Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome that and we will try to play a positive role. This will take huge resources. The level of public consultation in itself, and the level of design, detail and engineering expertise we need, is not insignificant.

In order to kill two birds with one stone, I ask that Transport Infrastructure Ireland stop the work that it is doing on widening the N7 on the approach to Dublin and the widening of the N2, N3 and N11. While we are trying to make the city work and not get into gridlock, Transport Infrastructure Ireland is turning the tap on to allow yet more traffic into it and is using some of our best engineers in order to do it. I would switch them around and get them involved on this project because it should have priority. If we do not get it right and do so quickly, Dublin will grind to a halt.

We should give people hope that we may be able to do it without always turning to a four-lane solution that seems to be the standard design here. In fact, once the two car lanes and two bus lanes have pavements and cycle lanes added, there effectively are six lanes. There are places which have used a bus gate system and traffic light regulation to ensure that buses get priority and their speeds are increased but that do not maintain and 12 or 15 m carriageway width.

Earlier, I listened to the Minister answering questions and he recognised that this project should be and is just as much about promoting cycling as it is about promoting bus networks, as much as possible. Everything that we have learned, and the best international design advice on cycling infrastructure is clear that at all costs one should try to provide straight, continuous routes. In so many routes, when it comes to the crunch, the cyclist is removed. They are put into other wayward alternatives. The detail is not there but from the broad approach, and knowing the areas as I do, I am concerned we will lose that capacity.

I suggest that the resources from widening the M50 on the approach to Dublin be diverted to this project. Bus gate solutions should be examined rather than just six-carriageway width solutions and cyclists should be given priority at all times.

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