Metro delay 'will affect' targets for M50 upgrade

The proposed upgrade of the M50 in Dublin will not reduce traffic congestion as much as expected, unless the full Dublin transport plan is implemented, a Bord Pleanála inquiry has heard.

Improvements in journey times of up to 10 km per hour were dependent on all elements of the city's transport strategy, including the metro, being implemented, the project co-ordinator of the M50 upgrade, Mr Tim Corcoran, told the inquiry, which began in Dublin yesterday.

This comes less than two months after the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, announced in the Dáil the metro could not be built by 2007, as originally promised. No new date for its construction has been set.

The M50 upgrade involves converting 31 km of the existing two- lane M50 into three lanes between the M1 Belfast Road and Sandyford and includes an upgrade of 10 access points and the replacement of the West Link toll plaza with an electronic "free flow" facility. This, it is predicted, will increase average travel speed during the morning rush hour by 19 per cent in 2008 and 11 per cent in 2023, Mr Corcoran, told the hearing.

However, under questioning from Green Party TD, Mr Eamon Ryan, Mr Corcoran admitted that these targets had been set on the basis that all the elements of the Dublin transport plan, the "Platform for Change" strategy, would be implemented.

"If the model to 2023 is based on the assumption that every one of the elements of the Platform for Change is introduced, including the orbital metro, what assessment have you done of the strengths and weakness of the scheme if those elements don't get funded?" Mr Ryan asked.

Their studies depended on the other elements happening, Mr Corcoran replied. "It will affect the M50 if they're not".

Mr Ryan, who has submitted an objection to the proposed upgrade, told Mr Corcoran that Mr Ahern had said the planned metro would not go ahead.

Mr Corcoran said that they had been working on their plans for five years and had made no provision for this eventuality.

The Bord Pleanála hearings will continue until next Wednesday and are likely to resume after Christmas.