Page 40 - Linkline Summer 2018
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  to improve, and as demands on public transport increase, our infrastructure will come under more and more strain 
“People want to use public and sustainable transport in and out of the city  Our recent canal cordon 2017 figures are showing us this with almost 70% of daily trips across the canals of Dublin being made by sustainable transport  The NTA needs to support these trips and to improve the journey times for public transport users and to offset the negative impact of congestion 
“Unless we address the infrastructure issues, it is inevitable that in the years ahead, travelling by bus will become slower, less reliable and more frustrating for everybody  But with BusConnects there is a solution on offer ”
Challenges
During the construction process there will be various challenges posed  One such challenge is traffic movement and how traffic moves around the streets  The entire dynamic is going to change  As examples, some roads may become one-way, new bus-only sections will be introduced and in particular, places where traffic moves in and out of the city centre will be repositioned  At present there is little unused space along these radial core bus corridors, it will often not be possible to accommodate the bus lanes and cycle lanes in the width available  Due to this fact, the reduction of approximately 1,300 front gardens as well as walkways, trees, and on-street parking is required 
Some routes will impact nearly 200 gardens each, while others will not necessitate any changes to existing green space  The land being removed will be purchased via compulsory purchase order (CPO) by the NTA  In a discussion
document released, the NTA stated that property owners will be compensated where appropriate for loss of garden space  In some cases, landscaping will be completed as part of that compensation  An additional change created by the new bus corridors will include adding or moving pedestrian crossings 
 A CPO is a legal act which allows certain statutory bodies to take land or property without the consent of the owner. They commonly occur in relation to making public infrastructure projects possible, such as road and urban development schemes for the common good. It is important to note that CPO’s are not final. If you are served with a notice by a statutory body who wishes to take your land, you can object and negotiate your case. The Society of Chartered Surveyors has an informative client guide on CPO’s and compensation.
Benefits
As previously mentioned, the proposed bus corridors have the potential to greatly improve cycling infrastructure within Dublin  It is the aim of the NTA to provide high quality cycling facilities that are separated from the bus lanes and traffic lanes as far as is feasible 
The NTA said:
“A better cycling network is good for all transport users  It avoids cyclists sharing bus lanes with buses and will remove many of the conflicts between buses and cyclists  This initiative is the foundation of the overall cycle network that has been planned for the Greater Dublin Area ”
On top of building on Dublin’s cycling infrastructure, the NTA said without the BusConnects project, journey times will
 40 The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport
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