N11 Traffic Jams & National Infrastructure Plan. Lobby Now.

 Decisions on this will be taken soon and getting the funding will involve intense competition from other areas of the country. If you are stuck in these traffic jams or just want better transport write to the T.Ds ask them to get this included. A summary of The Strategic Plan for the N11 is:

 Phase 1: improve safety at Kilmacanoge with a separate lane as on Lucan Road.

 Phase 2: 3^rd lane from M50 to Fassaroe. Mostly this can be constructed on existing median so is relatively simple.

 Phase 3: 3 rd lane to Kilmacanoge, Bray South junction major upgrade, service lanes on West side and in places on East side.

 Phase 4: limited improvements South of Kilmacanoge to Coyne’s Cross which are not yet needed.

 Traffic is now very bad and getting rapidly worse, many mornings backed up from Kilmacanoge to Newcastle junction (10 km). Traffic rat-runs through Greystones and Bray to avoid the N11 causing severe congestion in towns. Many houses are now being built in Wicklow and Cherrywood, now building, will make it far worse. Phase 1 & 2 will be of some benefit but not much to the Northbound jams South of Kilmacanoge, that needs Phase 3. No road improvements are included for Glen o’ Downs nor any road by Little Sugar Loaf. The N11 is the only non motorway road section from the Border to Gorey and the 50 year old design is way out of date.

 Public Transport improvements are also needed but I don’t think they are listed for the TII Plan. Short Term measures should be:

Bus. Express buses from Wicklow/Wexford with Park n’ Ride at Ashford,  Kilpeddar, Glenview and Enniskerry turnoff. Some buses along M50 to Sandyford & Red Cow LUAS stop at least at rush hour. This needs N11 improved.

Train. Increase 2 morning Wicklow diesel trains from 4 to 8 carriages. An extra DART from Greystones at 07.21 in morning and evening return. Needs 8 more DART carriages which are only ordered infrequently and take 3 years to build. Increase space at Greystones Park n’ Ride.

 ‘I urge people to write to T.Ds this week and demand implementation of this plan’ said Cllr Derek Mitchell (FG).

Ends.

It recommends:

• 3 lanes from the M50 to Kilmacanoge J9. These can mostly be fitted into the space of the wide central margin.
• Bridge over the Dargle at Fassaroe for local traffic.
• Service roads/lanes both sides from Fassaroe to Kilmac. Some land needs to be acquired on the West side of the N11.
• Improving the junctions at Fassaroe and especially Kilcroney, Bray South.
• Future study on how to service the future growth area of Fassaroe.

The National Infrastructure Plan does not contain money for this but it is currently being reviewed. It is essential that is included. Phasing depends on how much money is available and also land acquisition. It suggests:

Phase 1. Kilmac service roads similar to the N7 at Lucan. To improve safety with a target of raising the speed limit to 100 kph.

Phase 2. 3 lanes from M50 to Fassaroe and improving that junction and on/off ramps.

Phase 3. 3 lanes to Kilmac, Service roads to Bray South and upgrading that junction.

Phase 4. A few improvements from Kilmac to Ashford M11 junction.

Phase 5. Bray Dargle Bridge.

‘There have been 9 previous reports which have not produced action and it is essential that a number of Phases are implemented from now otherwise East Wicklow will seize up’.

A number of previous suggestions were examined and found to be ineffective and not recommended. These included a controversial road from Kilmacanoge to the Woodies roundabout in Bray, around the Little Sugarloaf.

Cllr Derek Mitchell said “ The N11 was built in 1973 and is heavily overloaded creating big traffic jams most weekdays. The Road Authorities have been studying this for years and have no conclusion and little contact with the Council. We asked the Minister to get them to liaise with the Council and have a timetable to complete the study.

On rail we are concerned about there being no clear plan for South of Bray and suggestions of only a shuttle south of Greystones. We asked for Wicklow representation on a study of how to improve the service and pointed out that a shuttle was unpopular and had failed before.

