[Article] Bus system best for Docklands - Committee

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/business/2004/1013/ifsc.html

Bus system best for Docklands - Committee
October 13, 2004 15:37

The Irish Financial Services Centre's Steering Committee has recommended a bus solution as the most tenable option for an integrated Docklands transport system.

Urging the Transport Minister to give serious consideration to the IFSC proposal, the Committee also called for greater co-ordination in meeting the Docklands' transport needs.

The Steering Committee was established to carry out economic and technical analysis into the proposed LUAS C1 extension as it affects the IFSC operations.

'One of the key findings from our research was that the viable option for a transport solution in the Docklands area is to provide, certainly in the short-term, the public transport infrastructure required as a bus based system rather than an extension of the LUAS,' commented Ciaran McDonnell, Chairman of the Steering Committee.

'There is uncertainty over the overall level of development, with several elements of the Dublin Docklands Development Area's Master Plan yet to be completed and their impact assessed. A bus based system allows greater flexibility as the Docklands Area continues to develop,' he said.

He said that having researched the economic impact of the proposed LUAS line route, the IFSC is not in favour of this option as there is an alternative available which will avoid the 'chaos and disruption' to business that will occur in the IFSC if the proposed C1 line goes ahead on Mayor Street.

'Interruptions such as those that occurred in the construction of the Harcourt Street line would be detrimental to business in the IFSC, which relies on technology and where claims would be a minimum of €50m a day should vital communications and utilities be disrupted,' he warned.

He said the development of public transport within the Docklands Area must consider all the transport options for meeting the travel needs of all people working and living in the area and not just on the route between Connolly Station and the Point Depot.

Traffic management on the North Wall Quay is critical, he said. The provision of quality bus services or light rail on North Wall Quay will limit traffic movement on the quays and avoid the development of this route as an artery for car and HGV traffic into the city centre after the opening of the Dublin Port Tunnel next year, he added.

There are some 430 companies, 10,700 workers and half of the world's banks and insurance companies based in the IFSC.

Flukey

Having worked for a period a few years ago near the Point, there is definitely a need for better transport. The 53 bus goes down there, but not very often. A huge amount of people can be seen walking down that section of the quays each morning. Going further back west, a huge amount of buses come down along the north quays, yet none of them continue the rest of the way, once they get to about O'Connell Bridge. Surely some of these could go down the full length and maybe loop back up to their terminus in town. It made little sense to go down that far 20 years ago, but a whole new city has grown down along the quays now and the buses are not properly serving it. Yet another unbelievable policy of Dublin Bus. "Changing with the City"? You could have fooled me!

highdef

Do you know what Flukey? I think that's a fantastic idea. With so little space in the city centre for bus termini, relocating some of them to the IFSC would make lot of space. At this point of time, it would be easy enough to find plenty of space for some sort of proper terminus somewhere in the docklands. And yes, it is silly that more buses don't serve the IFSC. There is so much potential for bus services here.

Victor

http://www.thepost.ie/web/DocumentView/did-526726149-pageUrl--2FThe-Newspaper-2FSundays-Paper-2FNews.asp

Opposition mounts to IFSC Luas extension
17/10/04 00:00
By Niamh Connolly

A campaign to re-route a Luas extension to Spencer Dock through the heart of the financial services district will meet opposition from Dublin City Council in a report due out this week.

Thirty-five financial corporations, including international banks at the IFSC, strongly oppose the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) scheme to run a light-rail track through Mayor Street, where the IFSC's critical telecommunications infrastructure is situated.

The firms, including Citigroup, Bank of Ireland, auctioneers Jones Lang LaSalle, solicitors A&L Goodbody, Lisney's, financier Dermot Desmond's company IIU and solicitors McCann FitzGerald, want an alternative route for the Luas extension via North Wall Quay instead of through Mayor Street.

Damage to fibre-optic cables by Luas contractors and any subsequent disruption to electronic data could cost an estimated €50 million in lost trade deals daily, according to Ciaran McDonnell of A&L Goodbody, chairman of the IFSC's steering group.

The latest row over Luas is the first controversy over the light-rail system facing the new minister for transport, Martin Cullen. A meeting has been sought with officials at Cullen's department this week.

A spokesman said the Department currently has no proposal for the extension of the Luas. "Obviously, there are varying views about the options available and the Minister will listen to any proposals on the subject," he said.

Influential vested interests have been involved in the row over the track alignment in the developing Docklands area.

The Mayor Street route is supported by developer Treasury Holdings, owned by Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan, who donated up to a third of the land for the track.

Barrett declined to comment except to state it was "a matter for the judge in the Light Rail Enquiry to determine the route''.

Dublin City Council's director of traffic, Owen Keegan, said that he would be assessing the options from a traffic management viewpoint. From this perspective, the busy North Wall Quay would be problematic even after the Port Tunnel is completed.

However, this weekend, Ibec voiced its support of the IFSC's position, describing construction work in the district as "high risk''.

"I don't want to see the IFSC brand damaged in any way and it would be an extraordinary loss to the economy locally and nationally if that identity was undermined," said Aileen O'Donoghue, director of financial services at Ibec. "I would not want to be responsible for putting a pick-axe through something."

The estimated yield of corporation tax from financial institutions trading in the IFSC was €618 million last year.

The submission to the minister from the IFSC committee urged that no work on a Luas extension to Spencer Dock should begin until the impact of the Port Tunnel is assessed, as well as the effect of the new Macken Street bridge linking the North and South quays and Iarnrod Eireann's new rail link in Spencer Dock.

Last week, the IFSC committee revealed its plans for an alternative to a rail system in the area - a high-tech privately-run bus network or a quality bus network run by Dublin Bus.

BrianD

I can understand the concerns about the digging up of the streets in the IFSC. Perhaps with the lessons learned from the first two lines many of the mistakes can be avoided. It seems that no matter what routing the Red line extension takes the ramp at Connolly Station will be pretty much redundent apart from services that will actually terminate there. The Luas would certainly open up the docklands and is imperative in the light of the spencer dock development. It would also mean that the ferryport would be linked with bus and rail.

One must also remember that landlords in the IFSC went to court to prevent the luas being extended into the area believing that it would bring the wrong sorts into the area. This is when the IFSC was effectively a walled city.

antoinolachtnai

Well, they have an interesting point. Well-run bus services with their own road space could be almost as good as the Luas service, with a lot less disruption. When I look at the northside Luas section, I have to say I wonder why they didn't turn that corridor into a bus lane years ago. It wouldn't have been as good as a Luas line, obviously, but it would have been pretty good.