Madam, - The debate in your letters page on heavy goods vehicles and road safety is most timely. Right now the public is being consulted on revisions to Dublin City Council's draft HGV management strategy.
The deadline for commenting on measures proposed for restricting the times and routes of HGVs through the city once the Port Tunnel is opened is next Friday, February 10th (see www.dublincity.ie).
I agree with David Maher (February 2nd) that it is fundamentally unsafe to allow huge HGVs to drive through Dublin city centre. Last year I proposed an amendment to the City's development plan to "ban over-height heavy goods vehicles from the Dublin City Council area".
Sandymount and Irishtown to the south, and East Wall Road to the north of the port will be overwhelmed with HGV traffic unless the cordon is extended as proposed in the revised draft strategy. Dubliners may like to support removing the one-year exemption for over-height vehicles.
Or, like me, you may believe that we should restrict all HGVs (four- and five-axled trucks) from our city streets as soon as the Port Tunnel is open and not wait another three to five years as proposed. - Yours, etc,
Cllr WENDY HEDERMAN (PD), Waterloo Lane, Dublin 4.