— Now is the time for people, groups, and businesses who want progress to speak up loud and clear.
Comment & Analysis: What’s happening with the Dublin City Centre Centre Transport Plan? It’s a bit more complicated, but the main issues can be summed up as follows: A majority of councillors want the plan to go ahead without being watered down, but the chief executive is looking to appease people who still don’t seem to be happy and is also waiting for a report from a lobby group set up to oppose the College Green Plaza.
Dublin City Council’s chief executive, Richard Shakespeare, told councillors on Monday that he is awaiting the report commissioned by the Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance before he makes any decision. Is a large part of the problem that he is only getting pressure from people who wish to delay or halt action?
Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance members were listed in a recent letter to councillors as Brown Thomas Arnotts, Jervis Shopping Centre, Retail Excellence Ireland, Restaurants Association of Ireland, Louis Copeland & Sons, Irish Parking Association, Best Car Parks, and Fitzwilliam Real Estate Capital. Five of these have direct links to car parks, and Brown Thomas Arnotts, in particular, has a long history of wrongly claiming transport projects will cause doom to the city centre economy.
The Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance was set up to oppose the College Green Plaza. As far as we know, all it has done is oppose public space, cycle lanes and bus priority measures. It has no website and no social media presence. It seems to mainly be in place to accommodate businesses unhappy with the more moderate or supportive stances of established business groups. Why are the council paying so much attention to them?
Does Shakespeare need to feel pressure from people who don’t want to see climate action, public transport priority, safer and more livable streets delayed and watered down once again?
Looking at everything that’s going on, I think that’s exactly what needs to happen. People, businesses and groups who support the changes should politely but firmly email the chief executive at chiefexecutive@dublincity.ie asking for the changes to be started to be implemented in August and asking for the watering down of the plan to be reverted.
This requires broad action — from a range of people, businesses and groups who use all different modes of transport and want a more sustainable, safer, more attractive city centre in our capital.
Now is the time to act — email Shakespeare and CC the councillors local to where you live, work, or visit; ask others to do the same; ask city-based groups and businesses you are involved in to do the same.
Don’t wait until the plan is delayed or watered down to nothing. Act now.