D15 bus sense at last but will Dublin bus play ball ?

Nevyn

http://www.dublin15.ie/pages/CV87/cv87n06.htm

An Lar in 35 minutes

A bus journey time of 35 minutes from the Greater Blanchardstown area to Dublin city centre is a realistic and achievable objective, according to Socialist Party TD, Joe Higgins. Speaking at a series of meetings to publicise the party’s radical transport plan, Deputy Higgins maintained that the current nightmare scenario for commuters could be ended if the necessary investment were put in place.The public transport plan proposed by the Socialist Party

Emphasising that the bus segment of the plan was an integral part of the overall transport blueprint for the area, Deputy Higgins outlined the ways in which this utopian ideal could be achieved.

“Dublin 15 should be split into five zones – Ongar, Mulhuddart, Hartstown, Blanchardstown and Castleknock – with each zone having a dedicated bus that goes directly from their zone to the city centre,” he said. “No more of this Wanderly Wagon type of operation where buses spend an hour picking up everybody in the whole area before commencing their journey into town.





“Buses travelling from the four zones north of the M50 would access the N3 and avail of the quality bus lane as far as Scott’s roundabout. From there the buses would branch off to the left and cross the motorway via a special bus-only bridge at River Road, rejoining the Navan Road at the Auburn Avenue roundabout.

“Continuing down the bus lane to the Halfway House, buses would then swing right to access the quality bus corridor that would bring them through the Phoenix Park and down onto the quays. From there, they would avail of the QBC for the full length of the quays.

“This relatively simple plan can create a bus service that will allow thousands of people to leave their cars at home. Those who, through necessity, have to travel by car will find the amount of traffic greatly reduced,” said Deputy Higgins.

The proposals, he said, would require the Government to “get serious” in addressing the traffic crisis and provide 100 extra buses to service the needs of commuters. A major park and ride facility would be required in the Clonee / Dunboyne area to cater for commuters coming down the N3 from Navan and other places in county Meath, he added.

“Park and ride facilities should also be provided at railway stations such as Clonsilla and the new Hansfield station,” said Deputy Higgins, “with regular and commuter-friendly buses or minibuses serving these stations from local estates. Everybody should live within a five minutes walk of a transport point that is serviced every five minutes at peak times.

“The amount of rolling stock on the line should be increased to a minimum of eight carriages every ten minutes or less at peak times and it is absolutely vital in the battle to encourage commuters to use public transport to provide them with integrated ticketing for all public transport services.”

Deputy Higgins admitted that massive state investment would be needed to reduce the transport crisis to manageable proportions, but that the money would be repaid many times over, not only socially, but also in economic and environmental terms.

“Democratic public ownership and control of transport is the only way to get the infrastructure and services that the people need,” he said

It is madness that Finglas has a better bus service with no less then 5 buses
the 40/a/b/c/d but that the bulk of the D15 area which the train is not an option for has just two.

The 39 and the 38 which have journey times of over an hour and at time 1 hour 40 mins both in and out of the city.

But would dublin bus even have the rescourses to make such a plan feasible ?

murphaph

From there the buses would branch off to the left and cross the motorway via a special bus-only bridge at River Road

Joe and his mates should do some basic research before issuing press releases. The M50 upgrade phase II will see the N3 realigned over the M50 at River Road! It'll be a very large piece of junction modification with something like 18 bridges involved to make the junction freeflowing N3<->M50. Joe's plan could work but he should really be pushing for small improvements in N-S feeder roads in D15 and for Porterstown Station to be constructed and for a major increase in rail services. The idea of running buses from D15 to town is really quite silly when a railway line is right there, idle most of the time.

Victor

The OPW are also open to buses using Chesterfield Avenue through the Phoenix Park.

Nevyn

murphaph wrote:

Joe and his mates should do some basic research before issuing press releases. The M50 upgrade phase II will see the N3 realigned over the M50 at River Road! It'll be a very large piece of junction modification with something like 18 bridges involved to make the junction freeflowing N3<->M50. Joe's plan could work but he should really be pushing for small improvements in N-S feeder roads in D15 and for Porterstown Station to be constructed and for a major increase in rail services. The idea of running buses from D15 to town is really quite silly when a railway line is right there, idle most of the time.

