SHANKILL RESIDENTS OPPOSE PLANS FOR BUS CORRIDOR IN VILLAGE

HUNDREDS of Shankill residents attended a public meeting at Woodbrook College to discuss plans for a proposed bus corridor from Bray to the city centre.

The plans are currently out for public consultation and submissions can be made until May 31.

Cllr Jim Gildea chaired the meeting, with a turnout of around 200 people. ‘It was apparent how strongly people felt about the ruination and destruction of our village and community,’ said a spokesman for the newly formed group ‘Save Shankill Village’.

‘ The common thread that the majority agree on is that while BusConnects has some merits, that the disproportionate proposals for Shankill will result in the destruction of our village and we must make ourselves heard.’

In a petition being prepared for the NTA and BusConnects as well as local TDs, locals are challenging the NTA and BusConnects plans for Route 13, which they say will destroy Shankill village.

Within the plans, 166 Shankill properties will be impacted, with removal of parking spaces in the vilalge, the removal of 330 roadside trees, and the introduction of new bus lanes in acquired land spaces such as gardens and green areas. ‘ This is all for a maximum of 10 minutes, which we believe is exaggerated, saved bus time from Bray to the city centre,’ said a spokesman.

Objectors say that the proposals will have an impact on local businesses, parking for the elderly and disabled, damage and destruction of local heritage such as the old railway bridge, and safety issues for school children. They said also, that there would be environmental damage, harm to local wildlife, and a negative impact on gardens, green areas and quality of life.

Residents of Corbawn, the village, Cherrington, Crinken, Quinn’s Road, and other areas, as well as representatives of Tidy Towns and Crann Trees, attended a consultation with the NTA in the Talbot, Stillorgan, on Tuesday, April 6.

They expressed their views to the NTA that the plan is not viable and locals heard that the planners had not ‘waked through’ Shankill when coming up with the routes. It was agree that there would be further discussion in the weeks to come.

Submissions can be made at busconnects.ie.