SUBMISSION ON CONSULTATION CALL BY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT "ESTABLISHMENT TEAM"
"TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE MINISTER ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRANSPORT AUTHORITY FOR THE GREATER DUBLIN AREA"
Professor Margaret O Mahony, Chairperson
Pat Mangan and John Lumsden, Assistant Secretaries to the Department of Transport
Colin Hunt, Special Advisor to the Minister for Transport
FROM AN TAISCE
DECEMBER 2005
An Taisce considers that an effective national transport authority is a paramount requirement for the Greater Dublin and surrounding area, and other regional centres, to meet to UN, EU and National and Regional legal and policy obligations, and to maintain and enhance quality of life, connectivity, and international economic competitiveness.
Current economic growth and the budget for infrastructural investment through Transport 21 create an unparalleled opportunity to achieve sustainable land use and transport planning for the future.
An effective national transport authority is needed to reverse the irreparable damage which will occur if current trends continue in road accident fatalities, loss of social cohesion and environmentally damaging urban sprawl, as well as the direct economic cost in green house gas emissions trading, damage to international economic competitiveness, economically inefficient land use, fines resulting from breach of EU environmental directives, and loss of GDP through congestion, excessive transport costs, and inefficient mobility for movement of goods and services.
RECOMMENDED REMIT OF PROPOSED TRANSPORT AUTHORITY
The Agreed Programme for Government between Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats has three relevant key objectives:
1 "We will implement an integrated transport policy, designed as far as possible to overcome as far as possible existing delays, bottlenecks and congestion and to provide alternative choice by alternative modes of transport."
This needs to be addressed at national level with effective land use and transport implementation not just for the Greater Dublin and surrounding area, but all of the regions and regional centres.
2 "We will introduce legislation to establish a new greater Dublin Land Use and transport Authority with a strong mandate to bring greater focus and better co coordination to the implementation of this strategy and to land use and transport issues generally."
The pressures experienced in Dublin stem to a large degree from its function as a national capital. Commuting patterns have long outgrown the Greater Dublin Area defined as counties Kildare, Meath Wicklow and Dublin itself. And the pressures by the capital city are becoming ever more prevalent in Cork, Limerick, Galway Waterford and Sligo. Any definition of the geographic remit of the Authority would have to go far beyond Leinster, and since such a canvass would represent a huge missed opportunity to shape the development of the regional cities in a sustainable way, the new body should be the National Transport Authority, NTA and have a commensurate remit, including a regional implementation structure. Hereafter in this submission the proposed Authority is referred to as the NTA
3 "We will ensure that access to public transport is one of the criteria taken into consideration by the planning process."
While the implementation assessment refers to the putting in place of Regional Planning Guidelines and Regional Transport studies such as in Cork, existing implementation structures are not working nationally. Section 6.1.2 National Spatial Strategy Ireland 2002 sets out objectives for "integrated spatial planning frameworks, including land use and transpiration elements, will be prepared and adopted by the local authorities or combinations or authorities responsible for the development of new gateways and hubs. Integrated spatial planning frameworks for existing gateways that are in the course of preparation will be completed and adopted."
These objectives are not being met. A number of gateways and most hubs still have no effective land use and transport strategies in place. Even where strategies have been drafted or adopted they are not been implemented and adjoining local authorities are not co operating in the strategic development of regional gateways and hubs. Individual local authorities are too easily motivated by the rates revenue of accommodating retail or business park development in their areas contravening national policy on the consolidation of the centre and serviced area of the relevant hub or gateway, e.g. the grant of permission by Kilkenny Co. Co. of a major retail development at Abbeylands Ferrybank, which was overturned by An Bord Pleanala following appeal by Waterford City and New Ross and Carrick on Suir town councils.
