By way of introduct to my whole submission (so not soley related to section 3):
- I am very supportive of the strategy and the concepts and measures discussed and set out within it;
- I am concerned, given my experience with the recent DART+ West consultations with how this will be implemented in practice, in particular balancing the various aspects of public transport, the road user hierarchy, the sense of place for the various communities affected, and the nature of engagement with the community;
- I have found that the preferred options set out in the DART+ West consultation (despite NTA involvement) are completely misaligned with the current draft strategy and previous strategies and recommendations in all but the achivement of public transport infrastructure. With the closure of Ashtown level crossing, pedestrians and cyclists would be (under the current proposals) reliant on accessing key amenities via a secluded (not overlooked) underbridge/tunnel and road which conflicts with the concepts of permiability, incentivising increased walking/cycling (including a GDA cycle network secondary route), access for disabled people, disincentivising car usage, and the effect on the overall sense of place through the nature of infrastructure design;
- There seems to be insufficient involvement/experitise from an urban design perspective in the project team, while engagement with affected communities could be significantly improved, including greater engagement outside of official consultations to work collaboratively on potential solutions;
- Concerns raised in the first consultation appear to have been largely ignored (with minor tweaks that did not address key concerns) and there appears to be insufficient exploration of alternative options beyond the initial preferred options. At times it seemed that other options were put in for the sole purpose of increasing the attractiveness of the preferred option. There has been a significant breakdown in trust with the communities along the railway line as a result of the consultations, when one would have thought the objective of the consultations was the opposite;
- My focus in my reponse is on the inconsistencies within the plan and the preferred option set out for Ashtown level crossing.
I have attached, for your info my submission in relation to DART+ West should you wish to view it for further information, including suggestions for alternative solutions.
I recognise the challenge of preparing such a strategy in the context of the uncertainty created by Covid-19.
I note the comment in relation to delivery of transport schemes:
“Extensive engagement with stakeholders, local communities and the wider public is essential to properly inform the public about major transport changes and scheme proposals, and in order to highlight and reinforce the benefits of transport schemes. That engagement also provides an opportunity to work with those parties to achieve better overall outcomes and to allay unnecessary concerns. A central tenet of the delivery of the proposals in this Transport Strategy will be a process of dialogue and consultation with the relevant parties in the case of each proposal, affording opportunity for more collaborative development of balanced solutions.”
I believe that this is a very important observation, and would very much like to see it implemented with immediate effect. My most recent experience in relation to infrastructure proposals relates to DART+ West and the two consultations that have been completed to date. I am very supportive of the upgrade to the Maynooth railway line, but have significant concerns over the nature and quality of engagement with local communities. Large volumes of information have been provided, yet public virtual consultation meetings have focused on the infrastructure elements and have not highlighted elements of most significance to local communities. In addition, significant issues raised by the community in relation to the plan were not addressed. This relates mainly to concerns over the safety of a proposed vehicle, pedestrian and cycle underbridge due to the closing of Ashtown level crossing , which would be very isolated and not overlooked, and therefore unsafe. In my response to consultation no. 2 I suggested greater engagement with those most affected by the changes necessary to complete the upgrade (and related level crossing upgrades), but there has been no engagement since, with the progression of financing for the project recently announced.