Council defies residents with bus lane proposals

DESPITE trenchant opposition by residents, Limerick City Council is pressing ahead with the development of bus lanes from the county boundary at the Crescent Shopping Centre in Dooradoyle into the city centre through Ballinacurra and O’Connell Avenue.

Director of services at the council, Pat Dromey, said it was planned to commence work on the bus lanes in August.

He estimated up to €2.4 million will be spent on the project.

Bus lanes have already been opened in Dooradoyle on the county side of the boundary by the county council, but they come to a dead end at the county boundary near the Crescent Shopping Centre.

Residents claim they will have no place to park in front of their houses if bus lanes are put in place.

Mr Dromey said: “The plan is they will be implemented in September. We want work to commence then, although it will be some time next year before the first buses roll. It has been noted by the city council the work is going ahead.

“The essentials of having a good bus service are reliability and frequency. We are providing infrastructure for this – 2% of this country’s workforce use public transport. It is Government policy to increase this to 10% and unless appropriate infrastructure is provided, such an aim will not be achieved.”

Mr Dromey said city manager, Tom Mackey had taken the decision to move ahead with the development of the new bus lane.

He ruled out calls by residents to switch the development of the new bus lane to the Dock Road.

“The Dock Road has no housing to serve at the moment. We have a bus lane coming in as far as the Crescent Shopping Centre and the potential for a park and ride in Raheen,” he said.