back to local updates

Submission to Bus Connects Bus Corridor 5: Blanchardstown to city centre.

bus-connects-blanch

I am a cyclist, pedestrian, motorist and bus user and local representative in the Navan Road and Old Cabra Road and Cabra Road area.

I appreciate that the overall concept driving Bus Connects is to ensure greater space is allocated to buses and cyclists on the streets and roads within and around the city of Dublin. In that regard, the efforts made under the Blanchardstown Bus Corridor to provide for semi- segregated cycle lanes are to be welcomed.

Furthermore, the introduction of a pedestrian bridge on the old Cabra Road is to be welcomed.

Concerns

  1. The plan to divert citybound traffic from the Old Cabra Road onto the Cabra Road and down into Phibsborough poses very serious implications for already extremely high levels of congestion in Phibsborough. It is not at all clear how over the medium term, Phibsborough will be able to sustain this inevitable increase in traffic volumes. Similarly, there is no indication as to how long a significant modal shift to public transport will take effect, if indeed at all. This route takes in large volumes of national route N3 traffic. In the absence of anything near sufficient information, it is not possible to support the cutting off of the Old Cabra Road with all the serious repercussions for Phibsborough and Stoneybatter and I would ask that alternative proposals are put forward.
  • It is vital that the bollards are retained in Cabra Drive so that it does not become a rat run between the Cabra Road and Old Cabra Road.
  • The introduction of a pedestrian bridge on the old Cabra Road is to be welcomed. However, a crossing for cyclists at or near the Glenbeigh road entrance is also necessary.
  • If the one way system on the Cabra Road is to take effect ( and I have registered my opposition above) and in order that car drivers do not breach the one way system northbound on the Old Cabra Road, it is vital that the NTA make good their commitment to use monitoring technology to detect offenders.
  • An important feature of any safe cycle lane has to be continuity of lane and consistency of surface in that lane. This is vital if we are to promote more cycling and a greater diversity of people cycling, in particular families and young children.  

In that context, the sharing of space between buses and cyclists is far from ideal. Where possible, these situations must be minimised. So I would urge the NTA to look again at creating sufficient space on footpaths for mobility access and continuous cycle lanes to go behind bus-stops and at the potential to look of re-positioning some bus stops a negligible distance to accommodate this. Between the Halfway House junction and the Prussia street stop, there is no cycling by-pass provided for at any of the bus stops.

  • In particular, this might be possible in map 21.
  • In map 24, if possible, the cycle lane could be re-located behind the set down areato minimise conflict between vehicles and cyclists in the set down area.
  • The sudden end to the cycle lane on Prussia Street and the gap between the Grangegorman campus and the two way cycle lane on Queen Street needs to be changed. To date, no plans have been provided by the GDA for a dedicated cycle path through the campus and so there can be no confidence that there will be a seamless routing connection through. It is also questionable whether cyclists will actually divert through Grangegorman if the most direct route to the quays is through Prussia Street.
  • Another feature of cycle safety is segregation. I believe the cycle lane travelling northbound on Manor street is poorly conceived and is dangerous as it is sandwiched between the bus lane and cycle lane and it goes against the recommendations contained within the National Cycle manual.
  • There is a concern relating to bidirectional cycle lanes that motorists will not anticipate cyclists from both directions if exiting a road. Therefore measures need to be taken such as sign, continuous footpath etc to ensure that motorists are forewarned.
  • There are real safety concerns for cyclists travelling northbound on Prussia Street. A further assessment of whether it is possible to continue the cycle lane as far the NCR is vital for safer left turn access to the NCR and to minimise road crossing.

More information required

  1. Ideally cycle lanes would be fully segregated from all other traffic. The idea to have the cycle path semi-segregated from the vehicular traffic with the path slightly raised from the main road is welcome. However, more detail is required on the safety of such paths.
  • Publication of detailed analysis of modal shift patterns and the timing of those shifts arising from the proposals- this is vital if you are to convince of the merits of the Old Cabra Road proposal.

Marie Sherlock,
Local area representative, Cabra Glasnevin
February 14th, 2019