8. Planning for Sustainable Transport
In general I think the strategies that are being put into place are great but the changes need to be made much faster. 2040 is too late if all these changes are to make impact at all.
In short the Luas Finglas, Lucan and Bray won't be finished until 2031-2042. Luas Poolbeg may be shelved in favour of bus or finished by 2042. There will be design work done on 11 new Luas lines but none will start construction before 2042. This is not good enough
On top of this , this Draft Strategy proposes to shelve DART+ Tunnel and the Green Line upgrade to metro. Navan rail line, DART to Wicklow, Kilcock, Naas etc. will only be finished between 2031 and 2042. No matter how it will impact our day to day lives in regards onstruting routines etc - we need to do this now or never
In our rural towns we also need more buses operating more often . For example I live in Monaghan and everyday 3 times a day (thats if it even goes ) a 50 seater bus goes up and down the road - with next to no passangers on it - why not downsize but provide more choice.
People use their cars for convience - the buses and bad timing and schedules are nto convenient - therefore no one will want to give up their cars
Luas fares also need to be reduced - public transport in most other European cities average a 2€ return trip - ours is 2.80 one way - we pay high taxes our luas should be free
There is no incentive for people to make changes - your plans are worth nothing if you cant convince people they can rely on public transport and no need their cars