Green MEP Ciarán Cuffe says Dublin City Council’s Transport Plan has the potential to transform residents’ experience of the city centre and create a real, living city to be enjoyed by all. The draft plan includes targets for a 40% reduction in general traffic, and prioritises public transport, walking and cycling. Currently, 60% of cars using the roads do not have the city centre as their destination.

In his submission to the public consultation, MEP Cuffe emphasised the urgent need to resolve the pedestrian crossings infrastructure at Christchurch. He also called for more devoted space to greenery and sustainable urban drainage systems over large homogenous expanses of stone pavements, like those envisaged for College Green and Temple Bar in the Council proposals.

MEP Cuffe said:

“This plan represents a once in a generation opportunity to reimagine our capital city to prioritise people, not cars. So much of Dublin city’s traffic has no business in the city centre. We need to give back this space to those who really need it: bus users, pedestrians and cyclists. By knitting together the BusConnects Core Bus Corridors and the Dublin City Active Travel Network, and offering significant improvements to pedestrian and cyclist mobility in the city centre, this plan will be a critical component of Dublin’s green transition. The plan will also make a significant contribution to tackling Dublin’s air pollution problem which is well above WHO standards and is particularly bad areas of the city that experience deprivation.”

“It is vital that in this transformative moment, appropriate care and attention are given to the design process. An improved public realm will offer something for everyone; from seating where older shoppers can rest their legs and take a break, to trees and play areas that will provide space for families. I’m particularly taken by the ‘road diet’ proposals at Christchurch that will ensure pedestrians won’t have to play chicken with fast-moving cars when they try to cross the road.”

“In the last century, we have seen cities all over Europe utterly transformed by decisions like these. If we get the implementation of this visionary plan right, we can look forward to Dublin catching up with its European counterparts in the very near future.”

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MEP Cuffe’s submission to the public consultation can be read in full here: bit.ly/CufDubTP