Eastern By-Pass restored to plans

Dublin city councillors have restored the controversial Eastern By-Pass to the city's draft development plan. The five-mile underground route between Whitehall and Booterstown via Sandymount Strand was first seriously considered by the corporation about 10 years ago, but was rejected by the Fianna Fail government in 1992.

A section of the proposed road, the Dublin Port Tunnel, survived the ban and is at the design stage. It is expected to open in three to four years' time.

Although the government effectively ruled out the by-pass in 1992, a £1 million report commissioned from the consulting engineers, Ove Arup, was delivered to the corporation in 1994.

Now the city council, faced with worsening traffic congestion, has decided the by-pass should be completed with the addition of the Sandymount-Dublin Port section.

Pressure for the inclusion of the by-pass came from local councillors in Dublin south-east areas, some of whom actively opposed it on environmental grounds in 1992.

Proposing the amendment to the draft development plan, the Lord Mayor, Senator Joe Doyle (FG), along with Councillors Eoin Ryan (FF) and Dermot Lacey (Lab), said they were concerned that the plan did not contain specific proposals to reduce the excessive volumes of traffic in the south-eastern sector of the city.

Arguing that residents had to contend with increasing commuter numbers driving through their estates, alongside those heading for Dublin Airport, where traffic was also higher than expected, the councillors said throughput at Dublin Port had now exceeded its planned level for 2011.

While there were other measures, such as the C-Ring planned to relieve congestion elsewhere, the councillors said the Ringsend, Sandymount, Irishtown and Donnybrook areas had borne the brunt of the increase in traffic. "The construction of such a route will also facilitate the removal of unnecessary through traffic in the city centre," the councillors said in a joint motion.

Strenuous opposition to the plan has already been voiced by the Green Party councillor, Mr Ciaran Cuffe.

Speaking to The Irish Times last night, he said the move displayed a lack of vision.

"We had thought that throwing roads at the problem was now accepted to be a pretty historic and costly way of dealing with traffic chaos," he said.

He claimed that quality bus corridors, light rail and cycleways were a more sustainable solution.