The call "Save our Strand" is one of the most enduring memories from my childhood. I can still vividly re call the slogan painted in great big letters on the old baths on Sandy mount strand as I happily played in what was then the summer playground for many Dublin families.

It is a call and an objective as worthy of support today as it was then. It is a cause to which I am as equally committed as the late Jack Torpay was when he was elected to Dublin City Council on that issue in 1967.

Saving the Strand and saving the communities of Sandymount, Irish town, Pearse Street and Ringsend must remain as key objectives for anyone who wants a clean environment in this city and a decent quality of life. They are my objectives.

Similarly, facilitating the ongoing development of Dublin Port must remain an objective for all of us who wish to see the continued growth of the economy. They are not mutually exclusive. It is now high time to deal with the traffic situation. That is why I was pleased to co-sponsor the motion to include a southern port access tunnel in the City Development Plan currently being discussed by Dublin City Council.

Despite the obvious increase in traffic, the draft plan contained no proposals to deal with this problem as it affects the south-east of the city. No doubt this was influenced by previous political decisions. I readily admit that I was one of those who opposed such plans in the past.

New realities, however, cannot be ignored. Any objective analysis will show that trade through Dublin Port has soared and that car ownership levels have reached unprecedented levels. Both of these, rightly or wrongly, are set to grow. Latest figures show upwards of 700 heavy goods vehicles entering Dublin Port from the south side each day. Two years ago this figure was 500 heavy goods vehicles a day.

The case for a route to the east of the city and a southern port access route has never been so convincing. The port tunnel, already agreed by the city council, addresses the issue from the north and parts of the west of the city. The completion of the Cring will provide a suitable by-pass to the west. However, these plans, while welcome, will not resolve the traffic problems in the communities which I represent. They will not provide for direct access from the south to the port nor do they provide for a by-pass from the south of the city to north Dublin. It must be clear that such a need will continue to grow. In 1997 the tonnage through Dublin Port was 16.8 million tonnes. In 1998 it is expected to reach 18.6 million tonnes. This no doubt will continue to grow. The Dublin Dock lands Development Authority sets a target of an additional 11,000 residential units in its master-plan.

This, with an additional 40,000 people expected to be working in docklands, will represent real and fundamental change in the nature of this area. Those arguing against the southern port tunnel continue to ignore these facts and seem to be hap py pursuing their Luddite agenda.

The route must be developed to the highest environmental standards and it must safeguard the environmental beauty of Sandymount strand. It must also respect and enhance the residential amenities in the south-east of the city. It must respect the amenity and resource of the Liffey estuary and it must not encourage or result in a new commuter route to the city centre. These provisions have all been included in the proposal before the city council.

That proposal is for a bored tunnel under Sandymount strand from Booterstown to the south port. This will ensure the strand and coastline will not be affected detrimentally by the scheme. Where the proposed route crosses the Liffey, a low-level bridge with an opening is proposed. The route will eventually link with the tunnel on the north side already agreed by the city council.

This proposal would provide a long-term solution to the problems caused by traffic in the south-eastern inner suburbs and in the city centre itself. It will protect the bay and protect the port. It will not solve all our traffic and transport problems.

Dublin Corporation must continue to implement improved traffic management policies. Working with CIE, it must develop an improved and integrated public transport system. It must deliver more quality bus corridors and cycle lanes.

It must develop policies to control the quantity and travel times of heavy goods vehicles getting into the city. All of these sensible policies have my wholehearted support. However, as a cyclist, I know it is not possible to carry a 3-tonne container on your bicycle. As a society we cannot expect to enjoy the benefits of a booming port without providing for adequate access.

Our proposal for a southern port access route provides this access. It will also deliver many other benefits to the Dublin region, among them:

The provision of an important and necessary north-south city link;

The removal of substantial traffic volumes from residential areas in the south-eastern areas of the city;

The facilitation of the removal of unnecessary traffic from the city centre;

The facilitation of the growth in public transport operations and more traffic-calming;

The assistance in the relief of growing pressure on the M50 on the western side of the city;

The delivery of substantial environmental improvements to local communities and all the citizens of Dublin;

The protection and enhancement of the environmental resource of Sandymount strand;

The facilitation of the continued operation of Dublin Port.

Critics of the scheme say we do not need a roads-based policy. They are right. We do not, in general. We do need this road. We need the port to survive and grow and we need to protect our communities. If we are to ensure that traffic does not enter the city unnecessarily, we need to provide alternatives.

The task, therefore, is for those of us who want to create a better environment to work together on this project. Within the next month the revised City Development Plan will go on public display. I want people with ideas and suggestions as to how we can improve this project to work with us and submit their ideas and comments to Dublin Corporation. I want Dublin Bay protected. I want Dublin Port developed.

Above all, I want the decent people in the vibrant inner suburban communities of Sandymount, Irish town, Ringsend and the south inner city to have the chance of living in a decent environment. For too long this has been denied by indecision. The southern port access tunnel is the route to an improved environment. We can take it or we can stay down the cul de sac.

Dermot Lacey is a Labour Party councillor for Dublin's South Inner City ward and member of the Dublin Docklands Development Council