Agenda and minutes

Minutes Agreed.

Chair Cllr. Christy Burke welcomed Minister Eamon Ryan to the meeting and thanked him for his time.  The Minister spoke on a number of current issues, Programme for Government, Importance of sustainable transport in the current environment, Bus Connects Project and its importance for the city, funding & investment, e-scooter proposed legislation. The Minister then answered questions raised by Members on a range of issues.

As the Minister was unable to attend the meeting until 3.45 due to being called to the Dáil for Topical question which was unscheduled, item 3 commenced prior to the arrival of Minister Ryan.  Brendan O’Brien gave a presentation on the new proposals for College Green Plaza which is out on non-statutory public consultation.  Members raised questions in relation to the presentation and it was agreed these would be answered by email to facilitate the arrival of the Minister. 

Noted.

Hugh Creegan, John Fleming and Grainne Macken were in attendance and John Fleming & Grainne Macken presented on the third phase of the Bus Connects Project which opened that day.  The team from the NTA answered questions raised by members in relation the project.

Noted.

The minutes of the Walking & Cycling and Public Transport Sub-Committees held on the 15^th and 16^th September were emailed to all SPC members.

Noted.

For an assessment of the advantages and the disadvantages of running bus routes against the flow of traffic on the quays in the city centre to be undertaken by Dublin City Council, with a view to the findings being presented to Dublin Bus and the NTA.

For example, buses heading to Heuston station would no longer run on the south-side of the river, they would run on the Northside on the river-side of the road, adjacent to the boardwalk. The potential advantages of this are as follows:

·         Make better use of footpaths on the riverside

·         Increased use of riverside footpaths can reduce antisocial behaviour on the boardwalks

·         Reduce conflict between bus passengers and cyclists at bus stops on the business/shop side of the road and so allow the bike lane to revert to the left side of the road, from the current riverside bike lane. This is a more suitable side of the road for cyclists.

·         Reduce bus passengers clogging up footpaths on the building-side of the quays.

• Makes it easier for restaurants and cafés to open out on to the footpaths, as there would no longer be bus stops. This would be more beneficial to the sunnier north-side of the quays
• If cyclists could use the contraflow bus routes, it would allow cyclists cycle in either direction on both sides of the river. This could potentially reduce the amount of space needed for the bike lane

Deferred to next SPC Meeting.

7.Motion in the name of Cllr. Daniel Céitinn

That this committee undertakes to write to the Minister for Local Government and request that the necessary amendments are made to the legislation, and any relevant regulations, which prevent a proposal which has completed a statutory public consultation process from being amended by City Council where amendments are evidence in the feedback  from the public consultation, to allow such amendments to be made post-consultation.

Agreed without debate.