Cork - Light Rail [route options idenfication and initial design underway]

Correct, parking spaces are being provided, slightly uphill, but still on the same section of Churchyard Lane. The new spots are also in a proper bay, off the road, unlike the current situation where cars park against the front walls of the houses, occupying most of the downhill road lane:

Also, an additional 16 spaces are to be provided at Ashcroft, here:

So that’s 21 new spaces, all off-street. I think that’s an improvement overall, but there will always be that one person who “needs” to have their car parked right outside their gate, even if it’s a hazard to other traffic. They can avail of the FRO process if they feel that way.

The point that is lost on many is, with improved public transport in a city, the requirement to own one, two or three cars per household is greatly reduced. Many living in cities maintain a driving licence but use the car sharing schemes for the times the need a car. So more space for those who must drive everywhere.

I've only been to Cork city a few times so don't claim to have any great knowledge and open to correction from those with more knowledge, but...

Would it make sense to have the east-bound track turn north after MTU and then use MFR instead of going south and along Curraheen Road? The routes would join again at Dennehy's Cross. That should allow for greater segregation from general traffic and possibly negate pushback due to landtake and general disruption along Curraheen and Wilton Road (the flip side of that is that you get some pushback along MFR but probably less). It also allows more homes and businesses to be served.

You could also have some trams go round the loop and back to the city (i.e. Wilton Road > Curraheen Road > Melbourn Road > MFR), increasing frequency on the central section. I know there are drawbacks to using separate routes in each direction but the level of shared running looks so bad to me, coupled with the level of objections which will come, make me think it is worth considering here. Maybe it has been considered and rejected, I haven't looked at any reports.

Model Farm Road is a major commuter route into the city and by consequence also a major choke point. The section between MTU and Dennehy’s Cross hosts several major employers in the local IDA technology park, as well as two major schools, all of which generate massive amounts of traffic during commuting hours, not to mention massive obstructions by parents stopping their wankpanzers wherever they want just to drop off their kids. A tram following that road would simply add more traffic to a road that is already over capacity.

And that’s before we even get to the issue of local resistance. The section along the IDA technology park is pretty doable, but once you get beyond that and closer to the city, the street narrows considerably, and properties are built right up to the street. The outcry when the BusConnect plans were announced was blood-curdling, and a light rail line, even a unidirectional and single track line, would fare no better.

Personally speaking, avoiding Model Farm Road completely is probably one of the smarter decisions of the route planners. It will not only increase speed on the actual light rail line, it will probably also speed up the delivery of the line by removing one area of heavy resistance against the project. That still leaves Wilton Road, all of Ballincollig, Ballintemple/The Venue Bar and Skehard Road as areas that’ll likely see massive resistance…

I'd agree. "Save our right hand turns" and "save our roundabouts" crew should be left to it. Remember this one from a few years ago? It's like something from a comedy sketch.

Yeah for sure that seems like a route forward. There's a hardcore group in Ballincollig that need to come around to understanding that there's more to city transport than just the car. Trying to "win people over" to give them such an expensive gift seems like madness to me.

I remember that bike lane one well. There were arguments to the tune of "having to slow down our cars is dangerous" and "cycle infrastructure is inappropriate here because nobody cycles". If someone was proposing cycle infrastructure or footpaths or mass transit in my area I'd be asking "how quickly can you do it and what can I do to help"!

Having to slow down is dangerous. 🤣🤣🤣

Just when you think you’ve heard it all……

Where will the terminals for storing trams etc be located? In Kent?

Looking at the mess with Dublin Airport and its non public transport rail link to the city I think a relatively short extension to their current plan is very manageable. I am currently working on a submission for the public consultation. I will upload details once it’s ready for comments but would involve a new branch heading from the CUH stop, up Doughcloyne and up to Spur Hill to meet a new non light rail line directly to the airport (2km). Gradient from Spur Hill to the airport is the issue which would have to be overcome but there are literally green fields the entire route up to the terminal in Cork airport.

I think it’s vital for the CUH station to be future proofed if an extension leg wouldn’t be part of the initial construction.

I think Carrigaline and Douglas are a higher priority than the airport and it would be essentially impossible to include all 3 in a single line.

Another option for the airport and Douglas is the R851, which is pretty wide from Kinsale Road to Donnybrook Hill

Hopefully this is the first of several LUAS lines for Cork. Covering all the major trip generators in the first 2/3 should be the priority.

The solution that will keep everyone happy will be the solution that will result in there being no Luas for Cork. They'll bicker and argue and want amendments to the plans and they'll be objections and hysteria from business owners and residents groups.

I think people are making unfair comparisons in their head to Dublin which acts more as a proto subway system than a light rail network. 16 million per year is pretty standard for a regional light rail network; most around Europe have between 10 and 20 million per year. The entire Bus Eireann network in Cork city had 16 million passengers last year. There is no way you are getting 10 million on a corridor and that's before you consider the complete mess made of Bus Connects, which has been stripped back again and again in endless public consultations where now there isn't anything close to a contiguous bus lane planned anywhere in the entire network. Without the infrastructure, you won't get reliability, without reliability you wont get people out of their cars. I think the usage will go considerably above 16 million after 5 years or so when the system beds in and frequency inevitable increases but even at 16 million it completely changes public transport in Cork.

In terms of the airport, it would be very easy to run the Luas down the South Link Road, leaving one lane in each direction. Airport to Kent is relatively straightforward but to make Luas viable, it would probably have to go further north. Ideally to Apple but getting there would be difficult if not impossible. Anyway, a north/south route is a different matter entirely and needs to be looked at separately to east/west.