‘NTA should focus on getting public transport right’ – Cllr

THE National Transport Authority (NTA) has called for land at Finnstown Castle and St Edmundsbury be “rezoned for residential use as originally proposed” to prioritise housing due to access to existing and proposed public transport.

In June, councillors chose to reject the land at a special council meeting whilst the Finnstown Castle site was notably excluded from rezoning, following deliberations among councillors.

The NTA noted that the “development of these lands would align with the principle of consolidating development within the existing built-up area in locations served by existing and proposed transport services and therefore should be prioritised.”

Councillor Liona O’Toole has been at the forefront of protests against the rezoning of St Edmundsbury in recent months and voiced her opposition to the NTA proposal.

“I strongly disagree with this recommendation. The NTA should focus on getting public transport right for the residents already living in Lucan and Adamstown.

“Our communities continue to experience overcrowded buses, insufficient capacity, gaps in services and a transport network that has not kept pace with our rapidly growing population.”

The NTA listed the number of transport links that service the area, including three buses which provide 14 services at peak hour; 12 to the city centre and two serving Liffey Valley Town Centre and Interchange.

The Authority also pointed out that the area is also very close to Adamstown Station, which provides four rail services in the AM Peak Hour.

This level of services proves that the area “may benefit from medium-high level of service using the NTA Public Transport Accessibility Level tool analysis”, according to the NTA.

Cllr O’Toole argued that elected councillors should be the ones to “decide where further development should go based on the full needs of our communities, not transport accessibility alone.”

“Public transport accessibility should not be used to justify thousands of additional homes while current services and essential infrastructure remain under enormous pressure.”

TII has confirmed that it has no observations to make on the proposed material alterations.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme