I find it interesting and not a little perplexing that an annual event such as the Slane or Witness events merit a plethora of special consideration such as dedicated Bus Services,pre-paid ticketing,fully supervised loading etc.
Yet,the "New Improved" Croke Park events with 80,000+ attendees recieve nothing in the way of "Dedicated Public Transport Assistance"
For example,ALL Northbound Bus Routes running along the Drumcondra Rd corridor from An Lar (3,11,16,33,41) are expected to continue to utilise the SINGLE Bus Stop directly outside Drumcondra Railway Station.
This stop in the normal course of events is quite usable and safe.
However,In the context of a Croke Park event,the situation alters dramatically.
I am not at all convinced that unloading Bus Passengers directly into the flow of Rail Passengers exiting Drumcondra Station is a good idea.
There is the added Public Safety aspect of what appears to be Total Confusion within the serried ranks of the Gardai on "Traffic Control" duty at this location.
I believe the very concept of allowing several hundred people to congregate,mill around and consume alcohol outside Quinns Pub is deeply flawed and when added to the new reality of darkness is pretty much guaranteed to lead to trouble.
It`s not the gathering or the "Craic" to which I object but rather to the blind eye which the Authorities are turning to the hugely increased Risk factors.
Why for example do the Gardai refuse to switch off the traffic signals at the junction.
The causes of accidents can be legion but one common thread is Indecision and Confusion,both ingredients in plentiful supply at Drumcondra Station/Clonliffe Road.
There is for example a sufficient amount of newly constructed pull-in space bewteen Binns Bridge and Drumcondra Station to allow for segregation of arriving Buses.
Currently this space is utilized by the public as a space in which to consume Chicken in a Basket and to generally mill about as per Quinns.
There really is little point in Peter McKenna and the Croke Park authorities putting together glossy flyers extolling the virtues of Public Transport to the venue when the actuality is little more than a sad dangerous shambles.
This is of course a post which deals only with the Venue arrangements.
There is a far wider issue which Dublin Bus must address and that is the extent of the service disruption to Major X City Trunk Routes such as the 11 and 16 Groups.
The nature and extent of disruption to these groupings can often last long after the "Event" has finished.
I remain unconvinced that agencies such as An Garda Siochana and the City Council are making any real contribution to maintaining an operational corridor for Public Transport.
The very existance of Paid Car Parking in a location such as Clonliffe College underlines a serious vacuum in the official thinking on how such events are managed......or perhaps not....
