“We’re always going to need parking there’s a certain percentage of the population that just needs to get around in their cars, so that’s one thing that needs to be taken as a given,” he said. He said more public transport is needed and giving space to that instead of roads makes sense. Mr Ryan’s working group has the potential to force a huge conversation about our attitude towards not just car usage, but land usage, too.īrian Caulfield, associate professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at Trinity College Dublin, said in response to reports of the Cabinet memo that it largely makes sense. More walkable, quieter, with better access to shops and services. People in rural areas don’t necessarily like being car-dependent, but options to be less so are often slim.Īsking them to give up their cars or pay more to drive to a town for pleasure won’t act as an incentive and risks alienating people from the entire climate cause.īut showing them a better version of the areas around them will. As with most climate measures, it will be futile to propose a major societal shift without offering an alternative. That is not to say that the plan won’t require detailed discussion. But these things could be worked around if I really wanted to.īut while it’s easier to use the car than not, I am one of what I suspect is a sizable cohort of people who will do what’s handiest most of the time, even though we know we shouldn’t.īut a nudge here and there would absolutely change my behaviour.Ī charge to go into Dublin city centre at the weekends and a train service that ran on Saturdays and Sundays would absolutely make me leave the car at home, especially if the cost of that train was lower. I rationalise it by saying I live in a different suburb to my family and have a toddler, so a car just makes sense. I get the train and the bus for work, but for nearly everything else, I use a car, even though I know I shouldn’t. When everything was outdoors or commuters were compelled to stay at home by lockdowns, making towns more walkable and car-free was a no-brainer.īut with traffic levels returning to pre-pandemic levels, the deference to cars in planning persists.įor the record, I drive a car. They point to the cost of petrol and diesel - already being kept at artificially low levels by government subvention - and say that adding costs to the use of cars would add another charge to those already under the pump.įor the Greens, however, this is the kind of thing that could become their legacy in this coalition.Ĭommitment to the ideas proposed would not only help Ireland meet its climate goals but would necessitate a complete reinvention and reimagination of cities and large towns, many of which have struggled in a post-covid era to find a balanced offering. They see this as potentially harmful to cities and commuters who may not live on rail or bus lines. Picture Dan Linehanīut Fine Gael sources, particularly, have balked at the ideas, especially any notion that a congestion charge be introduced. Heavy traffic making its way through Macroom, Co Cork. However, transport, which will now be expected to reduce emissions by 50%, is the only sector that has been asked to make the top cut outlined in the Climate Act, meaning that radical ideas are necessary. The Climate Act 2021 set down reduction ranges for each sector to meet the overall legally binding target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a 51% reduction by 2030.
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