EU Could Veto Kilkenny Inner Relief Road & New Ross Bypass - Researcher

national | environment | press release Thursday March 20, 2008 13:31 by Brian Guckian

Transport Alternatives Ignored; Re-think Necessary

PRESS RELEASE

For Release 20/3/2008

KILKENNY and Wexford County Councils could face possible legal action under EU law in relation to the proposed Kilkenny Inner Relief Road and N25 New Ross Bypass schemes, for failing to evaluate more sustainable transport alternatives, according to Mr. Brian Guckian, an independent Dublin-based transport researcher.

Mr. Guckian, who carries out research and development into sustainable transport in Ireland and who has been involved in campaigns against a number of road schemes including the M3 in Meath, the Outer Bypass in Galway and the Monkstown Ring Road in Dublin, said that the proposed road schemes were unsustainable, would take funds from public transport, would drive up CO2 emissions, would lock local people into further oil and car dependency, would have very significant environmental impacts and would in no way solve the problems of increased traffic.

Calling for a re-think of both schemes, Mr. Guckian stated: "Numerous scientific studies have shown that building new roads does nothing to solve problems associated with increasing traffic volumes and are merely an attempt to treat the symptoms, when it is the underlying cause - increasing traffic volumes themselves - that needs to be tackled".

Mr. Guckian added that Ireland's out-of-control CO2 emissions, as well as chronic fuel dependency and the increasing price of oil made consideration of sustainable alternatives to the proposed schemes a priority. "These road schemes were drawn up a great many years ago, when there was no knowledge of climate change and when energy costs were relatively low. But times have changed considerably since then and we have to face up to our collective responsibilities in this regard".

Mr. Guckian said that the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Asssessment required proposers of transport infrastructure projects to examine alternatives such as rail and local public transportation if a new road scheme was proposed. However, due to an anomaly in Irish law County Councils looked only at alternative routes for road schemes in their Environmental Impact Statements, which was a breach of the Directive and which exposed Councils to possible legal consequences in Europe, he said.

Irish citizens had the right to Petition the European Parliament on breaches of EU Directives and Mr. Guckian stated that concerned locals opposed to these road schemes could do this, and that advice was available from their regional MEPs. He also indicated that the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament had heavily criticised Ireland for its unsustainable emphasis on road transport on a visit here last year.

Mr. Guckian said that former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Dick Roche TD had confirmed to him in 2007 that County Councils could re-organise their Roads Departments to take account of all modes of transport. "At present, many of our Councils evaluate only road solutions to transport problems, which is outmoded and wholly unsustainable; you could say they view the world through 'roads-tinted glasses', and this has to end", he said.

With declining exchequer revenues and an economic downturn underway, money wasted on unsustainable road schemes would also mean that it was unlikely that further funds could become available for superior public transport solutions in the future.

Mr. Guckian said that Kilkenny could pioneer a sustainable local transportation system based on an attractive high-frequency minibus network using renewable energy, new dedicated "greenway" cycling and walking routes and increasing pedestrianisation of the urban core. He said there were plenty of examples where this had been done in countries like France, Germany and Switzerland. "We have to stop copying failed American and British transportation policies and start looking to our more enlightened neighbours in continental Europe", he said.

Regarding sustainable alternatives to the proposed N25 New Ross Bypass, Mr. Guckian said that intensive further development of the existing Wexford / Rosslare - Waterford rail corridor for both passengers and freight, plus re-building the Waterford - New Ross - Macmine Junction railway, closed in 1963, would substantially cut road traffic volumes. The latter project would give sustainable access from Enniscorthy and Wexford to New Ross, and would also greatly relieve traffic volumes on the New Ross - Waterford section of the N25.

A Waterford - New Ross - Macmine rail re-development project could cost an estimated € 104 million, or approximately two-thirds the cost of the current proposed road scheme, and would generate environmental benefits of € 25 million per annum, with the investment being returned in a four year period. € 44 million of the estimated spend had already been covered in a separate proposal to Waterford County Council in 2006, covering the New Ross - Waterford line and using new low-cost light rail technology from the UK.

Funds freed up by the rail scheme could be used for a more modest N25 river crossing upstream, closer to New Ross, for example between Raheen and Southknock, which would still provide a bypass of the historic town centre. Further, the significantly reduced traffic volumes brought about by the rail measures would allow for more modest improvements to the current N25, and at considerably less expense.

"We simply cannot go on as a nation indulging in overblown, US-style highway-building projects, which are unsustainable and inappropriate in today's planning environment", Mr. Guckian said. "We need to radically re-think transport in this country, and recognise that it is in fact sustainable transport that delivers true economic gains going forward, not out-dated road-building policies from the 1960s".

Mr. Guckian has asked interested Councillors and members of the public to contact him regarding rail and sustainable transport alternatives via email at [email protected].

ENDS

Contact: Brian Guckian 087 9140105 [email protected]