Bus Connects: Ribbons removed from trees on Navan Road

Yellow ribbons that were tied around 150 trees on Navan Road in an attempt to save them from being felled to make way for Bus Connects have been removed.

The ribbons were secured around the trees in August but were removed last week by an unknown party.

Local Labour councillor Declan Meenagh says that removal of the ribbons is an affront to work put in by local residents to highlight the issue.

“It appears this was done by a member of the public, which was a shame, as local people put a lot of effort into highlighting the Bus Connects proposals which will have such a negative impact on their community,” he says.

“I still think we can get a bus lane and cycle lane without removing so many trees.

“The NTA has been very poor at consulting local people and there is still confusion about these proposals.”

Meenagh says that he will be “supporting local people putting these ribbons back up and I hope the NTA will engage on this important issue and respond to many observations which asked for the trees to be saved.”

A local resident’s group, Navan Road Community Council (NRCC) says that the felling of the 150 trees by the National Transport Authority (NTA) to make way for the Bus Connects project will have a negative impact on local air quality and climate change targets.

The group tied the yellow ribbons around the earmarked trees in early August in a symbolic move, asking the NTA to reconsider the current plans.

The initiative follows on from similar campaigns in St Mobhi Road in Glasnevin, Ballsbridge and Terenure, where residents groups also tied ribbons around trees that were tagged for felling.

The NRCC said despite attending two public consultation meetings on the bus corridor and having three meetings with NTA representatives since 2019, it has yet to receive extensive information on the removing of the trees and replanting programme.

“We want to know which trees are going, one by one, and what the plan is for their replacement,” NRCC spokeswoman Pat Allison said.

“We don’t want saplings and twigs, at the very least we want semi-mature Irish trees, and we want to know that is what the NTA intends to provide.”

On its website, the NRCC says: “Our avenue of trees is looking really good at present, but can you imagine what it could look like if a large proportion of these trees were to be felled?

“We have always in our conversations with the NTA stated that we will not accept any tree removal.

“These trees contribute to our quality of life.

“Let’s keep it that way! And let us have a transport system that works for the pedestrian, the cyclist, the commuter, the elderly and the disabled.

“So, our NRCC Committee has now, as other communities have done – placed ribbons on the trees to alert everyone to what might happen if we are not vigilant.”