Minister Ross said he would push strongly for more involvement of the Council on both studies as he felt the Council should not be ignored and enquired what would improve the road. We asked for improved safety in Kilmacanoge, lengthen on/off ramps, merge 3 junctions at Fassaroe, re-do Bray South junction and in the long term 3 lanes on part of it.”

The Cathaoirleach Pat Fitzgerald led this. It was attended by Cllrs. Derek Mitchell, Pat Vance, Stephen Matthews, Tom Fortune, Mary McDonald, Ministers Simon Harris & Andrew Doyle, Pat Casey TD.

Apart from a commitment to improve the N11 and bring the LUAS to Central Bray the plan will cause major problems.

The plan to provide more DART’s to Greystones is very vague and a shuttle from there to South Wicklow even vaguer. The NTA explained that they intend to study this in more detail in 12 months. Cllr Derek Mitchell said ‘I have submitted a detailed plan to improve the DART but this was ignored and the suggestion that the direct diesels from Arklow could be replaced by a shuttle is not acceptable. A shuttle from Bray to Greystones was tried before and didn’t work. Instead the direct rush hour diesel should be increased from 4 to 8 carriages as people are standing from Wicklow Town and this could be supplemented by a shuttle’.

The NTA plan cancels the previously planned LUAS to Fassaroe where a major expansion was planned. The NTA plans a bus system and this threatens a major part of the County Development Plan and will place more cars on the overcrowded N11.

‘There also needs to be more emphasis on providing better busses, especially express services. I counted the number of rush hour passengers from Greystones and it came to more than the NTA was projecting for 2035 which seems strange. The plan should be called a Co. Dublin Plan rather than a greater Dublin Plan as it has largely ignored Wicklow and Meath’

Minister Simon Harris is hoping to arrange a delegation to meet the Minister for Transport to discuss these issues.

The only change that I can see is that trains will take will take 12% longer (taking the average of the 7.30, 7.51 and 8.00) or 5.66 minutes. For something billed as an improvement this is terrible and I want a proper explanation why. People wanting to start work at 9 in town will now have to take the 7.30 instead of the 8.00 previously. There does not seem to be a single extra train.

I will be asking for:

· Another DART before 8.00 as there are 470 people boarding that train in Greystones. This can be sent down before peak hour and stay in the South siding as before.

· Another peak hour diesel as the 7.51 is standing room from Wicklow Town.

· The Saturday service needs to be increased to half hourly.

· More 84x’s.

· Removing the 20 mph speed limit at Glasthule as this delays trains.

‘I counted the number of people getting on busses and trains in Greystones and it is twice the current usage in the Strategy. Also the population expansion which Wicklow is obliged to accept is much higher than in the Strategy. Thus the National Transport Authority should be planning for public transport demand 3 or 4 times that in the Strategy’.

The current peak hour service of 3 trains from Greystones should be increased to 7 trains, including 2 Intercity trains from Arklow, Wicklow and Kilcoole. Cllr Mitchells submission to the NTA outlines the investment in track and signalling works needed to get the extra trains around the restricted rail section on Bray Head. There is also a need for more busses, especially express busses, including on the N11from Arklow and Wicklow Town. ‘The study ignores most current bus services so that its recommendations for an improved service are less than the current service! The NTA has also ignored Council officials who tried some time ago to get the future population and job targets in the report corrected. The complex model used by the NTA is producing wrong results’

Simon Harris, Minister of State and Andrew Doyle T.D. have also made submissions to get Public Transport improved.

