Consultation opens on proposal to open Limerick city centre bus lane for Christmas

COUNCIL is seeking the public’s opinions on a proposal to open the O’Connell Street bus lane up to regular traffic.

Since 2022, a bus lane has been in operation from the city centre towards the Crescent from the main thoroughfare’s junction with William Street to where it reaches Cecil Street.

Now, council is seeking the views of the public to relax the operating times of the bus lane outside the morning and evening peak.

The proposal is to cut the operation times of the bus lane to between 7am and 10am and 4pm and 7pm Monday to Friday until the end of December.

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Traders had called for the measure and off the back of this, Cllr Sarah Kiely put forward a resolution it be looked at.

She said: “I have no issue with prioroty bus lanes, b ut we need to increase footfall in the city centre, and it's important we trial this and see how we are going to get on. Hopefully they will do it, and we will go from there."

"The issue for me is we need to listen to rate payers. They are vitally important. We listened to them when we didn’t increase the rate by 4%, and we are listening them now when it comes to trialling something that could increase footfall in the city centre. There is no reason for us to have an empty bus lane," said the Fine Gael member.

However, David Tobin of vice-chair of Irish Cycling Campaign said he’s “deeply concerned” at the plans.

“The festive period is busy, but encouraging more cars into the city centre is not the solution. Efficient public transport and safe cycling routes make the city more accessible for everyone, including shoppers who need to drive,” he said.

"This small section of bus lane might seem insignificant, but it provides a critical time saving of up to 10 minutes for public transport users traveling into the city centre. For workers, shoppers, and city visitors, especially during the busy Christmas season, these minutes can make a huge difference in convenience and reliability," added Mr Tobin.

He also questioned the validity of the consultation the council is running.

"By allowing people to vote multiple times without requiring login or verification, it undermines any credibility the process might have had. This is not a genuine attempt to engage with the community; it's a poorly designed exercise that will produce invalid results and risks being manipulated to justify a pre-determined outcome," he said.

To have your say in the consultation, which closes on Wednesday, December 11, click here