Noonan: Defer bus lane scheme

A CALL was made yesterday for a controversial bus lane scheme to be put on hold in Limerick until the planned new Shannon tunnel is completed.

Residents in the city are opposed to the so-call disruptive bus lanes through their neighbours.

As submissions from the public closed yesterday on proposed bus routes, Deputy Michael Noonan suggested the plan should be deferred.

He said the bus route plan should not proceed until the new tunnel road under the Shannon was completed in 2010.

The tunnel, he said, would divert up to 30,000 cars from the city in its first year.

Limerick County Council, meanwhile, have completed a number of bus routes in the city suburbs, but these end at the city boundary.

Limerick City Council say they are obliged to press ahead with the continuation of those bus lanes into the heart of the city to comply with government policy on public transport.

City centre traders are also backing the bus lane proposals.

Residents from the O’Connell Avenue and Ballinacurra areas recently held a public meeting to voice their opposition to the opening of bus lanes through their neighbourhoods.

They claim it will hit delivery services and local car parking.

Cllr Maria Byrne and Cllr Pat Kennedy have been to the fore in opposing the bus lane plan.

However, senior officials at City Hall have made it clear they are determined to develop bus lanes and have put in place a €15 million plan to commence work by this summer.

Mr Noonan said the level of traffic which will be taken up, when the new €250 million tunnel is opened, will be sufficient to defer the bus lane plan for at least two years.

When the tunnel was completed, an assessment on whether bus lanes are necessary could then be carried out, he said.

Mr Noonan said: “If you look at the traffic coming in from the direction of Raheen and Dooradoyle in the morning, much of it is heading out over the Shannon bridge. With the tunnel open, much of that traffic will use strip roads to avoid the city centre. In my opinion this will take away the need for very disruptive bus lane developments along O’Connell Avenue.”

Mr Noonan said the motives behind City Hall’s push for bus lanes are dubious.

He said: “It’s certainly being driven from Dublin, and especially now with the priority being given to public transport by the Green Party. Money is being promised to the local authority for roads investment to develop bus lanes. There are a lot of traffic problems in Limerick, but the Southern Ring Road and the tunnel will help.”