New bridge between Ringsend and South Quays should be part of Luas extension
Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley has called for the proposed bridge over the River Dodder at Ringsend to only be built as part of a scheme to extend the Luas to Ringsend and Poolbeg. Dublin City Council has advertised for consultants to design a road bridge which would be restricted to public transport.
Deputy Gormley said: “Restricting traffic across this new bridge to public transport, cyclists and pedestrians is a positive move, but it does not go far enough. The only long-term public transport solution for this area is to link with the light rail network, and this bridge should only be put in place as part of such an extension. The Green Party has made proposals to the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) which would allow for the Luas extension to the Point Depot to be extended to the south side of the Liffey.
“Providing extra road capacity, even in the form of bus lanes, will only lead to traffic problems. Unless there is a massive additional commitment from Dublin Bus to providing services on the proposed route, this bridge will only carry a small number of buses each hour. This will inevitably lead to calls from motorists to allow them to use the bridge. In these circumstances, it would require enormous political will to persist with a bus-only policy, and previous experience shows us that this is unlikely to happen.
“The best way to prevent such a scenario is to designate the bridge for the rail transport only, together with pedestrian and cycle traffic. This is a real opportunity to make a commitment to sustainable transport for this part of Dublin, and some joined-up thinking from the City Council, the RPA and the Department of Transport would be welcome,” concluded Deputy Gormley.