BusConnects Cork project drops proposals for some bus and bike lanes
Of 56kms The And Designed Of Deliver Bus Bus Lane Lane Or Sustainable Are Cycle Some Lane File Transport 12 Picture Priority To Corridors 93kms
Contentious sections of bus and bike lanes have been dropped under revised BusConnects Cork proposals.
More ‘bus gates’ are also being considered in a bid to reduce land take and tree cutting. The changes were outlined to public representatives in recent days as the National Transport Authority (NTA) continues honing the design proposals for 12 sustainable transport corridors (STCs) across the city.
The STC routes, published last June for public consultation, are designed to deliver some 93kms of bus lane or bus priority lane and 56kms of cycle lane.
While there was a broad welcome for the ambition behind the project, several communities expressed outrage over the designs which in places included the loss of on-street parking, the acquisition of sections of private gardens, and the cutting down of hundreds of trees.
Some 3,000 submissions were made by last October and the BusConnects Cork team met with 33 residents and business groups as it reviewed the public feedback. The meetings are continuing.
In a briefing for public representatives this week, they said “this constructive engagement process” has resulted in a number of revisions and alternatives to the initial proposals.
They have now confirmed that they are no longer proposing a bike route along Gardiner’s Hill and St Joseph's Drive on the Mayfield to city STC, with an alternative route being explored, while the design of the Ballyhooly Road/Summerhill North/Wellington Road section of the corridor is still under review.
A proposed cycle route through the Presentation Brother's College sports grounds as part of the Bishopstown to city STC has been scrapped, with an alternative being explored, while another cycle route on the Well Road, Riverbank and Douglas Hall Lawn section of the Kinsale Road to Douglas STC has also been scrapped.
Engineers now plan to truncate the proposed Togher to city STC at the junction of Pouladuff Road and Pearse Road, which means Pearse Road will not be included on the STC, and revised proposals for Boreenmanna Road, where hundreds of trees face the chop, are set to the presented to residents there soon.
As previously reported, a proposed bridge over the Mangala Valley connecting Grange Road to Carrigaline Road is no longer being considered, and Frankfield Road will not be included as part of STC K.
Engineers are also reviewing whether the full extent of the proposals on the Sunday’s Well to Hollyhill STC is required. “Work is continuing on the proposed designs with further changes anticipated,” a spokesman said.
The revised proposals are due to be published for more public consultation by the end of this month or early next month.