The Strategy needs to be radically changed for Wicklow. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with the NTA and/or Irish Rail to discuss these detailed points:

Survey of Transport Usage. Greystones peak hour

Management Summary

• The Strategy will not work South of Bray Head as it proposes 3 conflicting public transport options in different parts of the report. 2 of these (the present service and a shuttle) will not cater for the demand and will not work properly. The third, 10 DART’s per hour from Kilcoole, will work well but the report does not mention that this will need a very large investment in a twin track tunnel through Bray Head. It has not been thought through.
• The NTA model assumes a base 2011 Public Transport Demand from Greystones which is only half the actual 2015 usage. The model is very flawed.
• It does not conform to the Regional Planning Guidelines, implemented in the Draft County Development Plan (CDP), which requires a 49% population growth South of Bray whereas the Strategy predicts only a 26% increase in transport demand. Demand growth will be much higher.
• A major investment is being made to allow diesel trains from Kildare/Maynooth & the Northern line to get to Pearse station but the Wicklow line, already connected to it, gets no extra diesel slots. Instead an inferior shuttle is suggested, the only one anywhere. This must change.
• A service of 5 DARTs from Greystones, 2 or 3 diesels of 8 carriages from Arklow and 2 shuttle services can and should be provided with some track and signalling investment. This is detailed in this submission but the NTA Strategy ignores this investment.
• The LUAS to Bray is planned but no mention is made of transport to Fassaroe. The CDP plans a 9,000 population increase in Bray most of which will be in Fassaroe.
• The modelling appears to have used the wrong capacity for diesel trains.
• A much better direct bus service is required compared to the recommendation as the study ignores most existing services.

Transport Options Studied by NTA Strategy

The Overall Strategy (OS) states (4.2.6) that extra rolling stock and signalling will allow faster and more frequent intercity/regional /DART trains. But 6.3 states that South of Greystones capacity increases will be by shuttle with DART interchange at Greystones with no mention of extra intercity/regional. 5 minute DART intervals are predicted but no mention is made of the need for a new tunnel in Bray Head to achieve this frequency. 9.7 shows south of Bray to have the highest load capacity of 50-75% of any heavy rail line. The rest are under 25%.

The detailed South East Corridor Study conflicts with the Overall Study and has no mention or testing of a shuttle.
• The model (table 7.2) shows 10 DARTS in the peak hour from Kilcoole (screenline 0) in 2035 and thus no capacity problem. The 2035 Service Plan (table 6.1) shows 1 Intercity only, only 2 DARTs from Greystones and no Shuttle (the same service as now), so massive capacity problems! The model (Annex 1) assumes a diesel capacity of 8 carriages but on this line there are only 3 or 4 carriage sets used.
• The model (figure 6.6) shows that each Bray to Maynooth DART (6 per hour) board 85 people at Greystones. The low boarding rate is explained by some suppositions, none of which is that Greystones is South of Bray and thus not on the route. The model is wrong.
• The Summary, (6.4) states that in the South of the area public transport is not attracting the demand which might be expected. This must be because of the errors in the model.

Strategy has underestimated existing Public Transport Usage by 50%. Projections are thus underestimated.

The NTA has assumed a base Public Transport demand for 2011 of 900 going from Greystones at the peak hour (figure 6.3 Screenline 1). I counted 1781 in November 2015. Details in Appendix. Partly this is because it seems to have ignored most of the busses. It recommends a service of 2 peak hour busses on the N11 in 2035 even though there are 7 at present!

Population Plans and Transport Demand. Demand is significantly underestimated

The Wicklow Draft County Development Plan to 2022/5 has population growth of 49% South of Bray. The Strategy has All Transport demand growth of only 26% as against 43% for Bray and further in. Public Transport demand is going to grow by a multiple of the NTA study figures, at least at the average of the population growth rates above and more probably at above the average as the roads get more congested. These population targets are compulsorily handed down to WCC through the Regional Planning Guidelines by Central Government. They also require the expansion to be in towns with rail. Central Government Agencies such as the NTA must cater for these targets and provide a rail service. Detailed population growth figures are: Wicklow 64%, Arklow 62%, Greystones 32%, Newtown 78%, Rathdrum 93%, in sum 49% growth.

