we want to do with these pathfinder projects is to show that we can deliver quickly — that we can in the next three years deliver these projects,” Mr Ryan said.
