THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Authority (NTA) has launched a public consultation on the first phase of its “core bus corridors” project – which is part of its overall BusConnects plan to upgrade bus travel in Dublin.

These “corridors” will see continuous bus lanes from parts of the greater Dublin area to the city centre, and the NTA says that this will be both ease traffic congestion in the capital and shorten journey times.

Phase one includes the routes from Clongriffin, Swords, Blanchardstown and Lucan to the city centre.

NTA CEO Anne Graham said: “With the city set to grow by 25% by 2040, the level of congestion will increase, and people’s quality of life will be eroded unless we take the appropriate actions now.”

When finished, the corridors across the whole city will have 230km of dedicated bus lanes, and 200km of cycle lanes.

In the case of Lucan routes, it means that routes that take up to 50 minutes to get to the city centre would then take only 30-35 mins, according to the proposals. 

However, this will necessitate trees being removed, extensive road works, a reduction of on-street parking and, crucially, the loss of portions of gardens, garden walls and fencing for some property owners.

Across the 16 corridors in the capital, this will affect 1,300 property owners. Across the four listed today, it will affect over 300. 

Upon the finalisation of its proposals for areas in the first phase, the NTA contacted the owners of properties alongside the planned corridors to inform them of the plans.

Over the coming years, it will enter into a planning process with An Bord Pleanála where the homeowners will receive compensation for any parts of their property lost.

“The proposals we have put forward are not fixed or finalised,” Graham said. “Only when we have engaged with those affected and with the general public will we decide on final preferred routes for each corridor.”

The public consultation for the first four corridors launches today, and runs until 15 February 2019. You can find out more information here.