Increased capacity has been requested for the Luas Red Line
Increased capacity on Luas Line requested
Increased capacity on the Luas Red Line has been requested after the delay of the planned Dart+ South West extension.
A letter has been sent to the National Transport Authority to request the capacity increase on the Red Line to deal with the demand in Clondalkin and surrounding areas.
The calls were made in response to the shelving of the Dart+ South West plan until at least 2030, as well as increased housing targets placed upon the local authority.
Councillor Darragh Adelaide noted that the larger capacity is necessary to deal with demand that is only set to grow, should housing developments be delivered.
Cllr Adelaide said: “We need commitments from the NTA and not broken promises that, you know…these are kind of long-term problems that, if they don’t get dealt with at the time, it compounds on things, makes traffic worse, makes it harder for people to get around.
The Clondalkin councillor stated that public transport in the village is not adequate and promises such as the Dart extension and the old Metro plans have never borne fruit.
Land is set to be rezoned to achieve the new housing targets set for South Dublin and several projects, such as the Adamstown and Clonburris Strategic Development Zones and the CityEdge project.
The current state of traffic in the region has underlined the need for stronger public transport to service Clondalkin and its surrounding areas.
Councillor William Carey shared an anecdote of a recent traffic jam he was stuck in: “You could not get from Tallaght to Liffey Valley. It was just one single stream of traffic all the way across.
“You couldn’t get through the twin roundabouts at the Nangor Road. How nobody lost their reason I don’t know.”
Cllr Carey stated that it was “a sign of failure by us all to bring forward proper transport” and added that it needs to be addressed when land is rezoned.
Councillor Francis Timmons agreed that traffic in the area is poor and noted that Clondalkin Village took 90 minutes to get through on a recent journey.
Cllr Timmons recalled the broken promises of the past and detailed a brochure he received 20 years ago when he was in Cherrywood about the Metro stop set to be erected nearby.
He suggested that extending the Luas would lead to major disruption but that the current trams are bursting at the seams.
“The Red Cow Luas, if you often go up there now, it’s full by the time it gets from Tallaght down at certain times of the day, and also going the other way it’s full.
“So it’s over capacity, and if you ask any questions about planning or something, you’re told ‘we have the Luas, it’s on the Luas line.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
