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THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION Authority (NTA) is asking members of the public to provide their views in a statutory review of the Greater Dublin Area Transportation Strategy.
As part of your review, evaluations will be included on a number of possible future transportation projects, such as a metro to Terenure-Rathfarnham-Knocklyon, a metro to UCD-Sandyford, and the evaluation of a rail line to Navan.
Major projects in the strategy also include Luas Cross City, Metrolink, the Dart + program, and BusConnects.
The strategy was first adopted by the government in 2016, but the NTA is now seeking input on what people’s priorities are for the transportation strategy going forward and today released a paper on what issues need to be addressed.
Recognizing that we are living in “uncertain times,” the NTA said there is now the possibility to strengthen the strategy so that it is fit for purpose in the future.
“We need to make sure that the policies and proposals we present are the most relevant and are focused on transforming the quality of life of people by facilitating their displacement,” he said.
It identified three elements that it needed to particularly consider, including adaptation to post-Covid life in the greater Dublin area, the delivery of a sustainable transport network that meets the requirements of climate change, and the potential for future transport options, such as electric bicycles and electric scooters.
By law, the NTA must review its strategy every six years. He said that by starting the review now, he would be able to get all the feedback, data and information from the public and stakeholders to complete the review in early 2022.
He hopes to provide a revised draft of the strategy review by mid-2021. Prior to that, he will review a series of studies including an evaluation of a Metro to Terenure-Rathfarnham-Knocklyon, a Metro to UCD-Sandyford and the evaluation of a railway line to Navan.
Looking at its progress to date, the NTA said that tens of millions of euros had been invested in walking and biking projects, such as the bike path along the Clontarf seafront and the off-road pedestrian / cycle path. between Baldoyle and Portmarnock.
It also signaled an additional 180 buses on Dublin’s bus network, investment in real-time passenger information and the flagship BusConnects project that has come online, along with rail upgrades.
Looking ahead, the NTA listed a number of upcoming projects in the pipeline, including Metrolink, Dart West, and the new BusConnects service network. All of these should start work or start planning next year.
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Members of the public can provide feedback on the strategy by completing an online comment form at www.nationaltransport.ie.
NTA Executive Director Anne Graham said: “Now we need the help of the people. We want to hear people’s views on what should be taken into account when preparing the new transport strategy for the Dublin metropolitan area.
“We ask people to read our discussion paper and then go to the website and answer the questions in the comment form. This will help us shape our approach so that the revised Strategy we publish next year reflects the views of the public.
“Next year we will publish a draft of our revised Strategy. That will include details on all of our proposals for the region, investment plans, projections, transportation models, etc.
“At that stage we will invite the public to consider the draft plan in detail; evaluate it in terms of future transportation needs at regional, local and even domestic level; and send us your comments on what we are presenting. “
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