Search icon

News

09th Sep 2013

New traffic proposals could make driving in the capital a nightmare

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has conducted a new comprehensive assessment of traffic in Dublin city centre and its findings could spell bad news for motorists.

Oisin Collins

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has conducted a new comprehensive assessment of traffic in Dublin city centre and its findings could spell bad news for motorists.

Do you find driving around Dublin City Centre tough enough as it is? Well it could get a whole lot worse for motorists, but a whole lot better for cyclists and pedestrians if the NTA has it’s way.

According to a draft NTA report, reported on in today’s Irish Times, the current state of traffic in the city centre is not up to scratch as College Green, for example, is plagued by “bus congestion, overcrowded bus stops and cluttered narrow footpaths”. Well, you can’t really argue with that…

In the report titled, City Centre Transport Assessment Study, the NTA concludes that a lot of the city’s traffic should be diverted away from the centre of the capital, opening it back up to pedestrians and cyclists.

The proposal would see most of the city’s paths being widened with the likes of Suffolk Street and Church Lane being made pedestrian only.

The City Centre Transport Assessment Study also proposes the removal of traffic from Westmoreland Street, which would see one of the busiest streets in the city being closed off to private motorists for good.

It’s certainly an interesting proposal, but it’s going to take a lot of funding to pull it off – so private motorists are safe for now.

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Conor Sketches | Tiger Woods loves Ger Loughnane and cosplaying as Charles LeClerc