In relation to Objective 4.4 (Active Travel), supporting the proposed Lee to Sea Greenway (see table 4.3) and hope for a timely delivery (4.30), particularly for its missing City Centre and western sections. The L2S would directly serve UCC’s Main and Western Campuses and connect it to numerous trip attractors and key residential areas across the city. Together with a spur along the existing Currahene Greenway it would follow the proposed “Innovation Corridor” (see above) with a highest quality active travel route. Traffic light timing is currently favourable towards private cars.
The wait times as a pedestrian or as a cyclists can be off puting to commuters. Given the variability of weather in Ireland, reducing the commute time for pedestrians and cyclists would do a lot to encourage uptake, as there is a lower likelihood of getting caught in the rain.
Traffic calming measures are also needed to improve road safety, this will also encourage a modal shift towards active travel. The banning of certain vehicles from the city centre, such as HGVs and SUVs, which are inherintly more dangerous to other road users, would be a big step towards improving road safety, and encouraging the uptake of cycling. The timeframes layed out in Table 4.2, are unabitious, and fail to appreciate the needed for a rapid modal shift. Public and active transport projects should be prioritised and accelerated.
Objective 4.43 outlines the proposed increase in the modal share of public transport from 9.1% to over 26% by 2040. There is very little ambition in this target. Public transport usage could be an easy win in getting people out of cars, and the targetted increase should be brought forward to 2030. We need a cultural shift to occur to get people out of their cars. Incentives such as free public transport at certain times, such as weekends or bank holidays, or as a method of reducing traffic associated with schools, should be explored. This will not only make our roads safer, but will also reduce commuting times for everyone, which will have a knock on economic benifit greater than the cost of providing free public transport. All these benefits are additional to the massive reduction in CO2 emmissions associated with commuting. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0656-8
Provision of free public transport. Traffic Calming Measures. Prioritising active travel roads users and public transport over private vehicles.
We need to make it as easy as possible for people to get out of there cars and to enable a cultural shift. This will go a long way towards much needed climate action, and making our roads safer and air cleaner.