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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
6 8 July 2017
Background
Five years ago Dublin City Council engaged
consultants to devise plans for a €20 million segre-
gated cycle path along the Liffey from Heuston Station
to the Point, now the 3Arena. At one stage there were 13
different route options but the options are now down to
two. Over a number of years and following detailed
examination of potential routes by independent consult-
ants, a route along the North Liffey Quays was chosen
as being the best option for the proposed Point (Depot)
to Phoenix (P2P) Cycle Route. A public consultation pro
-
cess in 2015 confirmed overwhelming support for this
option. The Option 7 design proposal is a re-affirmation
of the compelling reasoning behind the riverside route,
combining as a dedicated public transport corridor, over
its full length.
We urge all Dubliners, Dublin City Councillors and
Dublin City business people to get behind this iconic pro-
posal for Dublin’s City Centre and recognise the
important benefits it will bring for Dublin City.
The Importance of a full-
length Riverside Cycle and
Public Transport Route
The prioritising of a riverside cycling, walking and public
transport facility will unlock this congested and often
dangerous transportation route so that public transport
gets to perform at optimum level and cycling works for
families, commuters, shoppers and leisure cyclists alike.
Dublin City also needs to move beyond viewing the Liffey
as simply a transport corridor. The original concept of
reimagining of the quays over the full length from the
Point to the Phoenix Park will make this real, while
simultaneously
•
Increasing mobility for the city’s growing
population
•
Bringing more people into the city centre through a
dedicated public transport corridor
• Improving air quality and reducing noise pollution
• Improving the health of all Dubliners
• Improving the public realm
• Boosting the local economy
• Boosting tourism
• Attracting workers who see cities with a high quality
of life
Dublin City Centre Needs
Greater Access for More
People
Dublin City Centre businesses need to play to the city’s
strengths. By supporting proposed Liffey Route Option
7 businesses can ensure that more people can, and will,
visit the city centre. The proposed Liffey route prioritises
the movement of people rather than vehicles into the
centre. It does this by prioritising public transport and
cycling along Dublin’s north quays, and the LUAS tram.
The numbers of potential persons carried by the various
transport systems is outlined below:
•
Bus – There are about 100 to 110 services carrying up
to 8,000 passengers, per hour. This can be at least
doubled with an improvement in the proposed bus
infrastructure.
•
Bicycles - The proposed separated cycle facility along
the River Liffey will enable safe and easy passage for
cyclists, with an expected peak hour movement of over
1,500 cyclists and likely to grow. At present the Liffey
route, despite its perceived dangers for cyclists
already channels over 5,000 cyclists per day.
Why Dublin City Needs
to Support the Best
Liffey Cycle Route
Something for
every reasonable
citizen
ENVIRONMENT
by Paul Corcoran
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July 2017 6 9
•
LUAS Tram –The Luas, operating along its
existing spine parallel to the Liffey on a
4-minute frequency, will carry up to 4,200
people per hour.
•
So, between Public Transport and Cycling Pro-
vision the proposed routes can carry over
22,000 people per hour. This compares to the
potential of Car Traffic - A single inbound lane
of car traffic coming into the city centre carries
approximately 600 cars per hour. With an aver-
age occupancy of 1.35 per vehicle that equates
to approximately 800 people per hour.
These figures clearly show why support for the
proposed initiative, makes sense for the viable
economic future of our City Centre.
Accommodating LUAS
and the Impact on Car
Traffic
The full cross-city Luas tram system will be oper-
ational in late 2017. Besides enabling many more
people to travel to the city centre, it will undoubt-
edly have a limiting impact on the movement of
private vehicular traffic. Overall road space is
limited, and the capacity of the quays to carry
cars will be reduced.
At first glance the diversion of car traffic off a
section of the quays between James Joyce Bridge
and Fr Mathew Bridge (Church St) seems coun-
terproductive, but this proposal can facilitate
private vehicular traffic and deliveries to reach
their desired destinations easily. Optimum rout-
ing and street design can be agreed at the
detailed design stage.
Traffic surveys have shown that traffic along
the north quays divides into roughly three thirds
when heading eastwards. One third diverts
northwards, one third southwards, and one third
continues along the quays, as through-traffic
with no city centre destination. The diversions
proposed for vehicular traffic support these
existing movements, and further likely changes
at detailed design stage should enable easy
access to all city centre commercial car parks.
At the same time these proposed changes will
discourage unnecessary vehicle journeys
through the already congested city centre, free-
ing up limited road space for Public Transport
and necessary journeys.
The Liffey is More than a
Transport Corridor
The River Liffey is the principal artery and pro-
vides the most famous and arresting vistas of
the city. The Liffey has been celebrated in prose,
poetry and art. It is the city’s ineradicable core.
Its 18 bridges are essays in the evolution of the
City. The improvement of the public realm along
this route recognises this prime status, and the
provision of better cycling and walking facilities
along this route will encourage greater use of
this historic spine, protect its primacy and
beauty, and provide a further tourist
attraction.
The area is home to many thousands of Dub
-
liners, and the provision of a more pedestrian- and
cycle-friendly environment will lead to a safer
city for residents, as well as promoting their
mobility. It is home to many businesses, restau-
rants and cafés, and the improvements proposed
by this initiative will support them. This is borne
out by multitudes of studies throughout Europe
and the US. Cycling is good for business!
The Wider Context
Dublin is way behind other European
cities in moving to a more people-friendly and
higher-mobility city. Other cities have worked
assiduously to manage vehicular traffic in their
centres and to prioritise facilities for public
transport, pedestrians and cyclists,
Projects like this attract foreign interest and
investment, and for health. They generate the
sense of a dynamic, vigorous, modern, civilised
and youthful city.
Increased cycling and walking is also a vote
for cleaner air, less pollution, and our elusive Cli-
mate Change targets.
The City Council has narrowed the options to
two:
Option 7 proposes to divert private vehicles
off the Liffey between James Joyce Bridge and
Church St, because of heritage restrictions and
the lack of road space to accommodate all
modes.
Option 8 proposes to keep all traffic along the
North Quays by building an expensive cantile-
vered ‘boardwalk’ for cyclists, and introducing a
Stop/Go traffic light at the major pinch point to
give buses priority over private vehicles.
Option 7 is opposed by some local representa-
tives in the Stoneybatter area. Opposition to the
plans has come from chairman of Stoneybatter
Pride of Place, former Labour TD Joe Costello,
who claims the restrictions along the North
Quays “will cause mayhem at the junction of
Blackhall Place, North King Street, North Brun-
swick Street, Arbour Hill and Stoneybatter”. It is
also opposed by major car-park owners, and by
large city-centre businesses. Option 7, or poten-
tial variations of it are actively supported by a
number of City Councillors, and by Dublin Cycling
Campaign.
Option 8 is strongly opposed by cycling advo
-
cates, as it adds extensively to the cost of the
project, will cause conflicts between cyclists and
pedestrians, is of poor-quality design in areas
proposed to be shared with pedestrians, and
most importantly, is unlikely to be used by com-
muter cyclists, because of the awkward
manoeuvres required.
Dublin Cycling Campaign is developing
options based on Option 7, particularly improve-
ments in the public realm in the Blackhall/
Stoneybatter area.
It is time to develop a transport scheme for the
long-beleaguered Liffey that will transcend pri-
vate interests in the public interest and serve the
city for a generation, not just a year or two.
Dr Paul Corcoran is chair of the Dublin Cycling
Campaign
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