public transport in dublin

[colmoc]

Public transport 'greatest challenge facing the capital'
PROVISION of adequate public transport is the greatest challenge facing Dublin city, the outgoing city manager John Fitzgerald said yesterday.
Reflecting on a decade at the helm of the country's largest local authority, Mr Fitzgerald added that a regional authority for the capital should be established - but only to deal with planning public transport and large-scale infrastructural projects.
Mr Fitzgerald said the opening of the Port Tunnel next year, the ban on heavy goods vehicles in the city centre, and the extension of the Luas lines would result in dramatic improvements to traffic volumes.
Only when these works were complete, and Metro North built, could the city council even consider the introduction of a congestion charge for motorists.
"A critical issue - by a long shot - is putting adequate public transport in place," he said.
"Transport 21 is aspirational, but I think the thing is just to manage it properly.
"If I had a wish list it would be that the Metro was built 50 years ago and the streets were dug up on someone else's watch.
"The Luas extensions to Cherrywood and the Point Depot are going ahead, but a lot of the heavy work has already been done. The big issue is the Metro and the management of that.
"The opening of the Port Tunnel and the HGV ban will make a huge impact on the city. People say the traffic is horrendous - and it is - but until you have all the light rail lines in place we're dependent on buses, but we only have 30 QBCs.
"If Transport 21 happens as it is mapped out, it will remove a lot of problems in the city, but it will be a missed opportunity if its not done well.
"The traffic chaos arising from the Luas works was worth it," he said, adding that interruptions during construction of the Metro were likely to be far less.
"No-one can argue that the city is not reaping the benefits [of the LUAS]. The amount of traffic on O'Connell Street has lessened, and it shows just how easy it will be to do it in the future," he said.
Not until the rail systems were in place could his successor, the current Fingal county manager John Tierney, even consider a congestion charge.
"I don't believe a congestion charge is an option at the moment. If you do that now, you run the risk of damaging what can be a very fragile flower; the retail centre of the city."
Mr Fitzgerald, who was involved in splitting Dublin Corporation into four separate local authorities in the 1990s, had his last day in office on Friday.
He will now oversee the relocation of Dublin IT from sites around the city to a new 75-acre campus in Grangegorman.
"I hadn't intended being here ten years but I always said I'd like to get involved in other things. I think if you're in the job longer than I am you can get a bit complacent. You have to keep raising the bar because other cities are in competition with us," he said.
Paul Melia

www.unison.ie