Big turnout for heated meeting on bus plans

PUBLIC sentiment regarding the proposed new Liffey Valley to City Centre bus corridor scheme heated up this week in Ballyfermot.

Due to short notice, the usual big room downstairs at the Civic Centre was already booked, but Cllr Hazel De Nortúin (PBP) managed to secure a canteen area upstairs.

A baking hot room on a warm summer night didn’t deter locals, albeit nobody knew how hot it would be in the canteen until they arrived.

The meeting was so well attended with approximately 200 people packed in, that many had to wait downstairs.

The meeting was facilitated to hear the views of residents by local Cllrs De Nortúin, Daithi Doolan (SF), Vincent Jackson (Ind) and Sophie Nicoullaud (Ind), with Cllr Doolan going downstairs to get the views of residents who couldn’t attend.

The next phase of BusConnects will see changes to routes in Dublin, including that of the 79/79A and 40 routes in Ballyfermot – replaced by the number 60 and the G-Spine respectively.

Proposals published recently by the National Transport Agency (NTA) have led to concerns for residents – a key one being the removal of the 79 route, eliminating existing bus stops in lower Ballyfermot, and the lesser frequency of new routes.

This was touched on by Cllr Jackson, who said many elderly people rely on buses and there is the likelihood that the new routes will already be full when they arrive in Ballyfermot and elderly complexes were built in line with the existing routes that may be culled – a point that led to deafening applause from the crowd.

Another round of applause was reserved for an elderly gentleman was said what was happening is “out of order and disrespectful to elderly citizens – we say no.”

A Lucan resident urged Ballyfermot residents to “stop this before it starts”, citing the loss of the 25 route during Phase 2 of BusConnects last November, which saw residents in Dodsboro/Hillcrest lose a direct bus to the city centre.

However, there was supportive voices for the proposals.

Another Lucan man said there are “some good things” in the plans, and that he got home from Dublin Airport recently for €2 and within an hour.

A Sarsfield Road resident and mother said she was “excited about the changes that are coming.”

The woman is Lauren Tuite as The Echo later learned, a Green Party representative for Ballyfermot-Drimnagh.

The Echo asked Ms Tuite in an email did she not think she should have identified her Green affiliations to the crowd.

In response, Ms Tuite said: “I live on this bus route, and I’ve been making submissions to this project since 2018.

“One of the reasons I was recently selected as a local Green party area representative is my interest in improving local public transport.

“I saw that there was a public meeting on the service and it was an opportunity to have your say.

“In my view, making it safe and attractive and convenient to walk, cycle and take public transport is one of the best things we can do to improve quality of life in our community.”

A couple of residents expressed concern at a Tweet by Ms Tuite the day after the meeting, about a car parked on a footpath on Decies Rd.

One resident said the children in the short video are “identifiable” and it “oversteps the mark.”

The Echo did not receive a response from Ms Tuite to that question.

NTA plans for the Liffey Valley to City Centre bus corridor have been suspended until the end of October, due to the need for recruitment and additional buses to service routes in Dublin.

At the meeting, Cllr De Nortúin said the main aspect was for Cllrs to collect the concerns of residents, bring them to the NTA, and then hold another public meeting with residents in September.

“It is mainly about keeping the new Spine on Decies Road,” she said on Tuesday.

“We have met the NTA (with her party colleague TD Brid Smith), and they are willing to change, and have agreed to small changes.

Small stuff is not an issue for them. If it is possible, they will change.”

The next public meeting for the new bus corridor scheme will be held in the Civic Centre on September 13, at 7.30pm.