A memorandum of information has been submitted to the Irish Government by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, outlining the steps being taken to produce a new National Demand Management Strategy.
Space for private cars drastically reduced
What does that mean? Basically, it's the beginning of a new plan that will see space for private cars on city streets drastically reduced, and space for buses and 'active travel' prioritised.
To sell this new strategy to the public, the Government says that it will "engage and inform citizens of the transformative changes that are already taking place to improve and enhance public transport and then, to explain the concepts behind and benefits of freeing up our road and public spaces." The National Demand Management Strategy is part of the Climate Plan, and the overarching idea is that by 2030, there will be 20 per cent fewer kilometres travelled by car.
The Department of Transport says that it wants to make the plan equitable and says that it recognises that this will only be the case when proper public transport alternatives are in place - seemingly realising that such plans have to be some carrot, not all stick. Nonetheless, systems to force motorists out of their cars - including road space reallocation, car-free zones and user charging are under consideration. We take that to mean per-kilometre charging for journeys, potentially.
Inter-departmental steering group
A high-level inter-departmental/agency steering group is being set up to flesh out the new strategy, which will be focusing on urban areas first before spreading out to more rural locales. On that subject, the Government says that it's "mindful that people in rural areas may be more dependent on cars and have less access to public transport" and so special sub-committees of the steering group will be set up to assess any impacts on rural communities.
Minister Ryan said: "Traffic congestion continues to clog our roads in our towns and cities. It causes stress. It slows us down and makes us late. It makes it more difficult for buses to run on time. It's polluting, it's noisy and it's often dangerous for walkers and cyclists. In other words, the system we have now isn't working for people.
"Less traffic congestion, on the other hand, means less stress and more time. It also means improved air quality, more people friendly urban centres and the potential for greater fitness and health through improved active travel.
"Demand management in transport is all about improving the efficiency of the existing transportation system, by reducing travel demand rather than increasing capacity. Our transport system at the moment is overly dependent on cars which is leading to daily traffic chaos and lower quality of life, particularly in our cities. As our population grows, these pressures are only going to increase unless we intervene now to reduce our reliance on cars and put in place the systems and road space needed for people to choose quality public transport or active travel."
50 per cent reduction in CO2
The strategy also has broader aims, including a halving of our transport emissions by 2030 by using "incentives and investment to support a large-scale transition to electric vehicles, increased penetration of biofuels in the fuel-mix and unprecedented levels of funding in active and public transport infrastructure and services." Quite how that chimes with the recent roll-back of the SEAI grant for buying a new electric car remains to be seen.
The Department of Transport is also developing a Climate Action and Sustainable Mobility Public Engagement and Communications Strategy, which will communicate Government measures and policies to support the changes needed to transform the transport system, as well as motivating individuals to make a shift in how they travel. The first elements of this will roll out this summer.