Plans are being drawn up for a major change in traffic arrangements on Dublin’s north quays which would introduce a new two-way cycle lane and restrict private motorists to one lane instead of two.
City council chief executive Owen Keegan acknowledged the proposal would slow up traffic on the busy north quays, but said restricting the road space available to cars was essential as part of a sustainable transport system in the city.
“It is not something that we have to apologise for,” he said in an interview with The Irish Times. “ It is inevitable.”
He believed the creation of a dedicated cycle lane in and out of the city centre would encourage more commuters to take up cycling. “Cycling has to be for the unbrave as well,” he said.
Goal
The ultimate goal is to increase the number of commuter journeys by bike from 4 per cent to 10 per cent by 2020.
He maintained that the imperative to reduce car journeys into the city would increase once the cross-city Luas linking the red and green lines opens. “We can’t give that road space to Luas and leave everything else as it is.”
A formal plan for the north quays traffic is expected to be brought forward by the city council in the coming weeks.
Mr Keegan is a keen cyclist and commutes from his home in Deansgrange every day. He is taking part in the annual Dublin Lunchtime City Cycle tomorrow at 12.45pm from Grand Canal Square, as part of national Bike Week. Several thousand cyclists are set to take part.
