Cork Luas could get stuck in traffic, slowing journey times
Last month marked a significant milestone for the future development of Cork City with the publication of the proposed Cork Luas project. It will be the first light rail project in the city since the closure of the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway in 1934.
The new light rail line will connect Mahon Point in the east of the city to Ballincollig in the west, stopping off at Kent Station and Patrick Street en route. It forms part of a forward-thinking vision for transport in Cork City set out in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy 2040 and which includes the Bus Connects project.
What initially leaps out about the preferred route is how successfully it links many of the leisure, recreation and sporting facilities in the city - Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Marina Park, the Marquee, Páirc Uí Rinn, the Mardyke, MTU Sports Grounds, Mahon Golf Club, etc. - as well as linking to several schools and both universities.
It moves this proposal beyond a purely peak-time commuter service and towards a much broader transport solution for the city which should deliver significant reductions in car-dependency and make the city more accessible for all.
With tram stops on Washington Street, Patrick Street and MacCurtain Street, the Luas will bring people right into the heart of the city without the worry (or the cost) of trying to find parking. A tram stop on Main Street in Ballincollig offers an opportunity to further enhance the public realm there so that the town feels more like a destination and less like a thoroughfare.
The route links in with the proposed Bus Connects Network so it can also help to improve access to areas within the city not served directly by the Luas such as Blackpool, Douglas and the Apple campus in Hollyhill.
Cork is forecast to be the fastest growing city in Ireland in the coming decades and it is essential that it has a transport system capable of accommodating that growth. Put simply, we're going to need to move a lot more people, more frequently.
To do that within the fabric of the existing city means a shift to more efficient modes of transport. Without that shift we would be condemning the city to ever increasing congestion as more and more cars fill up the limited road space.
Reliability
But any public transport system will only be successful if it offers a frequent, reliable and efficient service when compared to the private car. This doesn't just mean shorter journey times.
What really makes a public transport system successful is reliability – will the tram or bus be there when I want it, and will it get me to where I want to be in a predictable journey time. To achieve this, you need to ensure that the public transport service has priority over other modes of transport so that it doesn't get stuck in the same congestion as every other road user.
Whether the current design for the route can achieve that is not a given. What is proposed in Cork is different in one quite significant way to what has been built in Dublin.
The extent to which the rail line will share road surface with buses and, in several sections of the route, with private cars is much higher than is the case with the Dublin Luas network. This doesn't just impact on journey times due to slower tram speeds, it also risks impacting on reliability unless other measures are put in place to limit congestion risks through strict traffic management.
Design questions
There will be different opinions on various aspects of the design. Would it make more sense for it to extend into the western suburbs of Ballincollig towards the Dell plant? Should it run to the north of Páirc Uí Caoimh and follow the old Blackrock and Passage Railway alignment rather than winding its way through Maryville and Churchyard Lane?
Should the crossing of the Killumney East Roundabout be a bridge? The public consultation process currently under way - it finishes on Friday - will no doubt bring out many more issues, but these questions should not be used as an argument against the project but rather should be seen as an opportunity to improve it.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland and its consultants have carried out a complex and extensive analysis to arrive at the proposed route, but this shouldn't mean it is cast in stone.
A meaningful public consultation process which draws on the local knowledge of people living and working in Cork should inform improvements to the design and move it towards a project that all can feel invested in and be proud of.
With a bit of luck, and with the support of the people of Cork, we might see a light railway running down Western Road again in time for the centenary of the closure of the Muskerry Tram.
Ciaran Ferrie is an architect interested in urban planning and sustainable design
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