19 September 2017
By Byran Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Businesses in Little Island have identified a number of short term and medium term measures to inform a future strategy to relieve traffic congestion in and around the island.
The suggestions come on foot of a recent meeting between Cork Chamber’s members based in Little Island, Cork County Council and transport consultants SYSTRA.
Among the short term measures suggested to Cork County Council are:
- A city centre bus service to East Gate and shuttle bus service from the train station to East Gate
- A public bike share scheme with stations located across Little Island and at the train station
- A second lane at the exit to Dunkettle Roundabout
- Changes to light sequencing at the R623 exit/entrance to N25 to accommodate higher volumes of traffic at peak times
In the medium term, Cork Chamber’s members have suggested a new N25 easterly entrance/exit to facilitate the development of Harbour Point and ease pressure on the eastern side of Little Island. Our members also propose the development of dedicated bus and carpool lanes on the island.
Commenting on the feedback from business, Conor Healy, Cork Chamber CEO said: “Little Island is the largest industrial and commercial space in Metropolitan Cork and is home to almost 6,000 employees with plans in place to attract another 2,000 jobs to the area. However, with only two access and exit points, Little Island experiences significant traffic congestion issues particularly at peak commuting times which we hope the proposals from our members will help address.”
“Cork Chamber welcomes the commitment by Cork County Council to implement a long term transportation strategy for Little Island and the Council’s openness to direct engagement with businesses experiencing the day-to-day frustration of traffic congestion. Cork has ambitious plans to grow our national and international economic footprint during the next 30 years and by implementing both immediate and medium term measures to help the movement of traffic, we believe Little Island will be key to successfully realising Cork’s future potential”, he concluded.
Cork Chamber’s complete submission available to read here.
