Chapter 4 I Transport and Mobility
Urban Town Bus Services
4.55 Currently there are 14km of bus lanes provided in Cork City. Proposed bus priority measures provide for approximately 100km of new bus lanes. The extent of the planned bus lanes will align with the proposed Core Bus Network, ensuring efficient, reliable, and frequent services can be accommodated. 4.56 On key bus routes end-to-end bus priority in each direction will be provided, where practicable. On some parts of the National Road Network, further investigation, analysis, and agreement with TII will be required, to determine the optimal bus priority outcomes. In some areas of the City measures including the removal of some on-street car parking and the acquisition, by compulsory purchase or otherwise, of some private land will be required to facilitate bus priority lanes and footpaths to provide access to the bus network itself. 4.57 Bus gates, protected laybys and bus priority at signalised junctions are amongst the interventions being considered as a means of prioritising bus services above general traffic. Implementing these measures will facilitate a significant improvement in punctuality and bus journey time reliability. Greater levels of connectivity will be provided with the suburban rail network enhancing access to employment centres at Cork City and the wider CMA including at Little Island and Carrigtwohill.
4.52 The provision of local bus services within the urban towns will be reviewed during the lifetime of CMATS. Such services may provide local benefits through linking residential and urban expansion areas with town centres, schools, rail stations and employment areas. Local urban town services may comprise of new bus services developed specifically to service the local area or comprise an expansion/re-routing of existing regional bus services. Consideration of the routing through of regional services to provide for improved integration and interchange with suburban rail stations and local public transport services will be given in CMATS. Within the urban towns, Cork City Council will focus on identification and implementation of bus priority measures through their respective centres and noted pinch-points. These will be considered in tandem with proposed public realm projects and/or the realisation of distributor roads to remove through traffic from town centres. In some cases, the potential for shuttle buses from Interchange points to serve centres of employment – for example, at Ballincollig and Blarney, will be considered through CMATs.
Regional Bus Services
4.53 Regional bus services provide an important element of connectivity between the City, the CMA and the wider Cork Region. Continuous improvement of the existing network of regional services, with a view to expanding on service frequency to meet the growing demand as required is being considered in CMATS.
Light Rail
4.58 The development of an east-west mass transit, rapid transport corridor has been a long-term objective for the Cork Metropolitan Area. 4.59 The commitment to examining the feasibility of such a route is confirmed by the publication of both the National Planning Framework (NPF) 2040 and the National Development Plan 2018-2027 and a recent upsurge in planning developments and interest in key sites along the corridor has provided further momentum to determine the feasibility of such a route.
Bus Priority Measures
4.54 The delivery of an efficient and reliable bus
system is contingent on prioritising bus services above general traffic. The proposed increase in bus services and vehicle numbers will benefit a significant proportion of the City’s population. This will be dependent on the implementation of bus priority across the city. Otherwise, public buses will be held up in general traffic, providing reduced additional advantage to public transport.
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Cork City Draft Development Plan 2022-2028 I Volume 1
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