Public Transport demand growth estimates in Greystones are far too low. Figure 3.5 shows PT growth as 1600 at screenline 0 (south GS), 1700 screenline 1 (between GS and Bray). Thus 100 PT growth in GS. The population growth is planned as 5,600 which will have a much greater increase in users. The model (fig 6.3) suggests there is only a 900 person PT demand in 2011. I would think that this would be much higher between DART, Intercity, 84x, 84, 184 and the 133 on the N11.

Other problems with the Strategy:
• The peak loading of a 2 per hour DART will mean that no one will get on after Bray. Also the traffic jams to a Park n’ Ride site will be severe. This is already noticeable now.
• A shuttle train will only be able to do 2 services, one from Arklow and one from Wicklow in any hour. It will need changes to Greystones station.
• A Bray Greystones shuttle was tried before but was not successful, had low usage and was discontinued. Greystones people were then known as being late for work and in TCD being late for lectures and exams. The main transport must be direct trains with a possible supporting role for a shuttle.
• The study states (2.3.3) the Wicklow 133 bus comes to Greystones, this is not correct. It omits the successful 84x service from Newcastle/Greystones.
• It recommends that the 133 be increased to 2 per hour. This will need to be much more. Also the 84x will need to be increased.
• It recommends a feeder bus around Greystones but if there are only 2 DARTs in the peak hour this will not connect well and have a low usage. Feeder busses need a frequent DART to allow easy transfers.
• It suggests that a capacity increase of the M11 can only go as far south as Wilford junction, north of Bray. Observation is that it can go at least as far as Fassaroe and possibly further.
• The Strategy provides no public transport for the many commuting to the M50 and West Dublin. Express busses using the M50 would be the only way of competing with car journey times.
• The modelling for the whole study uses a diesel seated capacity of 370 and design capacity of 409 for an 8 car set (Annex 1 & table 4.1). This seems the capacity of a 6 car set according to Irish Rail. 8 car sets have been seen which would have a capacity of 1.33 of the above. The higher figure should be used in the model.

Improvements needed to Wicklow Train and Bus Services to 2035.

Short Term.

• An extra diesel service from Arklow/Gorey at rush hour.
o Considerable investment is being made resignaling from Connolly to Grand Canal Dock to increase the train paths per hour from 12 currently to at least 17 and possibly 20. Most of these are said to be for Maynooth and Kildare diesels. At least one of these should be used by a new service from Arklow/Gorey running at about 8.15 from Greystones giving 2 peak hour services.
• Saturday services Greystones DART.
o Currently these are hourly. They need to be half hourly.
• Park n Ride facilities at all stations need to be considered and improved.
• An extra peak hour DART should be run from Greystones being sent down early to wait in the South siding. In the medium term this siding should be lengthened to allow 2 DARTS to be stored for 2 extra peak hour services.
• Extra 133 and 84x express services are needed. Also a DART feeder bus in Greystones and Bray. Extra busses are needed from Blessington/Baltinglass to the LUAS.
• A footpath is needed to Kilcoole station.
• A pedestrian and cycle bridge is needed over the track at La Touché Place Greystones.
• In summary a Greystones peak hour of 3 DARTs and 2 diesels from Arklow.

Longer Term.

