“A Christmas miracle”: Limerick Mayor says closing bus lane for motorists to use it cannot be justified “at this time”

Limerick’s directly elected Mayor, John Moran, has said that, given the feedback received and policies in place, he “cannot justify the pilot requested” to close the bus lane on the city’s O’Connell Street “at this time”.

He said that the feedback included transport agencies and that there was an  “absence of overwhelming public appetite for even a pilot for Christmas.”

A group of traders — who have not publicly clarified what businesses they represent — requested that the bus lane be closed so that motorists can use it. After the traders presented at a Limerick metropolitan area council meeting, a motion was put forward by Cllr Sarah Kiely (FG) and seconded by Cllr Daniel Butler (FG).

The council has opened a public consultation asking if there was support for reducing the bus hour operational hours to just the rush hours.

Limerick City and County Council said that the online poll had “unique votes” totalling 1,097 (28.5%) yes responses and 2,747 (71.5%) no responses to the idea of weakening bus priority. Email submissions included 43 (28.9%) yes and 106 (71.1%) no responses, the council said.

The council was criticised for using an open online poll, but it said in another statement that it was using means to only count “unique votes”.

In a statement issued this afternoon, Mayor Moran said: “I would like to thank everyone who participated in the recent public consultation regarding the O’Connell Street bus lane. Your input is invaluable as we strive to make informed decisions that benefit our community. I wanted to make this decision quickly in the interests of certainty and to do so in time for consideration at the Metropolitan meeting on Monday.”

“I have carefully examined all aspects including existing Limerick City and County Council Policy, submissions from Bus Éireann and the NTA, the results of the recent shopper survey and noted the absence of overwhelming public appetite for even a pilot for Christmas. Accordingly, I cannot justify the pilot requested at this time,” he said.

He said that it is important that decisions made for Limerick are supportive of national policy and local policy as expressed in the Limerick Development Plan, “which asks us to facilitate, not deter moves towards sustainable travel.”

He said that he is “especially appreciative of the levels of engagement around the issue” but added that he realises that the decision “will not please everyone”.

In that regard, he said: “I want, therefore, to clarify that I am very open, in early 2025, to receive additional evidence from those in favour of changes to the existing schema and I will share that with the relevant agencies and give it all full consideration myself to ensure we get the operation of this street right finally.”

He added: “I have never been happy with the current configuration of O’Connell Street. At the time of my election, I committed to changes and prioritised since then the advancement of a new comprehensive mobility strategy for our city centre. This needs to take into account the interests and safety of all stakeholders, traders, residents, visitors and others who use our city centre. I encourage everyone to participate fully in the public consultations arising from any changes in the fullness of time.”

Responding to the statement, Dave Tobin, vice chair of the Irish Cycling Campaign and a local campaigner for sustainable transport, said, “A Christmas miracle!!! The bus lane stays!!!”

He added: “Great to see common sense has prevailed in the Council and the overwhelming response by the public to save the bus lane. The correct choice for commuters, shoppers and traders in the city!”

4 thoughts on ““A Christmas miracle”: Limerick Mayor says closing bus lane for motorists to use it cannot be justified “at this time””

  1. Nice to see that a directly elected mayor with more than ceremonial duties is able to act decisively and quickly on matters of local interest . And take responsibility for the decision he made.

    Reply
  2. The problem of traffic flow along the one driveable lane in O’connor St. Is exacerbated by the cross traffic lights.
    The whole traffic flow and reconfiguration of direction of cross flows should have been modelled fully before implementing the bus lane.

    Reply

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