Ciara Kelly: Anti-traffic plan is unfair to Dublin city drivers

Plans to block through traffic in Dublin are unfair to people who “have to travel through the city”, according to Ciara Kelly.

The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec) is calling on Dublin City Council to “pause” its plans to reduce the number of cars traveling in the city centre.

He said the impact on downtown business owners, both customers and employers, had not been adequately considered.

Newspaper breakfast host Ciara Kelly admitted that many policies adopted by this government are “anti-business”, including new traffic measures.

“They are making Ireland a more difficult environment to do business in and this is another example of that,” she said.

“I think public transportation should be the main focus of our destination.

“If you go to a city like London, you wouldn’t dream of bringing your car… but (in Dublin) it’s a bit like the cart before the horse.”

Traffic through the city

Presenter Shane Coleman disagreed with Ibec, arguing that while traffic into the city is good, traffic into the city needs to be reduced.

“60% of (car) journeys (in Dublin city) are through through traffic,” he said. “It’s not a downtown destination.

“It’s the biggest problem, and it’s not just me saying it: it’s the biggest barrier to transportation.

“We need to build a nice, breathing downtown where people can bike and walk (but the) car is king – monster cars.” »

Artist’s impression of the South Quays in Dublin after changes to the traffic plan. Image: Dublin City Council

Ciara pointed out that it’s not just business owners who could suffer, but city dwellers as well.

“What if you live in Ranelagh and need to go to the Mater Hospital?” she asked.

“It remains a destination – the river (Liffey) is an arbitrary thing.

“People sometimes have to go across town and (they) make it really difficult.”

Shane argued that one cannot simply use the “hard case” as the main example.

“60 per cent of people who drive through the city don’t get to the Mater,” he said.

Ciara countered that there is no information on where 60% of drivers are going.

“The river is an arbitrary measure of what people do in the city,” she said.

Access to central premises

Ciara also reiterated the harm caused to businesses, noting that Guinness owner Diageo “doesn’t know” how they will transport goods from the St James’ Gate factory to Dublin Port as the docks are closed to the traffic.

Aidan Sweeney, Ibec’s head of infrastructure and environmental sustainability, echoed this argument, saying closing through traffic would reduce accessibility for “practical things like deliveries”.

“How do they access the central premises? he said. “Whether it’s trash collection or emergency plumbing services.

“How are deliveries going from the point of view of pubs, restaurants… what does this mean for them?”

Shane pointed out that people probably had the same arguments before Grafton Street and Henry Street were pedestrianized.