I have written to the National Transport Authority to request new bus shelters for the 63 bus stops in Ballyogan. It’s not good enough that people have to wait in all weathers at busy bus stops in this day and age. Especially many older people and secondary school students rely on the bus here so it’s so important that we put in the infrastructure to support them.
My request has lead to the bus stops being added onto a very long waiting list for bus shelters across Dublin. I will keep pushing the NTA to provide bus shelters at these locations and others until they provide them.
I have also asked them to consider relocating bus stop number 4773 further away from the Luas junction due to the occasional traffic issues when it stops and car traffic builds up behind it, blocking the Luas. I previously raised this with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council engineers and they didn’t think the issue was serious enough to warrant moving it. So I have put it on the NTA’s radar so that it gets considered again.
You can read the full response I received from the NTA here or see it below:
Dear Councillor O’Connor,
We refer to your recent correspondence of 20th September 2023, relating to the provision of bus shelters at stop no. 4773 and stop no. 4393 Ballyogan, Dublin 18.
Currently there are no plans to provide shelters at the aforementioned bus stops located in Ballyogan, Dublin 18. However, further to your correspondence we will request our bus shelter contractor to conduct a technical assessment, which will assess the feasibility of providing a bus shelter at this location and potentially enable its inclusion on a provisional installation list if considered feasible.
The technical assessment will consider space availability at the proposed location, road safety considerations, accessibility standards, as well as the design details and technical requirements relating to the bus shelter. It should be noted that many locations are not suitable for the installation of bus shelters due to space constraints, traffic sight line issues, access issues, conflicts with underground services and cycle lanes, impacts on adjacent premises or other similar type items.
Based on an initial desktop review of the bus stops it is not clear if the locations are suitable for the provision of bus shelters having regard to the relevant factors outlined above. However, we should have a clearer indication in relation to this location following the assessment, and any related discussions with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
If the locations are considered suitable for the installation of bus shelters, we will add the stops to an overall list of potential bus shelter installations within the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area. As it is simply not feasible to install bus shelters at all requested locations – there are over 12,000 bus stops across the country – we liaise with the Council Executive in relation to which shelters can be prioritised and progressed within the county. It should be noted that planning permission is generally required for new bus shelters.
Regarding the location bus stop number 4773, we will liaise with Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on this particular query.
Have a public transport or any other issue you would like me to raise on your behalf? Please get in contact and I’ll see what I can do on your behalf.
