Every day sees tens of thousands of people in Dublin south west stuck in traffic gridlock. Whether they’re trying to get onto the Tallaght Bypass, on the Greenhills Road or at the Belgard Road, all exit routes are jammed. The Luas only serves a portion of the population, and the buses have been cutback, while the absence of full Quality Bus Corridors mean they only get so far before hitting gridlock themselves.
The political choices by this government and previous ones, which are responsible for this mess, are particularly evident in Dublin south west. Previous plans that would have curtailed the problem from the start were shelved due to cost – full QBCs on the Greenhills Road and a proper junction with flyovers at the Belgard Road/Naas Road were dropped because the priority of the establishment parties has never been to invest in public transport.
What is desperately needed is a real public transport system in the area that would give people a viable alternative to driving. An essential part of this would be a segregated rail line into the city centre that could bring thousands of people into town in less than half an hour. A plan for such a line – a Metro from Tallaght to the City was contained in the Dublin Transport Office Plan in 2001 and was costed but has now been dropped by the government. We are campaigning for this plan to be reinstated and built immediately.
Another idea previously raised but dropped was to extend the Luas further from the last stop at the Square – building stops at Heatherview, Kiltipper, Allenton and a terminus at Firhouse. Such an extension would make the Luas a viable option for tens of thousands of more people. In order to make it realistic, an extra carriage should be added to the Luas, like on the Sandyford line and the frequency and speed increased to their maximum.
We are hosting a public meeting calling for the extension of the Luas on Tuesday 3 April at 8pm in the Plaza Hotel. Cllr. Mick Murphy will be speaking. All welcome!
