Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has said that even though the proposed Bus Connects services for Stepaside are Ballyogan are improved, they are still “limited” and has asked the National Transport Authority (NTA) to “reconsider”.
In the council’s submission to the NTA, it said “the proposed provision for the growth areas of Stepaside and Ballyogan and environs is improved but remains limited.”
The council cited the expected population growth of the area in the next number of years as to why further services should be introduced as “the proposed level of service would be insufficient to avoid the establishment of unsustainable commuting routines by new residents.”
The proposal was developed by the local authority’s municipal service department and submitted before the deadline of last Tuesday.
The council said it supports Bus Connects as a whole and is pleased that previous issues raised regarding the initial proposals “have been well addressed”.
However, the council has expressed concern over the lack of bus routes on orbital roads but said that the core bus corridors project should alleviate any worries.
“I am confident that the proposed network redesign and the wider BusConnects proposals will make a major contribution to alleviating traffic congestion, improving air quality, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the council added.
In response to the submission, Labour councillor for the area Lettie McCarthy said: “I completely agree with the comments made by dlrc.
“There is little point in talking about sustainable travel and asking people to use public transport if the service is not provided.
“We all know the pressure this area is under trying to get from A to B and improving our bus service and providing bus shelters at all stops would be a good starting point.”
Since its original proposal last year, Bus Connects has been largely controversial with many residents of orbital towns in Dublin objecting to its development.
The NTA says that the project will overhaul the bus system in Dublin over a ten period by creating 230km of dedicated bus lanes and 200km of cycle lanes.
