Mr. Richard Brady:

I thank the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport for its invitation to attend and contribute to this discussion. I am accompanied today by my colleague, Mr. Brendan O'Brien, executive manager with special responsibility for traffic management.

Dublin city is beginning to show signs of renewed growth in the aftermath of the economic crash. This growth is manifest in employment, resident population, students, shoppers, visitors and tourists. A key component in ensuring the sustainability of this growth and that the city remains a desirable destination is how people travel to, move around and relate to the built and natural environment of the city.

On average, 500,000 people travel within Dublin city centre every day. This comprises approximately 235,000 work-related trips, 45,000 education-related trips and 120,000 visitors, tourists or shoppers. In addition, some 120,000 people live between the canals. If growth continues as predicted, by 2023 it is likely that there will be an additional 40,000 trips coming into the city centre each day as well as 15,000 new residents living between the canals. This does not take account of expected additional retail and tourist footfall.

Since the publication of the Dublin transport initiative strategy report in the mid-1990s, the overriding principle guiding transportation policy in the Dublin region has moved away from the traditional approach, which was to increase road capacity in order to cater for increased levels of private car traffic. Instead, the approach has been to prioritise public transport, walking and cycling because it is impossible to cater for increases in car traffic within the existing street network. The ability of the existing city streets and the capacity of the bridges over the canals to cater for vehicular traffic are finite.

If serious congestion is to be avoided, city amenity preserved and growth supported, then the need for a more balanced transport system is self evident. Public strategy and policy have recognised this balance by promoting the increase of travel by public transport, walking and cycling, while reducing car based travel, particularly in regard to work commuting. It is, therefore, vitally important that as the economy improves and the numbers of people accessing the city grows, this increase is catered for by public transport, walking and cycling rather than by private car. The investment in these areas needs to be scaled up quickly to allow schemes to be brought from design to construction in a much faster timeframe to cater for the current and anticipated growth.

The Dublin City Centre Transport Study 2016 was prepared as an input into the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2016-2022 to integrate the transport policies and proposals of Dublin City Council and the National Transport Authority, NTA, and inform an agreed framework for strategic investment. Between 2010 and 2015, €97 million was provided by the NTA to the city council towards the provision of transport infrastructure in the city. Many projects were delivered under this funding programme, including bus infrastructure, road resurfacing, cycling and walking schemes along with real time passenger information and traffic management systems.

Working within the statutory planning framework of the city council's development plan and the NTA Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035, the study examined the issues relating to the management and movement of people and goods to, from and within Dublin city centre and proposed various changes to the transport network. It is envisaged that over the lifetime of the new city development plan, €150 million will be made available to Dublin City Council to enable the delivery of the proposals set out in the study. This is in addition to the €368 million already committed to the Luas Cross City and other projects such as rail improvements, including the Phoenix Park tunnel link which opened recently, and bus fleet investment.

Road and street space within the city is at a premium and it is of crucial importance that the available road space be used efficiently in order to maximise the number of people who can be transported and, importantly, to protect the investment made in public transport provision and ensure that the full benefits of investment are realised. By utilising the street space efficiently it will also be possible to improve the public realm, giving over space to residents and visitors to enjoy and move around the city.

The opening of Luas Cross City will not only provide quick and easy interchange across the red and green lines but also a high quality link through the heart of the city centre and on towards Grangegorman, Phibsboro and Broombridge. The strong public transport corridor created under this project will require changes in traffic management in the city in order to maximise the benefit of this investment.

There is no doubt that the creation of a quality public realm integrated with a multi-model movement system will not only make the city more attractive to live and work in, but will also increase tourism, for example, the growth of cruise shipping, together with recreation and sporting events.

The city council is not anti-car. It recognises that continued access by car to the city is essential for sustaining retail and commercial activity within the city. As already stated, it is important that growth in commuting is accommodated through increased investment in public transport, walking and cycling. However, an appropriate level of car access needs to be facilitated together with related parking provision. This should primarily cater for non-commuting activity, particularly for shopping-related trips outside peak commuting hours and to assist in this an expansion of the existing car park guidance system is planned for 2017. That concludes the opening statement for the city council.