Money for public transport being ‘nicked’ for roads projects, councillor says
Members at the meeting voted to approve the rezoning of 52-hectares at Kylemore and Inchicore in west Dublin, which would facilitate about 5,300 homes.
It is the next stage in major plans, spurred on by the Government, to rezone tracts of land around the city for tens of thousands of new homes.
It follows the rezoning of Baile Bogáin (Ballyboggan) in recent months, which would deliver around 8,500 homes to the north of the city.
The Dart+ South West route, which would upgrade commuter rail along the Dublin-Cork line as far as Hazelhatch/Celbridge, enabling the latest batch of housing, was scheduled to begin construction next year.
But in a recent update to the National Development Plan, the Government has pushed its proposed start date date back past 2030.
The delays to the line upgrade, which would quadruple capacity for commuters to 20,000 people an hour, drew the ire of Dublin councillors on Monday.
Green Party councillor Michael Pidgeon said he supported the rezoning of land along the line, but that delays to rail infrastructure supporting it were “maddening”.
“It’s a pointless delay, and we know the reason why. It’s because it’s a new government and they have new priorities,” he said, adding that money for new roads was now being “nicked” from public transport projects.
“Public transport moves real numbers, it’s what serious cities do … if we keep taking money away from these projects and delaying them, we’re just going to condemn more people to slowly losing the will to live in gridlock and missing out on time with their families.”
Fellow party councillor Feljin Jose said: “What’s going to happen now is we’re going to build these houses in Kylemore and they won’t be able to get on in the morning because of all of the people in Adamstown and all of the people in Clonburris who are packing into that railway line.”
“The government is jeopardising the houses that we’re planning and its own housing policy. What they’ve done with Dart+ South West where they’ve effectively shelved a project that is ready to go, shovel-ready, at the end of next year, is going to lead to more car-dependent housing,” he said.
Independent councillor Vincent Jackson said the area already had a “huge problem” with traffic.
“When I say huge, on two occasions last week, it took me 52 minutes and 57 minutes to get from my house, which is about five minutes to Bluebell, with the traffic,” he said.
“We cannot continue to have house building without proper infrastructure and transport,” he added, and urged the construction of the Luas line to Lucan.
The Department of Transport said there was still a chance that Dart+ South West would proceed to construction earlier than anticipated, and that it continues to “explore opportunities for additional funding” for the project.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
