Council traffic plan for quays slammed

PLANNED restrictions on private cars and other traffic using the quays will have a negative impact on Northside communities, the Irish Parking Association (IPA) has warned.

The council say changes are needed before December, when the Luas Cross City link to Broombridge is due to commence.

The new line crosses the North and South Quays at both O’Connell Bridge and the Rosie Hackett Bridge and they’ll become major sources of delays and congestion unless some changes are made.

The proposed scheme includes a new dedicated bus lane from Ormond Quay to Bachelors Walk and across to Eden Quay, with bus stops being extended.

It is also proposed that left turning general traffic will be allowed to access Bachelors Walk as far as O’Connell Bridge to facilitate access to car parks and deliveries into the O’Connell Street, Henry Street and Abbey Street areas.

There are also plans to remove vehicular traffic from Eden Quay at O’Connell Bridge and to reconfigure Eden Quay as far as Marlborough Street as a public transport, cycling and pedestrian only link.

The plans coincide with the proposed Liffey Cycle Route, which could see all private traffic rerouted from the quays between James Joyce Bridge and Fr Mathew Bridge up to North King Street and North Brunswick Street and back down Queen Street or Church Street.

As reported recently in Northside People, Chairman of Stoneybatter Pride of Place, Joe Costello, believes this will create a tsunami of traffic driving onto existing congested streets.

“It will cause mayhem at the junction of Blackhall Place, North King Street., North Brunswick Street, Arbour Hill and Stoneybatter,” he said.

The IPA agrees, and says closing sections of the North Quays will have a “very negative” impact on the residents of the North Inner City.

“The creation of circuitous diversion routes will result in significant increases in vehicular traffic through residential neighbourhoods including Stoneybatter, Smithfield, Dorset Street, Gardiner Street etc, and will lead to a significant deterioration in the quality of life of those living in these communities,” it argues.

 The IPA believes the proposed plans are part of a council “ideological agenda” rather than a logical effort to address traffic in the city centre.

In its submission on the plans, the IPA warned that the Quays are critical to visitors arriving to the capital from the west and the proposals will cut off access to areas such as the IFSC, the Convention Centre, the 3Arena and the Bord Gais Energy Theatre.

Dublin City council wants the changes to come into effect by August, to allow time to ‘bed down’ the changes and facilitate  testing of Luas trams. 

But the IPA has warned that it would be doing everything it could to oppose what it calls “disastrous changes”.

“We will argue that these measures, which will have such far-reaching consequences, deserve much greater consideration and analysis than has been invested in their conception and development heretofore,” an IPA spokesperson said.

The proposed plans are open for public consultation until April 10 and can found online at consultation.dublincity.ie.