The m50 upgrade for the exchange will have a bus section to the flyover.

As for the railway line.
Over 2/3 of the greater D15 is NOT serviced by that rail line.

It would be over a 30 min walk for me to get to either of the two nearest train stations and there are people who are further out with the expansion continuing in and arround tyrellstown.

And as it is the trains on that line are over crowded, the additional trains which will be running due to the docklands station will only provide some addtional trains but with the apartments along the navan road still going up at a trate of knots and the new station being built this capactiy will some be eaten up.

http://www.dublin15.ie/pages/CV87/cv87n01.htm

However commuters on the new trains already have complaints of serious overcrowding and with the opening of the new station to serve the Phoenix Park race course development in the autumn, this overcrowding is expected to get even worse.
The new Docklands station will initially serve an additional 2,500 commuters a day but Iarnród Éireann chiefs believe that this will increase to 10,000 in the coming years. Dublin Bus have also introduced a new feeder bus linking the station with the city centre.

In a discussion at the launch with local TD and Minister, Brian Lenihan, CIE chairman John Lynch acknowledged the problems being caused by the existing level crossings on the line and said that the company would be “prepared to work toward their replacement with tunnels or bridges in co-operation with the local authorities. CIE will come some of the way but they will need some support from the local authority,” he said.

Honestly have you ever seen how much of the D15 area is no were near the train line ?

murphaph

Thaedydal wrote:

As for the railway line.
Over 2/3 of the greater D15 is NOT serviced by that rail line.

It would be over a 30 min walk for me to get to either of the two nearest train stations and there are people who are further out with the expansion continuing in and arround tyrellstown.

Hence why I said we should improve north-south feeder routes (like the snugborough and Blanchardstown Roads (north and south) to deliver buses from all of D15 to a new station (that Castlethorn Homes are required to build......someday) at Porterstown. Then run smaller feeder buses to the ralway station instead of into the gridlocked city centre.

Thaedydal wrote:

And as it is the trains on that line are over crowded, the additional trains which will be running due to the docklands station will only provide some addtional trains but with the apartments along the navan road still going up at a trate of knots and the new station being built this capactiy will some be eaten up.

So buy more trains, preferably electrify the line asap and buy DARTs. This is the solution to D15s problems, not running more buses into town. D15 is large enough at this stage to require an internal bus service like this anyway.

Thaedydal wrote:

Honestly have you ever seen how much of the D15 area is no were near the train line ?

Yes.

Nevyn

murphaph wrote:

So buy more trains, preferably electrify the line asap and buy DARTs. This is the solution to D15s problems, not running more buses into town. D15 is large enough at this stage to require an internal bus service like this anyway.

They tries that out in finglas it simply didnt work with feeder buses to the village and then buses from there into town.

The traffic is bad enough as it is out this way out adding feeder buses into the mayhem.

Why on earth would anyone in Corduff, Mulhudard, Blakestown/hunts town want to have to brave the traffic on the consilla road grove road in a feeder bus taking 20 to 30 minutes to try and get on a train and pay the extra cost.

Sorting out the train system so that the trains will not effect traffic and run as smoothly as that sytem would need them is easily 20 years away if not more.

re routing the buses to break up the 39 adn 38 bus routes to be more direct would not take 2 years never mind 20.

Sure plan for 20 years down the line great, but I would prefer to be able in two years time to able to get to the city centre on a bus rather then nothing be done about the current trip around all the housing estate and for the journey to be up to 2 hours.

Victor

In two years they could replace all the level crossings.

In two months they could connect Diswellstown Road with the old Porterstown Road

In two days they could run express buses through the park.

Nevyn

It's Possible but not probable.

Pushing the buses through tha park still will not deal with the problem of buses taking an hour get from the terminus in Ongar to the blanchards town by pass after going on a long route through the housing estates and eventually the village;which means after the first half hour in the morning the buses are already full.

Only splitting up the bus routes will solve that issue.

antoinolachtnai

How long would it take to get from Castleknock to the Quays via Chesterfield Avenue in the morning?