A chara, – As a citizen of Dublin, I thank you for highlighting on several occasions the daft idea of banning buses from College Green (Olivia Kelly, "Major Dublin city traffic changes for College Green Plaza", April 11th; "Businesses raise concerns over College Green Plaza plan", April 12th).
Essential bus routes providing cross-city services linking northeast to southwest, and northwest to southeast Dublin, carry thousands of commuters every day. Approximately 23 routes travel along Dame Street, and a further 20 go around Trinity to Nassau Street.
In addition, there are large numbers of coaches bringing tourists and shoppers from the country into an area full of cultural attractions, businesses, shops, theatres, etc.
The “hop-on, hop-off” sightseeing buses use these routes also.
The complete closure of College Green to buses would bring the city to a standstill, with increased levels of pollution along the quays and other streets, longer travel times for already hard-pressed commuters, and a further limit to access for people with mobility issues.
The current ban on private cars in this area has worked well for public transport, but the recent Luas works have shown how quickly the area becomes massively congested when access to College Green is restricted.
Between Macken Street bridge and Fr Matthew bridge there are six other bridges, only four of which carry traffic, and only one of which (O’Connell Bridge) is large enough to manage significant traffic flow.
Dublin Castle/Temple Bar/Trinity combine to form a significant barrier through which College Green, D’Olier, and Westmoreland streets provide the only “pass” for effective traffic movement.
It seems that Dublin City Council is reacting to the previous underprovision of cycle paths by overcompensating and bringing all motorised traffic in our already congested city centre to a complete stop!
Far more people travel by bus than by Luas or bicycle, yet it seems these are the only two forms of transport favoured by the council.
These changes are unnecessary and will have a detrimental effect on what is currently a well-functioning bus service.
It is becoming almost impossible to travel across the city as it is.
City-centre businesses are suffering. – Is mise,
SÍLE UÍ LAIGHIN,
Cluain Tarbh,
Baile Átha Cliath 3.