Since its inception, the latest Dublin City Centre Transport scheme has stimulated a significant amount of discourse and deliberation about the city’s traffic future. A principal component of this scheme is the reduction of traffic flow through the city centre by approximately 60%, targeting primarily those on a through-route. The reduction in traffic, it is hoped, will result in more reliable and faster public transport journeys and allow for larger civic spaces and the promotion of active travel.
Recently, city officials in Dublin were informed that some of the limitations of the scheme were being scaled back, with the rules now only applicable between the hours of 7am and 7pm each day.
The 2023 canal cordon tally revealed that 25% of people who travelled to the city centre did so via private car. A case can be made that the public space designated to private vehicles in the city doesn’t equate with the number of people utilising their cars for transportation, thus presenting a disproportion.
Across the globe, there are numerous instances of comparable traffic control schemes that have been executed successfully. Have these been instigated without difficulties? The unequivocal response is negative: changes in transport networks frequently provoke debate and require audacity to achieve implementation. The sort of revisions needed – not just in Dublin – equally demand determination and dedication.
The international consensus demonstrates a number of effects that occur in urban centres when vehicular traffic is reduced. Most notable among these are a surge in foot traffic and retail business, and enhanced air quality. One doesn’t have to strain to find evidence of this. With pedestrianisation of Capel Street in 2022, there has been an uplift of 17% in foot traffic and 27% escalation in cycling.
In 2022, the Climate Change Advisory Council contracted the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to compile a study titled ‘Redesigning Ireland’s Transport for Net Zero’. According to the study’s major findings, repurposing road space will play a key role in trimming down the carbon output of our transportation network as we stride towards carbon neutrality. If we are incapable of enforcing these changes in Dublin, which boasts the country’s finest public transport network, the chances of achieving the OECD’s suggested increased road space repurposing elsewhere in the country seem bleak.
Contradictors of the plan often argue that our city lacks an adequate public transit system. It’s undeniably true that the history of Dublin’s public transport development is both lengthy and exasperating. The newest light rail infrastructure dates back over six and a half years. This coming September will mark two years since the railway plan for Metrolink was presented to An Bord Pleanála. The rail project closest to completion in the city currently is a 4km extension of the green line to Finglas, which could take as long as a decade to complete from its inception.
There are plans to have Metrolink and Luas extensions to Bray, Finglas, Lucan and Poolbeg (which equates to an additional 44km of rail, with over a 40% of it being underground) in place by 2040. To put it into perspective, it has taken nearly three decades to construct the existing 40km of Luas lines in the city. It’s commendable that there is some progress on Dart+, however, the pace of delivering new rail lines in the city has been persistently sluggish and disheartening.
The city’s new transport proposal aims significantly to boost the performance of public transportation and optimise the existing system. Key elements of this plan involve addressing bottleneck locations, minimising delays, and enhancing the dependability of bus services. BusConnects seems to be the foremost public transportation scheme expected to come to fruition within the coming decade. Expect it to touch every sector of the city, enhancing commuting times, air purity, and safety throughout the metropolis. Implementing such a plan will require unfaltering dedication and backing by local governing bodies to uphold its full potential and reap all possible benefits. Any setbacks in our transportation plans at this stage could harm our ability to meet our environmental objectives, resulting in worsened air conditions for citizens and the increased occurrence of traffic congestion. Ambitious goals regarding emission reductions set for the transport industry seem unlikely to be fulfilled according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent statistical modeling.
The responsibility falls on Dublin City Council to keep the public updated about the state of play with the new transport system as it gradually takes effect. It’s recognised that the initial phases following any amendment to the traffic network could evoke disturbance and, in instances, mayhem. However, these hiccups are typically short-term as observed when the Luas cross city was first rolled out. The crucial message is that considerable transformation is necessary for the city. Sure, the transition won’t be smooth, but we must approach it with a commitment to teamwork and mutual cooperation. This sense of unity was demonstrated when cross-party personalities voted for the scheme, aiding it in reaching this juncture. The newly appointed CEO of Dublin City Council mirrored this sentiment in the Climate Neutral Dublin 2030 2024 report, stating, “We acknowledge that achieving neutrality by 2030 and beyond requires everyone’s involvement. Everyone should be prepared to work and invest in the future of our city and the generations that follow.”
The author, Brian Caulfield, holds a professorial role in transportation at Trinity College Dublin.