COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Thursday, June 17, 2021

MOTION NO.

MOTION: Councillor G. O'Connell, Councillor P. Gogarty, Councillor L. O'Toole

31. Motion Cllr Liona O'Toole co-signed Cllrs Paul Gogarty and Cllr Guss O'Connell • To insert new objective: To support a review of bus Corridor in the N4 environs to expand into the commuter belt towns of bordering county Kildare with a view to meeting future demand of surrounding Lucan and Adamstown area.

REPORT:

There is currently ongoing liaison between SDCC and the NTA in the context of the review of the NTA GDA Transport Strategy. 

The NTA Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035 specifies the following with regards to that area:

‘Corridor C – Maynooth – Leixlip – Lucan – to Dublin City Centre

The N4 corridor contains two of the region’s most important future residential and commercial development areas at Clonburris and Adamstown, both based on the Kildare rail line. Major employers are also located in this corridor in Leixlip and Celbridge.

Several options for addressing travel demand were examined here. The expansion of the DART network to Maynooth will have an impact on the northern part of the corridor containing Maynooth itself as well as Leixlip. Associated with this, DART will also be extended to Hazelhatch along the Kildare line, serving south Lucan and the new development areas mentioned above. This will require new tracks between Heuston and Cherry Orchard, which will also form part of the investment in the DART Expansion Programme.

In terms of new infrastructure, the requirement to serve north and central Lucan, as well as areas such as Ballyfermot, has led to the proposal for a new Luas line linking to Dublin City Centre. The demand along this corridor was too high to be accommodated by a BRT solution and, as such, light rail will be required to be developed.

These 3 rail corridors will be supplemented with 2 core bus corridors. The first, along the N4 will cater for demand close to Lucan Village as well as from Palmerstown. The second, within Ballyfermot, is intended to cater for any specific demand that will not be catered for by the new Luas line, and will aim to link origins and destinations not served by the fixed rail line.

It is intended to enhance orbital road movement through this corridor, outside of the M50, and linking with the road network in Corridors B and D, which will improve linkages with the N7, N4 and N3 national routes. Other road schemes and upgrades will also be implemented, in line with the principles for road development set out in Chapter 5’.

The motion is considered acceptable.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the motion is adopted.

Insert new objective under Policy SM3 ‘Public Transport – Bus’ to read as follows:

‘To support a review of bus corridors in the N4 environs to expand into the commuter belt towns of bordering County Kildare with a view to meeting future demand of the surrounding Lucan and Adamstown area.’