[Article] Luas facing delays at traffic lights

Luas facing delays at traffic lights
From:ireland.com
Thursday, 29th May, 2003

Luas trams will be forced to wait at traffic lights at the Red Cow roundabout leading to further traffic chaos at the busiest road junction in the State, it emerged yesterday. Tim O'Brien reports.

The delays could diminish the benefit of having the multi-million euro Tallaght to Dublin light rail system built in the first place.

The chairman of the Railway Procurement Agency, Mr Padraig White, acknowledged yesterday that trams would be faced with three sets of traffic lights as they move through the interchange.

The junction connects the M50, which carries 80,000 vehicles a day, and the N7 to Cork and Limerick which caters for 60,000 vehicles daily.

The traffic light delay are due to the fact that two extra crossings are needed at the junction because a bridge crossing the M50 is too short.

While Luas has its own bridge over the M50, it stops short of the "on and off" ramps, making the level crossings necessary.

Each tram will cross the M50 southbound "on" ramp, and then the northbound "off" ramp. This cycle would take 70 seconds, the Railway Procurement Agency said.

The Green Party spokesman, Mr Eamon Ryan, predicted last night that Luas trams will be lined up on the Naas Road as a result.

He said an initial "mistake" had been made in not extending the bridge and added that commuters may in fact be quicker getting into town on the bus.

While it acknowledged the situation yesterday, the Railway Procurement Agency said it was not the only transport user of the junction.

The National Roads Authority has already expressed concern about the level crossings. Mr Michael Egan said the decisions on Luas were taken a long time ago when traffic volumes were lower.