Dublin City Taskforce report calls for acceleration of traffic plan; campaigners say city “cannot wait another decade” for “blatantly obvious measures”

Opponents of the Dublin City Centre Traffic Plan had called for a report from Taoiseach’s Taskforce for Dublin to be published before the traffic plan progressed, but now the taskforce report says that the transport plan should be accelerated.

The Dublin City Taskforce report recommendation states: “Acceleration of the City Centre Transport Plan with provision for regular review and amendment if required”.

The report recommends that Dublin City Council “address known gaps that would aid active travel such as widened footpaths and pedestrian-only areas” and calls for walking, wheeling and cycling improvements, especially around O’Connell Street.

Around O’Connell Street, the taskforce calls for the fast-tracked delivery and funding of public realm projects as per the council’s planned works including: Street upgrades, pedestrianisation and street widening for accessibility, cycleways, laneway development, lighting and greening plans.

It also calls for a last-mile delivery project using logistic hubs, an increase in 24-hour buses (which is planned as part of BusConnects), repurposing major car parks for other uses such as bicycle parking and logistic hubs, and the creation of orbital sites around the city for 24/7 coach parking with EV shuttle buses.

On the city centre traffic plan, the taskforce report states: “The cost of implementing the traffic management changes is minimal compared to the savings that can be accrued on public transport in terms of reduced congestion and more efficient running times. Recent Red C research highlights that pedestrianisation increases activity and thus perceptions of safety, particularly among young people.”

“Associated with the changes in traffic movement in the city centre is the opportunity to improve the public realm and provide an improved walking, wheeling and cycling environment, with cleaner air from reduced carbon emissions,” the task force said.

The report added: “It is particularly important that transport hubs such as the main rail stations and Busáras are upgraded and maintained at a higher standard. Semi-State Companies and State Agencies are major contributors to congestion and emissions. We all need to do a better job to improve the public realm (as Dublin Bus has done with the cleanliness of the bus fleet).”

Dublin Commuter Coalition, an advocacy group that seeks to improve sustainable mobility, welcomed the report but said that many of the recommendations are not new.

“The full report is an interesting read, but there’s nothing surprising in it, it’s filled with things that campaigners, activists and opposition TDs have been calling for over the last decade,” the group said. “The cause of Dublin’s problem is a lack of leadership and political will.”

“We are particularly happy to see a commitment to improve the rail stations, which are currently very poor,” the group said.

The Dublin Commuter Coalition said that it’s worth reading the full report but added that “with an election around the corner, ask candidates to commit to its immediate implementation. We cannot wait another decade for the blatantly obvious measures we need on a daily basis.”

The task force said that larger public transport projects such as MetroLink, BusConnects and Luas were “outside the scope of the report” but that they “endorse the major ongoing and planned investments in transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area” and that “These projects delivered at pace will contribute to the rejuvenation of Dublin city centre.”