If you build it, they will come???

This must have been the mind frame of city planners as they redid the Ennis Road and added a bus lane, and reduced space for cars. Excellent plan, right? WRONG!

What they failed to take into account was that the Ennis Road was struggling traffic wise as it was, it is often a bottleneck at rush hour. BUT, the bus lane would increase people taking the bus cutting the numbers of cars entering the city, right? WRONG again! The only bus that runs along this route is the once-hourly Coonagh bus, which then gets stuck where the bus lane comes to an abrupt end at Ivan's.

Feel this is best summed up by Boards.ie user PonderStibbons:

I'm impressed, in a perverted sort of way. It's like they sat down and thought: "Right, where can we put a bus lane that will serve the absolute least number of buses possible, and at the same time cause the maximum amount of inconvenience to drivers?"

It must have taken some planning - if they had just thrown a dart at a map of Limerick and put a bus lane wherever it landed it would be almost certain to have been more beneficial.

The people of Raheen/Dooradoyle are fighting a different case, demanding the City Council build a bus lane into the city centre along O'Connell Ave as promised. But it now looks as if the council are going to reverse this decision which leaves the people, 15,000 or so on that side of the city, with a bus lane to nowhere.

The Council have faced opposition from the people living along the proposed bus route, saying they need the roadway for parking. Its amazing the Council are backing down to this, seeing as they have the power to demand cars do not park along the public roadway at all.

But, the Mayor had something up his sleeve to fix the issue at hand, he has found a way to give both Raheen/Dooradoyle citizens their bus lane and O'Connell Ave residents their parking space. He intends to recommend the Dock Road as the new route for Raheen bound buses, he also wants to have 2 way bus lanes running along the road.

QUICK REMINDERS:
Dock Road - Dangerously busy
Crescent Shopping Centre and 60% of stops - Not accessible from the Dock Road

This is one of those more interesting transport story's at the moment.

EXTRA QUICKIES

Boards.ie users question the city's lack of a nighttime bus service, something we have already commented on, would you pay double the day fair for its services?

Some fellas on the aforementioned site have drawn up their own little plans for a light rail service for the city.Linkage

PLEASE, PLEASE DROP US A COMMENT ON HOW THESE MAKE YOU FEEL OR WHAT THOUGHTS THEY PROVOKE. FEEL FREE TO RAISE ANY ISSUES IN THE COMMENTS AREA AND PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE BLOG. CHEERS