Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to raise the Rathmines route. Lengthening a route for a cyclist will only discourage more cyclists and put them off the road and not necessarily increase the number of people using bikes.

The first maps for the corridors came out in June and July. The bus routes were next and now we are back to the corridors. We had a press release from Dublin Bus to which Deputy Shortall referred. It said the routes are not connected to the corridors and involve a separate consultation process. There is no point in putting a corridor where there will not be a bus route. They are interconnected. We need to see the outcome from the consultation on the routes before we say for definite where corridors will be and how they will operate.

Deputy Rock mentioned the corridors and public forums. For example, on the Bray to the city centre route, there problems on different sections of the route similar to what is happening on the north side and that must be taken into consideration. As a committee and as public representatives, we need to have much more information on community forums. Will there be independent chairs? We must have that level of information. It is required in order to build up trust in the community. We need to be able to tell people that there are independent chairs, for example. I could envisage three or four different community forums being required on very long corridors. They could meet on a monthly basis as a super group to look at the entire corridor, but they must be broken down into smaller sections.

Design is another issue of concern. I accept we need to get more from the bus network in the city and therefore we need improvements. However, they must be interconnected and related. Issues of urban design and street design must be paramount. I was recently involved in a consultation process concerning Cambridge Road in Ringsend which potentially has a bus corridor at one end and a cycle route at the other end, yet we are looking at only a very narrow stretch of 1.5 km. We are told that the bus corridor is the responsibility of BusConnects and that the NTA has responsibility for the cycle network. There appears to be a lack of joined-up thinking, especially in terms of small sections of development where one does not know exactly what will happen.

Are sustainable drainage systems, SuDS, being taken into account? What level of consultation has been had in that regard? Trees act as carbon sinks and absorb particles emitted by diesel engines. Has the NTA commissioned studies on the roads and streets that are affected? What is planted along the routes will have a significant effect on how quickly particles are absorbed, as airflow is an interrelated factor.

The big issue for many is when people will know. I was in contact with many people who were about to sell their homes or had gone sale agreed but are now in limbo. Families were moving to properties to suit the size of the family but they are now frozen and can do nothing due to their location on a potential corridor with the possibility that their gardens will be gone and they cannot move on. The NTA has said people will know when the letters are issued but that is still at the beginning of a consultation process. If the NTA is truly consulting on the corridor there might be changes even though people have received a letter. Everybody who is on a corridor must be given a clear understanding as to the start date and the markers in between. The NTA witnesses must make a commitment to the effect that the NTA has the resources to take on such a major project. There are bus corridors, routes and the MetroLink, which are all significant infrastructural projects. What are the resources of the NTA in regard to those projects? I am concerned about MetroLink and the bus corridors in Ranelagh, Rathmines and Milltown. Each one will have a major impact on the other. What level of joined-up thinking is there in regard to them?

Mr. Creegan mentioned the cost of what I describe as the elephant in the room but a lot more information is needed. Why has congestion tolling not been discussed? If cars are part of the problem and we are investing significantly in public transport, why are we not also considering congestion tolling, or at least having a consultation about it? It is in operation and has worked well in other cities. What is the position in that regard?

Residents on the Lower Kimmage Road, Nutley Lane, Terenure and other places on the south side and the north side have lost confidence in the process due to the lack of information in the early stages. Not many of their questions were answered. There is a need to provide a much more detailed engagement. Community forums are fine but there is also a need to meet the residents on certain roads that are impacted, for example, Lower Kimmage Road or Nutley Lane. They will have far more detailed questions than someone discussing the entire route.

There is an information deficit. I still come across rows of houses where people do not have an understanding that there is a possibility of a bus route on the road. When residents or an auctioneer acting on their behalf contact the NTA office they are told it is an indicative line. There is no clarity. An example of that is the 16 route from Ringsend to the city centre which has an indicative line on Pigeon House Road. An indicative line means that 90 odd families do not know whether they should be engaging in the process. Auctioneers now highlight the fact of there being an indicative line if a house comes up for sale but there is no plan or detail. That is a major issue of concern. I will not ask any more questions at this stage as I am aware Deputy Ellis is waiting to contribute.