From a report by University College Dublin Geography Associate Professor Gerald Mills

Associate Professor at University College Dublin’s geography department Gerald Mills has found there are more than 4,700 trees growing within a 20m wide corridor along the 16 bus routes earmarked for possible road-widening as part of the BusConnects project.

The project aims to deliver 230kms of dedicated bus lanes and 200kms of cycle tracks along 16 of the busiest roads in Dublin.

A synopsis….

Thousands of trees may face the chop to accommodate BusConnects routes (UCD)

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18 thoughts on “How Many?

  1. Col

    So am I reading this right?
    For route 13 to Bray, you’d have to take 209 cars off the road to break even in terms of carbon effect? That actually seems quite doable, given the amount of single occupant cars.
    Finglas to Phibsborough probably not as realistic.

  2. James R

    Or… on the key arteries within city:

    Keep trees – improve street scapes with attractive public paths and street furniture, communal spaces.
    Prioritise dedicated public transport routes on real enforced bus and cycle lanes.
    High frequency, integrated, clean, reliable public transport network (Bus Connects/Metro) so car isn’t always necessary.
    Remove on-street parking (provide community park and ride areas where possible).
    Reduce car lanes or make oneway system on narrow streets (maintain local access)

    Healthy, clean and well connected streets that’ll attract visitors and shoppers to stay local, explore our suburb and village cafes / shops by public transport and allow them options to commute to work rather than drive.

    Community not Caridor.

  3. Cian

    Its cars or trees; not buses or trees that’s the pick here – the bus and cycle infrastructure is going to be needed regardless.

  4. Cian

    I thought that a mature tree was carbon neutral?

    A tree sequesters carbon as it is growing (the CO2 is removed from the air and turned into wood) this is low for the first 15 years, then as the tree matures from 15-90 years is peak CO2 removal .

  5. Termagant

    Well what do you want, better public transport and a better bike path network or trees

    I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice to have both

    But evidently we can’t

    1. Col

      We can if we dramatically reduce the number of cars travelling in and out of the city centre.
      But this leads to major objections (I have head that objections are led by the owners of city centre car parks).

  6. Angus o'M

    UCD should be more concerned about the safety of their students cycling and using decent and efficient public transport to and from their campus.
    A UCD student was killed in the last 12 months by a truck on the corner of the Stillorgan dual carriage way and the Greenfield park entrance to UCD. A very dangerous junction for cyclists and pedestrians.

    I am not commenting on who was at fault for this accident but in the time since the fatality plastic bollards have been erected at the corner segregating the bike lane from the traffic thus not allowing traffic to ‘cut the corner’. More of this simple and cheap investment is needed to save lives.

    UCD need to have a think which is more important, students lives or trees.

  7. Dub Spot

    Wow, that’s some bias in research shown by UCD. How about using the same satellite imaging to count the number of SUVs parked in driveways along the routes proposed? I counted over 350 on the Merrion Road/Ballsbridge section alone. They’re hardly Not In My Back Yaris’s Types.

  8. :-Joe

    Just plant up to ten times as many new trees everywhere closest to the location of the felled trees.

    Also, would allowing cars with four or more passengers to use the bus lanes help at all, assuming if properly monitored and regulated etc. or is the problem mainly down to roads with only one bus and one car lane and not having enough space to add a new cycle lane?

    Otherwise make more roads one way to suit two lanes of public transport / 4 or more passengers per vehicle and cycle lanes?

    At least replace the dead trees with same or better somewhere else…

    :-J

  9. Angie

    BusConnect doesn’t reduce road space for cars, it actually says, hey cars heres more road for you guys, because we’ve moved the buses into someone’s garden & killed all trees for good measure.
    Meanwhile the OPW are proposing for the Phoenix Park to have more car parks to attract more visitors : Genius…..gotta love the green forward thinking of this state!

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