It is recommended that the NTA should be given a specific legislative remit for:
1. Inter-agency policy integration and delivery
2. Land use and transport planning for all of the Gateways Hubs and regions, including active exercise of prescribed authority function under the Planning and Development Act 2000
3. Transport infrastructure delivery
4. Integrated transport management
Any deficiencies in existing legislation and Statutory Instruments relating to control of vehicle emissions, land use and transport planning and traffic management should be identified and addressed, e.g. measures to control movement of Heavy Goods Vehicles, vehicle emissions including motorcycles.
It is recommended that the National Transport Authority, NTA, should supersede the Dublin Transport Office DTO and have transferred to it the "prescribed authority" functions held by the DTO under Planning and Development Regulations 2001 including Article 13 on Development Plans, Article 15 with regard to Regional Planning Guidelines , Article 28 (1) (k) with regard to planning applications, Article 121 (1 )(k) with regard to local authority projects , and that the NTA should be added to the prescribed authorities under Article 14 for the purposes of Section 20 of Planning and Development Act 2000, on Local Area Plans, and that all of the prescribed functions should be applied to the already defined Greater Dublin Area, and the contiguous Regional Authority Areas.
1. POLICY REMIT FOR INTER AGENCY INTEGRATION AND DELIVERY
The immediate objective should be to ensure the integrated implementation of UN, EU and National and Regional legal and policy obligations between all agencies and authorities concerned with land use and transport, infrastructure provision and transport management.
The policy remit of the NTA should specifically provide for implementation of the following:
AMSTERDAM TREATY 1997 AND GOTHENBURG DECLARATION 2001
The Gothenburg Declaration defined policies for sustainable land use and transport to implement the sustainable development commitment in the Amsterdam Treaty 1997.The key commitments in the Gothenburg Declaration relating to land use and transport are:
21. "New environmentally friendly technologies"
29. “Ensuring sustainable transport" with a "sustainable transport policy" which should "tackle rising volumes of traffic and levels of congestion, noise and pollution and encourage the use of environment-friendly modes of transport as well as the full internalisation of social and environmental costs. Action is needed to bring about a significant decoupling of transport growth and GDP growth, in particular by a shift from road to rail, water and public passenger transport".
KYOTO TREATY AND NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY 2000
- The meeting of Kyoto green house gas reduction obligations at 13% above 1990 levels. The provisions of the National Climate Change Strategy 2000 require fiscal measures to change modal share between carbon fuel road vehicle and other transport modes.
EU AIR QUALITY, NOISE, STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (SEA), ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA), WASTE AND WATER FRAMEWORK, BIRDS AND HABITATS DIRECTIVES
- To take effective action to prevent future legal liability for non compliance of EU Directives with regard to land use and planning, transport infrastructure and traffic management.
NATIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY 2002
- To meet the general obligation for sustainable land and transport planning, including the over riding provision in section 1(iv) for Ireland" to consolidate and develop its existing towns and villages, i.e. keeping them as physically compact and public transport friendly as possible and minimising urban sprawl", and under Section 1.3 "maximising access to and encouraging use of public transport, cycling and walking".
UPDATE OF DTO A PLATFORM FOR CHANGE 2000-2016 WITH REGARD TO TRANSPORT 21
- To update implementation of targets "to reduce the demand for travel by motorised modes", "to reduce the number of peak car trips to 180,000 by 2016" and "to reduce congestion to 1991 levels".
INTEGRATION OF TRANSPORT 21 WITH NEW NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
- To integrate the objectives of Transport 21, with specific measures for the protection of existing and further investment in M50 and inter regional motorways and dual carriageways, from congestion and commuter and comparison shopping traffic.
REGIONAL PLANNING GUIDELINES
- To monitor and ensure the implementation of the land use and transport provisions of the Regional Planning Guidelines, including curtailment of car based commuter development into the Greater Dublin Area from surrounding Regional Authority Areas, which is not provided for in the Regional Planning Guidelines and which contravenes all of the policies stated above, and implementation of sustainable land use and transport strategies for all of the Gateways and Hubs defined in the National Spatial Strategy.