• Diesel trains to Wicklow need to be lengthened as they seem to be a maximum of 4 carriages long. DART and diesel trains to Maynooth and the Northern line are 8 carriages. Platforms will need to be lengthened at a number of stations south of Greystones. This is to make maximum use of the train signalling slot.
• The single line constraint on services to Greystones is the major constraint on services south of Bray. This can be eased to allow a 20 or possibly 15 minute service. The single section takes just less than10 minutes at present (see timings overleaf). The contention period of single track working can be brought down to under 7 minutes. Double tracking from Greystones to the tunnel could bring the single section to 8 minutes. Work can be done at Bray station to allow a double track and shorten this by 1 min 30 sec. When preliminary work was underway on the Greystones Harbour site, some 10 years ago, Irish Rail insisted that land must be left to double track the line. Thus most can be easily double tracked. A rock cutting and bridge North of Greystones station need to be widened. The timings below show the train spends less than 5 mins in the most difficult to expand section from the cliff start in Bray to the tunnel exit Greystones. A faster signal/points system such as that from Connolly to Grand Canal Dock will be needed for faster points changes and to allow trains in the same direction to be run closer.
• A diesel shuttle service to Greystones could be considered probably with passing loops, only provided the main demand is catered for by a second or third Intercity. This could provide 2 services at the peak hour or just after. The first from Arklow and the second from Wicklow. This will need track changes at Greystones and might be restricted to 2 carriages due to space shortage. It will need careful coordination to ensure the trains connect.
• In summary 5 DARTs from Greystones, 2 or 3 Intercity of 8 carriages from Arklow and 2 shuttle services
• Bus services from Greystones need to double to 20 and on the N11 at Kilmacanoge to 15.
• LUAS to Bray as per the strategy but with consideration as to how to service Fassaroe.
• Adequate arrangements are needed for a Rail to Luas interchange in Bray and land should be reserved for this. The level crossing in Bray needs an underpass to allow this interchange and for busses to access the Seafront and Depot.
• Most of the time a 20 mph speed limit is in place from Dun Laoghaire to Sandycove. This is a very low limit for a modern commuter rail system. This slows the service and can cause trains to bunch up. Work needs to be done to increase this limit. Often it goes slowly on the fairly straight section from Dalkey to Sandycove, currently a 30 mph limit.
• Reopen the stations at Newcastle and Avoca.

Detailed description of Greystones to Bray DART journey and times.
Times from leaving Greystones.
Entrance to tunnel. 2min 40sec
Cutting at Bray Cliff Path bridge 7m 30s
Start sidings 7m 54s
Goes slowly to Bray station
Bray stop 9m 27s

Return times from leaving Bray.
Leave siding area 1m 45s
Start cliff 2m 32s
Out tunnel 7m 10s
Points Greystones 9m 18s
Stop Greystones 9m 55s

The author: Cllr. Derek Mitchell, BAI, MSc, FCA wrote a 30 page study ‘Rail Options for Greystones’ in 1992. The Managing Director of Irish Rail, C. D. Waters, stated that this had studied the issue in more detail than Irish Rail and he broadly agreed with the conclusion; to extend DART. The subsequent usage figures have exceeded the projections in the study. He initiated Wicklow County Council providing the Greystones Park n’ Ride, with 500 spaces by far the largest on the DART network and fully used. He is Chairman of Wicklow County Council’s Transport, Roads and Environment Strategic Policy Committee.

The photograph with the printed version shows over 350 people waiting for the 08.00 DART from Greystones.

‘I have been trying to get this upgrade done for some years and met the previous Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, last December. He agreed to get a study done in 2014 and having it in the Strategy will help get funding for implementing a solution’ .

Some short term measures will ease congestion:

Southbound, improving the off/on ramps at Fassaroe, reducing the number of exits (4 in a mile) and rearranging the Kilcroney roundabout to lights or preferably a small flyover. This junction is very unusual as traffic exiting a main road normally leaves before the junction. Here you go under the flyover and turn back. This creates extra traffic ‘conflicts’ at the roundabout and thus leads to queuing on the N11 to exit.
Northbound. Widening and improving the Kilcroney junction. Separating a lane for traffic from Kilcroney to Enniskerry Junction and from there to Fassaroe.

Merging/Demerging slows down traffic leading to it bunching up. Most of the above items are designed to speed up merging so through traffic slows down less. Improvements are also needed in Kilmacanoge.

The Minister for Transport has agreed to meet me and I intend to push these points which have stalled because of a row between the National Roads Authority and the Council.

There is a plan to build a large town of 25,000 people at Cherrywood which would further block the N11/M50. I have asked Bord Pleanala to put in a condition that the N11 must be improved first. I made a presentation at the Oral Hearing 6 months ago but a decision has been postponed indefinitely.