Micheál Martin not in favour of SUV ban for Cork City
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Micheál Martin has signalled he is not in favour of a ban on SUVs in Cork City and said people should be “brought along” with climate action measures rather than “issuing edicts from time to time”.
The Tánaiste said he would take a "broader view of it", adding the city has pedestrianised many inner-city streets already.
"Cork City Council did 18 during covid alone on top of what was already a significant pedestrianisation programme. We’ve in effect a ring road system which has taken a lot of traffic out of the city centre.”
The Tánaiste made the comments in the wake of remarks by Green Party leader and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan on Wednesday on a plan to remove cars from parts of Dublin city centre by August.
Mr Ryan said it was “ridiculous” the plan to cut both cars and commercial vehicles has taken so long to introduce, pointing to what is happening in other cities around the world.
He said he also would not rule out introducing extra charges on SUVs to park in cities, following a recent vote in Paris which will triple parking fees for the large vehicles.
In the wake of the Paris vote, environmental NGOs said this could trigger a “new trend across Europe”.
Mr Martin, however, said he believed in devolution to local authorities in respect of their traffic management and pedestrianisation and “trying to get the balance right”.
“The more fundamental point is the big-ticket items of elimination of fossil fuels over time, the scaling up of renewable energy and we are making good progress on that,” he said. “That is the key.”
The Cork South-Central TD said the development of greenways in Cork had been very significant and people are “really pleased with the investment”.
“For example, the new pedestrian and cycling overpass into the Tramore Valley Park, the pedestrianisation of the Marina.
“Those are the more practical ones that bring people with you. Ones people are really excited about and interested in. These are safe cycle routes. And to me, that’s the future. The huge investment in the Docklands and the light rail investment in Cork and other cities. That’s the way to do it and create a reality on the ground where people actually opt to cycle, get on a bus, get on the train to the city centre.
“That brings people with you more effectively than maybe a sense of issuing edicts from time to time.”
Mr Martin said a ban on SUVs was “headline stuff” and issues of substance such as the infrastructure for public transport and cycleways “where people opt to do the sensible thing” was being advanced by Government.
“We’ve already seen it,” he said. “If you look over the last three years, the revolution is taking place in investment in active travel. It’s a way ahead. And this Government deserves a lot of credit for radically changing and transforming investment in active travel.”
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