2. LAND-USE AND TRANSPORT PLANNING
The NTA should adopt an active overview function in assessing the delivery of Regional Planning Guidelines, Development Plans, Local Area Plans and individual planning applications in achieving the strategic objectives defined as the remit of the NTA. In view of the transport generation impact of the Greater Dublin Area into surrounding counties, assessment of issues relating to the Greater Dublin Area, must include the adjacent Regional Authority Areas.
It must be recognised that much of the planning and transport problems of the Greater Dublin and surrounding area, are a result of local authorities giving deference to local vested interests in accommodating rezoning and planning applications in contravention of statutory regional and national spatial planning policy, and the failure of the regional authorities and other "prescribed authorities" under the Planning Acts and Regulations to take action.
The success of the NTA will be measured by it effectiveness in intervening to address cases where Local Authority Development Plans, rezoning and Local Area Plans breach EU and national strategic land use and transport policies and Regional Planning Guidelines . The NTA must address the fact that existing land and transport policies area are not being complied with by the relevant local authorities and the prescribed bodies under the Planning Acts and Regulations. Unfortunately, the Regional Authorities, the DTO and the NRA have not met with success in ensuring the type of development that can be sustained by energy efficient transport.
Section 6.1.2 .National Spatial Strategy 2002 requires that "Regional authorities will immediately commence the preparation of regional planning guidelines under the Planning and Development Act 2000 to give effect to the NSS at regional level ". Section 6.1.4. states that the "key to its implementation lies in the actions of regional and local authorities". While Regional Planning Guidelines have been in place since 2004, Regional Authorities have been entirely negligent in exercising any of their prescribed authority functions, in failing to take action against non policy compliant development plan zonings or planning decisions.
John Byrne Director of The Mid East Regional Authority repeatedly justifies his refusal to take any action to exercise the prescribed authority planning function of the Authority. This is despite the serious warning contained in the December 2003 consultation document reviewing the performance of the Strategic Planning Guidelines (SPGs) 1999 for the preparation of the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area, which were adopted in 2004. Section 4.3. Part B observed "housing development is spreading throughout the GDA to an extent not envisaged by the SPGs" accompanied by an "an increase in long-distance commuting" and "the spread of housing development has made the provision of attractive public transport difficult. The consequent travel mode decisions lead to a car-based commuting pattern and increasing congestion".
The warning is then made that "if current trends persist by 2016, much of the Greater Dublin Area may have the following characteristics:
* Some of the countryside will resemble an ultra-low density suburb (or "exurb")
* Since dispersed development will continue at a substantial scale, public transport will often be unviable and car use will continue to be high for journeys to work, shops and schools. There will be worsening congestion at peak times, even in some village areas
* Major destinations will disperse to the edge of towns, as congestion in the whole regional territory grows, and an edge city or "doughnut" economy will emerge by degrees
* As a result, DublinCity may decline economically and socially".
This analysis does not give voice to the congestion in the Greater Dublin Area which is generated in counties outside the GDA. Wholly car based development exacerbated by rezoning decisions such as over 20 villages in Co. Laois in 2005, threatens economic efficiency threatens economic growth, national competitiveness and the timely and efficient delivery of goods and services.
The problems of the Dublin area are being replicated in the other major urban centres.
The are issues which need to be addressed at national level including or the damage which is occurring to the safety and operational integrity of National and Regional Roads through sprawl development outside speed limits.
