The number of large lorries using the M50 has increased by almost 45 per cent since the introduction of Dublin City Council's ban on five-axle heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in the city centre.
New figures compiled by the council from information provided by National Toll Roads (NTR) show that the number of lorries of four axles or more passing through the West-Link toll bridge on a weekly basis has increased by more than 15,257 or 43.89 per cent since the ban.
However, despite the increase in HGV traffic on the city's heavily congested ring road, the city council has received independent advice that it should not yield to hauliers' demands to reopen any of the former access routes to the city centre.
The council banned five-axle HGVs from the city centre, loosely defined by the Grand and Royal canals, last February in order to remove large lorries from the city streets and encourage the maximum use of the Dublin Port Tunnel.
Hauliers with business in the city could apply for a permit to enter the cordon, but none could use the city streets as an access route. This meant that port-bound lorries travelling from the south and west of the country had to use the M50 to travel north to the mouth of the port tunnel, instead of taking direct routes.
Haulage industry representatives said business would suffer as drivers would not only have a longer journey to reach the port but would be constantly delayed by M50 traffic. The council has been seeking data on the number of lorries using the M50 for several months. However, NTR had refused to surrender the information on the basis that they were under no obligation to the council and advised them to seek the information through the National Roads Authority.
The council now has the information, which shows a huge increase in HGVs on the M50, but also shows a substantial decrease in the number of cars and small vans using the road. Each week 30,623 fewer cars are using the M50, a decrease of just over 6 per cent, and 3,106 fewer vans, a decrease of almost 5 per cent.
Hauliers had sought to have the southern access route to the port, Seán Moore Road, reopened and the city manager John Tierney had said he would be reviewing the ban next month. However, based on the above figures a traffic consultant engaged by the council has said the ban should remain in force.
"At West-Link, 4-axle-plus truck traffic is substantially up mainly because the M50 and Port Tunnel must be the natural route for vehicles with origins/destinations west of the Liffey . . . In other words the cordon plus tunnel is being very effective in getting trucks to use the M50 and the Port Tunnel," traffic consultant Dr Michael McNicholas said.
"I consider that in retrospect the decision to have a 'closed cordon' on the Sandymount side is fully justified. With an 'open cordon' the increase in truck traffic on Seán Moore Road would be at an unacceptable level," he added.
