At yesterday's council meeting, members were shown plans for new bus lanes after the Department of Transport approved funding for the scheme.
And while a route from Mulgrave Street into the Cathedral Street junction is to cost €1.2m, with the wid
ening of Childers Road set to cost €150,000, there was shock after it was revealed a short section of road from the maternity hospital to Sarsfield Bridge will cost half a million euro.
According to a document presented to councillors yesterday, the green route – which will be widely used by services starting their journey to Shannon Airport – will include new pedestrian crossing facilities, improved quality bus stops and new public street lighting.
But Independent councillor Kathleen Leddin was left concerned at the price tag on the proposal – and she also said that the size of buses coming down the Ennis Road were hampering the provision of a more convenient bus service.
"These buses are huge and ponderous. People here should talk to Bus Eireann and make sure we get smaller buses. Whatever people say, there needs to be some input to give people a smaller bus model, which is convenient and sustainable for the area."
Elsewhere, following talks with business owners and residents of Mulgrave Street – some of whom were in the council chamber yesterday – new plans were unveiled for a bus lane on this stretch, eight months after the Council agreed to "withdraw and delete" plans for the route.
However, councillors have already called for a section of this route, which runs from the Pike to the Cathedral Street junction, to be deleted from the new plans.
And there have also been concerns expressed as to whether Bus Eireann will have enough staff to service the route after the Limerick Chronicle revealed the embattled state bus provider was to axe 30 jobs in the city.
