The construction of bus corridors as part of the BusConnects programme in Dublin is due to begin in the autumn, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has said.
The first corridors to get under way will be the Liffey Valley to city centre route and the Ballymun/Finglas to city centre scheme.
Exact start dates will be announced in the coming months, the NTA has said. The transport body added that it is engaging with affected property owners on “a one-to-one basis” through the established compulsory purchase order (CPO) process regarding compensation payments.
An Bord Pleanála has granted planning approval for 11 of the 12 bus corridors, though a number of them are subject to judicial reviews. The Kimmage to city centre corridor is the only scheme that has yet to be approved by the planning authority.
Nine properties are expected to be impacted by the Ballymun corridor with 36 parking spaces removed and 30 trees felled.
Under the Liffey Valley corridor, 38 properties are expected to be impacted, 49 parking spaces removed and 172 trees felled.
BusConnects aims to revamp the bus system in Dublin with commitments to increase the level of services, provide a more coherent network that will eliminate overlapping routes and improve journey times.
The plan largely consists of two components – a redesigned network alongside the creation of 230km of dedicated bus corridors, in tandem with 200km of cycle tracks.
The redesign of the network involves a new lettering system of bus routes, from A to H, that identifies eight “spines” through the city, complemented by 12 orbital routes (lettered O, N, S, W) and a number of local (L), city-bound (1-99), peak-only (P) and express services (X).
So far, the H, C, G and E spines have been rolled out, along with the N, W and S orbital and other radial and local routes.
The construction of all of the corridors could impact more than 700 properties, with more than 3,000 trees potentially felled and 827 parking spaces lost.
The NTA has said there will be a comprehensive replanting and landscaping programme aside from the compensation payments affected homeowners are expected to receive. It previously said that all 12 corridors will be completed by 2030.
The construction of the corridors will be done on a phased basis “in order to reduce the traffic impacts that could arise should all 12 be constructed concurrently”, according to the authority.
A new ticketing system, which will include tap and pay payments, is also due to be introduced under BusConnects, with a contract awarded in 2024 for its design and implementation.
Passenger boardings in areas of Dublin where the new BusConnects network has been implemented are up 40 per cent compared to the rest of the network, a recent report published by the NTA said.
