Agenda

Motion in the name of Councillor Noeleen Reilly

Given the urgent crisis in the Bus Service in Dublin that this Special Policy Committee arranges a special meeting with the Minister for Transport to discuss the current service.  Passengers of both Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead are being affected by route cancellation, buses turning up late and overcrowding.  This is effecting people going to work and children going to school.  The bus service is losing confidence from its customers meaning people are turning back to their private cars.

Amended Motion agreed to write to the Minister for Transport, NTA, Dublin Bus and Go Ahead seeking an update on how they are dealing with the current service problems and an invitation to be issued to same to attend a Special Meeting of the Traffic and Transport SPC on Public Bus Services in the City.

Replies received to date attached from :

·         Anne Graham, Chief Executive, National Transport Authority

·         Billy Hann, Chief Executive, Dublin Bus

·         Niamh Swords, Operations Manager, Go – Head Ireland

Motion in the Name of Cllr. Janet Horner on behalf of Walking & Cycling Sub-Committee

This committee requests the traffic and transport division to investigate and bring  forward a proposal on how to receive, prioritise, coordinate, implement and respond to data submitted by community groups and individuals using walking  and cycling auditing tools in an efficient and effective manner. Several of these tools have been developed by partner organisations of DCC e.g. the NTA, Green Schools, Dublin Cycling Campaign and Disability Federation of Ireland and it is important that the data is gathered and effectively responded to. The system provided by DCC should set a protocol for how responsibilities will be assigned within the traffic and transport section and how the section will coordinate with other relevant sections within DCC or relevant external bodies.

Reply:

The request is to investigate how we would provide a portal to allow different groups to submit information to DCC and then how the information gathered can be effectively responded to.

In the first instance we have looked at how we currently compile data and whether any of the existing systems can be utilised to provide this function.

The Traffic and Transport divisions of DCC utilise a number of different systems in order to allow us to utilise data collected at junction and street level.  In the first case of junction information there are two main systems in use namely the SCATS Traffic control system which provides aggregate data for each junction on the SCATs system and this is organised via a combination of it’s Traffic Reporter software and Scats data base. A junction is uniquely identified by its junction number and all reports regarding traffic information and layout of the junction can be accessed in this way. While it is a very good system for what it is intended to be it is not able to ingest the data being prepared by third parties and particularly non structured information.

The second system is our AFMS (Asset and Fault Management system) which is an on line real time system for automatic fault reporting across all of the traffic signal equipment that DCC use. This system does have the ability to  upload data from third parties, however when this was analysed the drawback of using this system is that again it is junction based and there would be considerable work to turn this into a usable tool from it’s current configuration.

Another system is the rate my signals application which allows users to register issues with traffic signals and which does provide a good way of enabling  the public to raise issues with DCC.

However none of the above current systems are in their current versions will provide a system which meets the requirements as set out in this motion.

Therefore we have reached out to the internal Transformation Unit and also our Smart City to determine if they can assist us in the specification and procuring of a system to meet the requirements. Initial discussions are  ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Order:  Noted.  Letter be sent to Transport SPC from NCAC re gritting of footpaths & NC to be used as a pilot scheme for grit to be given to residents groups (Clontarf Residents Association) to do the footpaths.

By way of background, Cllr. Cooney raised the issue on behalf of Clontarf Residents’ Association & was very unhappy with the response given – the following was the response that was issued to the CRA in this regard.

Road Maintenance Services’ focus is on the treatment of 300km of the City’s main roads. This includes the main public transport corridors, routes to access hospitals, Dublin Port, Dublin Airport, train stations, bus stations and our depots. The full capacity of the Division’s resources are dedicated to this task and other priority issues that may arise on the road network. This includes the Division’s staff, lorries, plant, machinery and our salt stocks. During periods of severe ice and snow the Division seeks support from the other operational divisions in the City Council, such as Waste Management Services, to assist with the response effort. Due to the current freezing conditions Waste Management Services are today treating some footpaths at a number of priority locations. It is not feasible to make salt and salt bins available for the purpose of gritting residential roads across the City at this time. Furthermore, an additional concern that the Division has is that salt is corrosive to concrete footpaths and its use over time will lead to a deterioration in the footpath, which in turn will lead to additional trip hazards for pedestrians and of course we want to avoid this

This SPC calls for an immediate revision of the Winter Maintenance Plan to prioritise footpath gritting and salting during periods of freezing temperatures. This change in policy should reflect the hierarchy of street users, the public sector duty on equality and human rights and the priority given to walking and cycling in our broader city policies. A report should be provided back to members of this SPC identifying funding sources and strategy, including priority locations such as schools, health centres, public transport hubs for footpath gritting and salting in future incidents.

That this SPC notes with concern the BusConnects Blanchardstown to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme was submitted to An Bord Pleanála without an opportunity for a proper public consultation on changes introduced since the final preferred route documents was published in March 2022.  Given the importance and impact of the BusConnects project, at a minimum, a report should be presented to the Traffic and Transport SPC prior to progress on any of the major phases of the project.  

This SPC will write to the NTA highlighting these concerns.