Limerick council insists there will be 'full public consultation' over bus lane plan

COUNCIL has insisted there will be "full consultation" if plans to remove cars entirely from the city's main street emerge in a new transport strategy.

Local authority members have expressed concern after it was confirmed a two-way bus lane is being considered for O'Connell Street which if implemented could remove general traffic from the thoroughfare.

Work on the much-delayed €9.1m revamp of the street has paused for Christmas, and will resume in January.

But in initial drafts of a new transport strategy, buses could end up running in both directions. Early works for O’Connell Street envisioned total pedestrianisation, while the up-to-date project, which is currently being worked on, contains one lane of traffic and one bus lane – with council saying the scheme offers “pedestrian priority.”

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At this month's metropolitan district meeting, Fine Gael's City East councillor Sarah Kiely asked what engagement the authority had enjoyed with the National Transport Authority, which is driving the new blueprint.

In a written answer, Robert Gallagher, a senior engineer in the transport department, stated that the council will be "fully engaged" with the NTA when the final draft of the Limerick-Shannon Metropolitan Area Strategy (LSMATS) are published, a date he added was expected by the end of the month.

Known as LSMATS, this will incorporate Bus Connects Limerick which will recommend a major overhaul of routes in the city.

"THE NTA has recently appointed specialised transport designers Jarrett Walker and Associates to carry out the design works for BusConnects Limerick. They are currently undertaking a review of the existing bus network across the metropolitan area and developing initial drafts for the future bus networks which will be based on the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy, land zoning and predicted demand areas," Mr Gallagher confirmed.