Gentlemen, – Anyone you ask seems to agree that what the city of Dublin chiefly requires isn’t a heavy-duty transport project that’ll not only take forever to finish but will also rip the city apart. What it urgently needs is a broader light-rail network, one that can be readily implemented within our lifespan while keeping costs sensible and disruptions to a minimum. Meanwhile, the eyesores of litter, city centre dilapidation and overall decay need to be urgently addressed, or else why would anyone be eager to visit in the first place? The identification of these problems isn’t new, they’ve been discussed extensively, yet no action seems to be taken and the condition worsens. If it requires instituting a mayor role with authority to execute, then that’s what we should do. – Respectfully,
Dr DAVID O’CONNELL,
Phibsborough,
Dublin 7.
Cowboy Carter track by track review by Beyoncé – It’s like a refreshing downpour after a storm when it finally lets loose.
Gentlemen, – Duncan Stewart has expressed his “worries” about the environmental footprint of constructing Dublin’s Metrolink from the city centre to Swords, however, his knowledge about the project or its priorities, notably carbon emissions reduction, appears lacking (News, March 27th).
The 2016 census reported 8,000 individuals commuting from Swords to the city or further for work or study.This figure rose to 9,000 in the 2022 census. In both years, the census found that 88% commuted via private vehicles. This rate is not decreasing and traffic congestion from this area of Dublin is critical. For the year 2016, the total round-trip distance covered by approximately 5,100 vehicles was 30 km daily. By 2022, the latest census indicated an increase of roughly 1,000 commuters setting off from Swords.This implies an additional 880 cars on the road.
According to 2016 survey data, private vehicles collectively covered a distance of approximately 15,3000 km daily. In order to replace this amount of commuting with buses, we would need a fleet of 58 buses from the Dublin transport system. However, these buses would also be exposed to traffic congestion, albeit less severe. To clarify, Dublin’s primary bus route 41 towards the area only operates 66 buses in each direction on working days. To accommodate the number of commuters during peak hours, we’d need a fleet almost as large as the current weekday service. In comparison, the Metrolink plans to transport 20,000 passengers each hour. If we consider the 5,100 return journeys happening on 230 working days per year, the total distance covered annually becomes 35,190,000km. This would produce 6,133.62 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year in a typical petrol car, excluding high-end ones. An additional 880 daily return trips were introduced in 2022, leading to an increase of 1,000 metric tonnes of carbon emissions per year. If the opening of the Metrolink is postponed until 2037 as anticipated, and if growth continues, we can foresee carbon emissions from commuting via private cars to surpass 10,000 metric tonnes annually, as per sustainabletravel.org’s calculations.
Regards,
Laura Farrell,
Swords,
Co Dublin.