Park and ride off M1

positron

Just out of curiosity, what would everyone think of a large park and ride facility north of Dublin Airport, off M1?

Based on my experience of how swift and efficient the bus service was when the railway track was closed over Malahide issue, it takes 5 minutes to get from M1-M50 interchange Dublin City Center if you take the port tunnel. So it's clear as day that the Port tunnel is a brilliantly useful infrastructure from anyone trying to get from North of the city to city center. So, wouldn't it be really useful if there's a large park and ride facility somewhere north of airport, along the M1, with coach transfers into city center every 5 minutes or so (depending on demand and time of day of course)? This would be very handy to commuters from all over Meath, Louth and all of North County Dublin in general, but this might be useful for people commuting from Airport/Swords/Malahide etc too, wouldn't it? They could probably integrate the cost of parking into the coach ticket or vice-versa.

Ideally a park and ride with a train/tram link connecting airport would be ideal, but since that might take a while to plan and to build, wouldn't a park and ride solution using coaches be cheaper and quicker to implement, and a way to of making more value of existing infrastructure like the M1 and Port Tunnel?

Just thinking out loud..!

Sponge Bob

They will build one for Metro North but will not allow buses to dock with it...not even if they finish it years before the railway line.

Contact Ciarán Fluffe the minishter for half baked green transport and complain !!!

Victor

The uncongested journey times are very similar.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=O%27Connell+St%2FN1&daddr=dublin+airport&hl=en&geocode=FcAELgMdJH2g_w%3BFXE5LwMdjcyg_ynTjM-TthFnSDGhULS6p8cAJg&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=15&sll=53.344377,-6.261477&sspn=0.010274,0.023174&ie=UTF8&z=15

0.28km @ 30km/h to Butt Bridge = .56 minutes
3.1km @ 50km/h to toll plaza = 3.7 minutes
9.6km @ 80km/h to Airport Roundabout = 7.2 minutes
Total 11.46 minutes

this puts a hole in your 5 minute idea.

positron

Victor wrote: »

The uncongested journey times are very similar...
this puts a hole in your 5 minute idea.

Sure, but that's always the case, and I was talking about congested roads that we now have. And about making the daily commute into city more efficient, for thousands of your average 9-5 commuters who are currently facing (and is the cause of) plenty of slow traffic on those roads, and others can correct me here, but I think it typically it takes 30-60 minutes to get from M1-M50 junction to City Center (if not more). Using park and ride and port tunnel, if 60 mins can be brought down to say 10-15 minutes, that would really so efficient in so many levels (time, stress, fuel, pollution, less cars in city center, more take up DublinBikes etc).

Sponge Bob

The real point is that there WILL be a P&R in Lissenhall. It could be built and open ONE YEAR after the MN contract is announced. Very Possibly by end 2011.

But buses will simply not be allowed to pick up passengers from this P&R and bring them into town during the further 3 years they will spend building Metro North itself.

This is a great missed opportunity for northern comm-HuTuRRszzss and you should all hassle Ciarán Fluffe about it starting NOW!!

AlekSmart

The real point is that there WILL be a P&R in Lissenhall. It could be built and open ONE YEAR after the MN contract is announced. Very Possibly by end 2011.

But buses will simply not be allowed to pick up passengers from this P&R and bring them into town during the further 3 years they will spend building Metro North itself.

It is this kind of nonsensical paddywhackery which underlines just WHY the country is banjaxed.

Behind all of this apparent whimsical nonsense you will probably find some nefarious input from an "interested party" of two....a friend of a brother-in-law who just happen to have a few oul shares in a Toll-Bridge or sumtin....:o

positron

Sponge Bob - while I don't know all the details, if it's as simple as you said, that's plain ridiculous alright. Why is the park & ride part of the Metro North anwyay - why wouldn't the authorities think of it as a common park & ride for all sort of public transport? Who puts these decisions in places, and when do we get a chance to challenge / interrogate them? If public has to wait until next general elections, surely there's something wrong about the system - as in this day and age, couple of years is too long - us general public should be able to take part in general decision making on a monthly basis, if not weekly!

Sponge Bob

Ciarán Fluffe is in charge. Here is his job description according to John Gormley.....who should know. Talk to Ciarán!!!

My colleague Deputy Ciarán Cuffe is also to be appointed as a Minister of State, at the Departments of Transport, Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and Environment, Heritage and Local Government. He will have special responsibility for Sustainable Transport, Horticulture and Planning. He will drive the implementation of the Government’s Sustainable Travel and Transport Action Plan, and the implementation of Government policy in Planning and Heritage, including Spatial Planning and its integration with Sustainable Transport.

dcr22B

33X works perfectly for a lot of us out Rush/Lusk way at the moment. I fear a Park & Ride would already make the commute between Lissenhall and the airport even more unbearable some mornings.

positron

dcr22B, could you please explain how would it make it any worse than it already is? I would have thought taking 40 cars off the road and replacing it with one coach would make it less congested. Also, I would think some people south of Lissenhall might also prefer to drive a few kilometers to the north and then take the coach into city center, making it better for everyone?

May be we need a campaign to get everyone interested to write to Ciarán Cuffe and others!

Sponge Bob

Get a group of Northern area commuters, form a comm-I-tee and meet Ciarán.

Try to find out

1. Will he open the P&R early, if not why not. Hassle Trevor too as local TD?
2. Will he licence buses or simply fanny around ?
3. As the north county and meath are rural will he do a special for P&R car pools where 4 adults come in a car and get the bus. Incentivise car pooling and P&R both. Same for Pace P&R which opens this year ( I think) for south and west meath
4. Will he OFFER to vary existing bus licences from Drogheda etc to allow a pickup and drop at Lissenhall P&R ?
5. Will he designate a single civil servant of rank Asst Principal or higher the point person for all contacts
6. Will he ask Bus Eireann for a special 999X Bus Route as well ?
7. MOST IMPORTANT. Time of next meeting no more than a month later and keep chasing him and Trevor by phone and email.

Hop to it