Roads / car use
In the strategy, the NTA makes the following commitment: “We will put things in place to make the roads safer, for example, speed limits, car-free zones, and the Safe Routes to School programme.”
We strongly believe this has to happen in conjunction with significantly increased enforcement. The NTA must acknowledge its role in tackling dangerous and illegal parking, and consider a major awareness campaign around the dangers and impacts of inconsiderate parking, ensuing that members of the public come to see this as the anti-social activity it is.
With that said, we welcome suite of measures related to parking and would like to indicate our
support for measures like car-free residential developments, public sector car parking reduction and removal from all office locations in Dublin City Centre, and a recommendation that zero car parking be provided for commercial development in Dublin City Centre. We would welcome also that employment development close to major public transport interchanges or Mobility Hubs which seek to provide car parking would be required to demonstrate the necessity for such parking.
Other considerations:
- To accommodate deliveries, we need not just a goods delivery plan for city centre, but for urban villages too, and we need to minimise disruption on key bus routes.
- We must acknowledge the role of park and ride in encouraging a modal shift and long term behaviour change, while in the short term reducing the negative impact of traffic in urban villages and suburbs.
- For the safety of pedestrians and cyclists we should support the move to reduce the default speed limit in the city to 30kmph.
- With benefits for climate, costs and convemience, car sharing schemes have a vital role to play in the development of low traffic or traffic free neighbourhoods and commercial developments.
- Provision to accommodate the government’s ambitious goal to get 1m EVs on the road by 2030 should be cognisant of the fact that Electric vehicles, while still much lower emitters than petrol or diesel vehicles, are emissions intensive to produce and dispose of. These emissions are not counted in a tailpipe calculation. The plan, particularly around stated targets for EVs, should demonstrate an awareness of this limitation and encourage private car use as a last resort.
- For those who wish to and do make the switch to an EV, charging infrastructure should be convenient, fast and widely available.