Mayor of Limerick John Moran has concluded his determination of the recent request to change the operating hours of the Bus Lane on O’Connell Street for December 2024.
Since 2022, following a decision by the Council to change the operation of O’Connell Street, a full time (24hour), Bus Lane has been in operation on O’Connell Street southbound from William Street to Cecil Street.
To help inform how to respond to the request, members of the public were also asked whether they were in favour of the O’Connell Street Bus Lane hours being reduced from the current 24-hour operation to the hours of 07:00 to 10:00 and 16:00 to 19:00 Mon-Fri until the end of December 2024.
The survey closed on Wednesday 11th December 2024.
The results of the public survey are as follows:
- On line Poll (unique votes) Yes: 1097 (28.5%) No: 2747 (71.5%)
- Email Submissions Yes: 43 (28.9%) No: 106 (71.1%)
You can read an analysis of the email responses here.
Mayor of Limerick John Moran issued the following statement today:
"I would like to thank everyone who participated in the recent public consultation regarding the O'Connell Street bus lane. Your input is invaluable as we strive to make informed decisions that benefit our community. I wanted to make this decision quickly in the interests of certainty and to do so in time for consideration at the Metropolitan meeting on Monday.I have carefully examined all aspects including existing Limerick City and County Council Policy, submissions from Bus Éireann and the NTA, the results of the recent shopper survey and noted the absence of overwhelming public appetite for even a pilot for Christmas. Accordingly, I cannot justify the pilot requested at this time.
It is important that decisions made for Limerick are supportive of National policy and local policy as expressed in the Limerick Development Plan, which ask us to facilitate not deter moves towards sustainable travel.
I was especially appreciative of the levels of engagement around the issue.
I realise that this decision will not please everyone.
I want therefore to clarify that I am very open, in early 2025, to receive additional evidence from those in favour of changes to the existing schema and I will share that with the relevant agencies and give it all full consideration myself to ensure we get the operation of this street right finally.
I have never been happy with the current configuration of O’Connell Street. At the time of my election, I committed to changes and prioritised since then the advancement of a new comprehensive mobility strategy for our city centre. This needs to take into account the interests and safety of all stakeholders, traders, residents, visitors and others who use our city centre. I encourage everyone to participate fully in the public consultations arising from any changes in the fullness of time."