Continued expansion of public transport in the greater Dublin hinterland will form a key aspect of the region's planning policy over the coming 20 years, according to a draft planning policy unveiled today.
The Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Areareport, commissioned under the auspices of the Department of the Environment, makes a number of broad recommendations concerning transport, employment and housing policies.
The guidelines have gone on public display and will be open to public comment until March 5th, at which point councillors in the local authorities concerned will have a two-month period in which to consider the recommendations. The local authorities will then vote on whether to accept or reject them.
The recommendations are not site-specific, but rather address planning challenges in macro terms. They cover the four Dublin council areas, as well as counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.
Chief among the 48 recommendations contained within the report, which has been placed online at www.rpg.ie, is the development of a 'multi-modal' transport network, which would lead to the maximisation of the use of public transport.
The main aim of such a transport network would be to "reduce travel times and hence reduce congestion…by facilitation of transport modes alternative to the private car", the report states. It recommends the establishment of 'transport corridors' to designated centres within the hinterland area.
In tandem with this, more employment should be provided in such designated centres, the report states, citing satellite towns such as Naas, Maynooth and Navan as centres ripe for development.
The report also recommends the 'speeding up' of the provision of housing in these expanding metropolitan areas.
The Regional Planning Guidelineshave been designed to give effect to the National Spatial Strategy launched last year. The strategy addresses, among other issues, the continued population expansion in Dublin, and the implication this has for housing, transport and employment.