Up until now, there has been no effective body to exercise the prescribed functions under Article 28, Planning and Development Regulations 2001 for regional development, under Article 28 (1)(e), development effecting National Roads under Article 28 (1)(j) and development effecting the implementation of the DTI Strategy under Article 28 (1)(k). Both, the DTO and NRA have been almost entirely ineffective in exercising their prescribed authority functions. Neither are properly assessing Development Plans, rezoning and Local Area Plans to identify locations or cases where Regional Planning Guidelines and DTO or NRA policy is being breached. While both often make very critical comments on planning applications, e.g. regarding development in locations with poor public transport accessibility and which would generate traffic pressures on National Roads, they then fail to appeal non policy compliant decisions to An Bord Pleanala. This is shown by cases on the N11 or N7 where appeal taken by An Taisce and others has resulted in major development being refused on grounds of breach of Regional Planning Guidelines or NRA or DTO policy. The Regional Authorities have failed entirely in exercising their prescribed planning function
In all cases where a breach of Regional Planning Guidelines is identified, the NTA should make recommendation for the issue of a direction by the Minister for Environment Heritage and Local Government under Section 31(3) Planning and Development Act 2000.
In all cases where a Development Plan "fails to set out and overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the area or the authority or otherwise significantly fails to comply with this Act", the NTA should make recommendation for the issue of an order by the Minister for Environment Heritage and Local Government under Section 27(2) Planning and Development Act 2000.
Evaluation should be carried out and recommendations should be made by the NTA on all planning applications affecting land use and transport planning and, where a decision notification is issued in breach of National, Regional or Local Authority policy, e.g. development outside a speed limit area on a Regional Road, appeal should be lodged by the NTA with An Bord Pleanala.
3. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY
- Ensuring of full compliance with the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directives, by NTA taking overview in preparation of all briefs for SEA and EIS, and vetting of content and mitigation measures.
- It must be realised that Irish cities have fallen behind some of their counterparts in undeveloped countries in terms of bus provision. An Taisce refers to cities such as Bogotá in Colombia and Curitiba in Brazil and their use of integrated ticketing and real time passenger information. Irish cities must catch up rapidly with these developments and also implement traffic light priority and optical guidance to allow buses directly alight at stops. The NTA must be empowered to redress this situation immediately. While the NTA can be obligated to put its proposals before the public and other bodies well in advance, it must be clear from the legislative structure that role of other bodies is primarily to further NTAs goal of sustainable transport.
- The NTA should produce a detailed assessment on the construction of the underground tunnel from Heuston Station to Spenser Dock. It must justify where stations are to be located. It must set out how the cost efficiency of Madrid in rail tunnel and underground station construction will be replicated. It needs to introduce the concept of automated train operation as now seen on the new metro lines in Copenhagen and Paris.
- The NTA must demonstrate a comprehensive research base.
- The NTA must be given legislative power to embrace land use and planning and to allow it to intervene in development outside the Greater Dublin Area, as defined in the Regional Planning Guidelines, where there is a land use and transport impact on the area as a whole.
- The NTA should be given the overview role in delivery of investment proposed in Transport 21, to meet timescale and budget and meeting of modal share targets, including bus and cycle lane delivery.
4. INTEGRATED TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT
Information should be sought on the most effective transport management from other European cities.
The NTA will need to take the initiative to introduce and then coordinate:
- Measures to reduce air particle pollution emissions and transport generated green house gas emissions
- Effective public information and promotion of public transport, cycling and car pooling
- Management of unified ticket scheme for public transport use
- Management of school transport including promoting of walking, buses and cycling, with safe supervised routes
- Integrated traffic management
- Demand management measures to curtail commuter and comparison traffic on M50 and inter regional roads
- Measures to curtail toll evasion on M1, M4 and M50, and other tolled roads currently under construction
- Regulation and control of Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) movement including introduction of restriction zones
- Implementation of integrated pricing structure for parking as primary demand management tool. Given the difficulty of introducing a road pricing structure in the immediate term, an integrated pricing structure should be put in place on car parking, particularly in and around employment, retail and leisure uses, with the revenue going to public transport enhancement.
- Monitoring of air particle emissions and noise and taking of action before risk of EU Directive breaches arise
Encl:
1. December 2003, consultation document reviewing the performance of the Strategic Planning Guidelines (SPGs) 1999 for the preparation of the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area, which were adopted in 2004 (Section 4.3. Part B)