Dart Plus delays leave new homes in south Dublin without necessary transport infrastructure, say councillors
Delays in the Dart’s extension to parts of south Dublin could leave the residents of new homes in Adamstown and Clonburris without adequate public transport, according to councillors in the county.
People Before Profit councillor Madeleine Johansson said that she was “shocked and angry” to hear that the Dart Plus South West route connecting Dublin city centre to Hazelhatch and Celbridge in Kildare will not commence until 2030.
“I want to write to the minister for transport to express anger and disappointment with the decision to delay the Dart Plus South West programme for four years,” she said, introducing a motion at a South Dublin County Council (SDCC) meeting this month.
“The service is essential for existing communities in Adamstown and Clonburris where new housing developments that have planning permission have commenced.
"This delay is despite the fact that there is no planning objectons or any objections whatsoever by anyone to this project.”
Last month, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien published the National Development Plan which outlined that extended services to these areas will only commence in 2030.
“We need the Dart Plus in order to service all the housing that’s being built in our areas like Adamstown and parts of Clonburris,” said cllr Johansson.
“The discussions we had as a council when developing Clonburris was about the importance of Dart Plus because there was no other way we were going to be able to build all those houses without having that kind of transport infrastructure.
“It’s a disgrace that it wont even begin construction until 2030. And at the same time, the government are asking us to rezone more land for housing. How can we do that when we know we don’t have the funding for transport to service those existing houses?
“All this housing is going to be delivered before public transport is available to them. People are literally not going to be able to get out of their houses, they are going to be reliant on cars.”
Fine Gael councillor for Lucan, Caroline Brady, said the new service could help build close to 9000 homes in her constituency.
“It’s going to open up the opportunity for us to build more houses – there is potentially 9000 houses we can build in Adamstown but we cannot move forward without this infrastructure,” she said.
“We already have infrastructure there, so I’m advocating very heavily for this project to go ahead to provide transport for Adamstown and Clonburris.”
Another Lucan councillor Liona O’Toole (Independent) also supported the motion calling the decision “unfortunate”.
“I’ve lost faith in the Dart or the Luas – I moved to Lucan 30 years ago when we had the promise that the Luas was coming. There are no signs they are coming and I don’t think they will,” she said.
“I know we have a bus infrastructure and brand new roads being built that we’ll need to invest heavily. We need to look at road transport because I don’t think the other services are going to come.”