Motor traffic to be moved away from quays near Heuston Station

Quays Dublin
The plan would remove the road along the quay and extend the Croppies Acre memorial park (left) out onto the quayside

— Plan linked to, but separated from public consultation on rest of quays walking and cycling route
— Buses to be given priority “in shadow of” Luas
— Park would join up with riverside

Plans to extend the Croppies Acre memorial park, at the front of Collins Barracks, out onto the riverside are at an advanced stage — the move would allow for a car-free public park and two-way walking and cycle route along a central section of the north quays.

Eastbound motor traffic would be diverted away for about 500 meters of the north quays between Heuston Station and Blackhall Place. Public consultation could start in the new year, according to the city council.

The emerging design option includes diverting motor traffic along a new route from Heuston Station across the Frank Sherwin Bridge where traffic would follow the Luas red line before moving back onto the quays near the main vehicle entrance to Collins Barracks.

Buses would follow a similar route but at the entrance to Collins Barracks buses would continue to follow the Luas line until Church Street, at the Four Courts. This could allow for a higher quality walking and cycling route on the quays, while limiting impacts on private traffic and buses.

Brendan O’Brien, of the traffic department of Dublin City Council detailed the plans to the city’s traffic and transport committee last Wednesday.

He told the committee that a Part 8 planning process — which includes public consultation — would start “probably in the new year”. The rest of the quays walking and cycling route will be part of a separate public consultation process.

As well as forming part of the walking and cycling route and linking the park with the river, O’Brien said part of the reason for the plan is the flooding of the quays which has become a regular yearly issue which has caused major traffic disruption.

Here’s our outline of traffic diversions based on the presentation:

(article continues below)

Croppies Acre B

O’Brien said: “Part of the emerging design at Croppies Acre the idea would be to leave the buses to run behind (buildings) and parallel with the Luas as far as Church Street which would give (buses) a very high level of priority in that area, running basically in the shadow of the priority that we give to Luas. That’s the suggestion which we will put out and we will have to have further discussion with Dublin Bus.”

Keeping buses alongside Luas tracks until Church Street could solve the issue of the north quays worst pinch points and allow for a higher quality quay-side walking and cycling route without having to resort to boardwalks and the removal of sections of the quay or bridge walls.

Cllr Ciaran Cuffe (Green), the former junior transport minister and now chair of the transport committee, said: “I sense that it will be an issue of much debate and the sooner we can get a more general discussion about it the better. I’m pleased that the manager has brought forward proposals here today and the time for debate starts here.”

Cllr Mannix Flynn (independent) accused the council of demonising and neglecting the park so they could move forward with their plans. He said he would fight the proposals as he sees it as an erosion of green space. The official plan, however, seems to be more about moving the green space to the quay side, not removing it altogether.


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9 comments

  1. They still have not put in a dedicated Cycleway and Pedestrian Zone along the Quays.It only partly solves the problem of those horrible Buses on the Quays and it still has those horrible cars along the route. It will have Buses turning back onto the Quays before the Four Courts causing the same problems that happened to that Cyclist and the nasty Bus Driver a while ago. If anything it might be worse because of Buses turning at Church Street onto the Quays. What with the Cars and the Cyclists trying to Travel then having to contend with turning Buses.

    There needs to be a dedicated Cycleway and Pedestrian Zone along the Quays with no Motorists at all , do it right instead of pandering to Motorists. The Luas route was a fairly quiet route for Cyclists until it was turned into the Luas line forcing Cyclists onto the dangerous Quays. I would love to see no Traffic at all on both Quays, it would be absolutely beautiful with just Cyclists and Pedestrians and Restaurants and Bars with outdoor seating at the Quayside.

    Reply
  2. John — you’re being overly negative.

    The two-way cycle route is planning to be segregated on the quay side from the Point to the Park, the bit of the plan outlined above is being looked at seprately because it’s complex in its own right.

    While traffic-free quays may sound lovely it does not take into account of the need of buses and a need to allow residents, businesses and shoppers access, and the lack of alternatives.

    The planned segregated cycle route should be a massive improvement — we should hold out to see the design of the route before getting too negative.

    Reply
  3. What is the point of this ridiculous idea? Who will benefit from this?

    They should let the buses run “in the shadow of the Luas” all the way to Busaras and then on to Custom House Quay. All other motorised traffic gets off at Church Street to then continue through King/Dorset Street then further on to The North Circular Road to rejoin the quays. This “ring road” will get through traffic off the quays. It will have roads looping into the city centre at locations were access is needed inside the ring road.

    The quays from 4 courts to the Custom House would be traffic free. This way we create a promenade, with plenty of room for cyclists, in the centre of town.

    Reply
  4. “part of the reason for the plan is the flooding of the quays” — so they’re dumping the cyclists closer to the river.

    Reply
  5. Would taxis be allowed drive on the Luas corridor as far as Church St? I think that would be a lousy outcome for public transport. I’d agree that it might make sense to allow buses to use the corridor beyond Church St, but it depends on the volume of buses. Would all inbound buses currently using the north quays (for example, from Blackhall Place) be diverted onto this route?

    Separately, I’m guessing Mannix Flynn is upset about the fact that Parkgate/Benburb St would presumably have to be widened, eating into the park. I’d also expect that they’d want to put a road through the small park where the Anna Livia statue is located to align with Sherwin Bridge.
    I think there’s definitely some merit in the overall idea if they can improve provision for buses, pedestrians and cyclists. It’ll all depend on the details though.

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  6. Sorry to be critical Cian , if the Segregated Cycleway goes in as good as the Portobello to Sheriff St one then I will be delighted I did not know it was still planned. But I would prefer if they removed all Motorised Traffic on the Quays. However they could possibly put two way Traffic on the South Quays instead and slow that down to 25 km although I cannot see that happening.

    Would there be room on that Luas Track for Buses all the way to Bus Arus Sam Lowery I think not. It gets narrow in parts . They would have to cut away chunks of the Paths to give more space for Buses. They might have to Reroute the bulk of Traffic up Nth King Street and Bolton and (Dorset Street) or onto Parnell Street at Capel Street Junction.

    If it goes in as planned there will be an awful lot of Bus Traffic turning that corner at Church Street onto the Quays at the Four Courts running into all the cars already on the route and the Cyclists on it as well. Lots of Pollution for Cyclists and the Pedestrians on the Quays as it already is at the moment.

    Reply
  7. Would be nicer if they had the Luas along the keys with cycling track and wider paths to sit out etc. I imagine the luas would take less space tan the busses and cars and is alot cleaner. Probably far too expensive though

    Reply
    • The problem is that Luas needs the space for tracks going in both directions and platforms at stops — that takes up more room than a single traffic lane.

      Reply

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