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While we continue to await the formation of a new government, the Departments of Transport and Environment are collaborating on a long-held project that is said to be a key part of Ireland's strategy to reduce emissions from road transport.
The scheme, which is expected to be trialled on a yet-to-be-decided stretch of motorway, will see most of the inside lane of the nation's one positive legacy from the Celtic Tiger days turned over to pedestrian and cycle priority. A source within the Department of Transport said in a statement that "people are being encouraged to use the national motorway network for walking and cycling, especially at peak commuting times, as we have recognised that the network is currently largely under-utilised at the moment."
The Department went on to say that it hopes that the scheme will attract "the sort of hard-core, long-distance walking commuters. The sort of person who would walk the Wild Atlantic Way in a weekend would find it no bother to commute by foot from Carlow to Dublin, for example."
Modelled on the layout of some of Cork city centre's streets, the scheme will not see the inside lane closed to traffic, but rather will give priority to pedestrians and cyclists. As soon as a government is fully elected and installed, amendments will be tabled to the Road Traffic Act that would see trucks and cars compelled to change lanes to accommodate the new foot and cycle traffic. A Department spokesperson said that "given the available width of the road surface, and the generally excellent visibility available, we don't see a major safety implication. Sure, the trucks can just veer out around people and there won't be much change - they already regularly veer into the outside lane to overtake one another at a 1km/h speed difference."
The Department of Finance is apparently also keen on the plan as, if successful, it should bring to a halt the top up payments given to toll operators in the face of lower-than-expected traffic volumes. One Finance insider, speaking to CompleteCar.ie on the understanding of strict anonymity, told us that "when we agreed the tolling contracts, nobody foresaw the dramatic drop off in traffic volumes. But we've checked the fine print, and it doesn't say anything about the traffic having to have wheels or an engine, so we think we've got the fecke... I mean, we believe we have an amicable solution for all parties."
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the Department of Environment is keen to use the scheme to reduce emissions of toxic diesel particulate soot, not by a reduction in vehicle use but simply by the fact that the human lung is one of the most efficient ways of filtering such particles out of the atmosphere. "We could see a reduction in particulate matter in the atmosphere of as much as 30 per cent according to our calculations" said one Department official. When it was pointed out that this plan could lead to serious illness for those using the new pedestrian and cycling lanes, the official said "yes, but that would be a problem for the Department of Health, so we're well in the clear."
Ireland's car drivers seem so far nonplussed by the plan. One regular user of the M50 had this to say: "Motorways have an inside lane? Are you sure?"