Greater Dublin Area Draft Transport Strategy 2011-2030

• Balancing the demand for car travel with othermodes to ensure that walking and cycling arethe dominant modes for shorter trips, and thatpublic transport becomes the dominant modefor longer trips;• Favouring and incentivising the use of cleaner,smaller, quieter, and safer vehicles to delivergoods within urban areas;• Provision of lively central areas which focusretail on the ground floor with residences andoffices above, so streets are vibrant both dayand night;• Intensification and consolidation of townsand cities by building on brownfield sites andvacant areas or reusing underutilised sites,thus addressing urban sprawl and makingneighbourhood centres more vibrant;• Identifying and enhancing the unique cultureand heritage of communities in the GDA. Acommunity’s history, natural environment andlocal traditions, all contribute meaningfully towhat makes a place unique;• Increasing connectivity and permeabilityby providing for shorter distances betweendestinations, thus making walking and cyclingmore appealing;• Making sure that streets and public spacesare built with quality materials and are welldesigned,well maintained and well-managed,thus ensuring that they can last for decades.Applying these principles to future land usepatterns will require the consolidation ofdevelopment into our existing urban areas,increasing the density of development andpromoting a mix of land uses within areas whichbring people closer to their needs. If the Strategy isto achieve a significant mode shift to walking andcycling (a specific target of Smarter Travel) thentravel distances need to be radically reduced, tobring more destinations within walking and cyclingrange, typically less than 2km for walking or lessthan 6km in the case of cycling.While the correct land use policies can ensurethat a wide range of services are available locallywithin walking or cycling distance of home, it willalways be necessary to provide transport solutionsfor those who need to make longer trips. For suchtrips, public transport is significantly more efficientthan the car in terms of energy use and emissions.Hence, in the case of longer trips, it is importantthat public transport provides a real alternative tothe private car. The Strategy also seeks to locatehigh density development adjacent to high qualityand high capacity public transport nodes – inparticular close to rail stations and metro stops. Inorder to ensure the highest level of accessibility,the Strategy seeks to provide for good quality,and direct walking access to the public transportnetwork, through good design and layout ofresidential developments and popular destinations.8.3 RPG Settlement HierarchyThe objectives of the Strategy and the principlesset out above have been applied to the RPGsettlement hierarchy. In developing this Strategy,the RPG settlement hierarchy was furtherdeveloped in order to more closely reflectthe varying transport needs of different sizedsettlements in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA).Three levels of settlement centre (based on theRPG categories) were identified, namely DublinCity, Designated Towns and Designated Districts.These are explained in more detail and presentedbelow. The only NSS Gateway in the GDA isreferred to in the RPGs as the Gateway Core of“Dublin City Centre & Immediate Suburbs” whichis designated as “Dublin City” in the Strategy. Theterm “Dublin City” in the Strategy refers to thepart of the city that is bounded by the Royal Canal/ North Circular Road on the north, by the GrandCanal / South Circular Road on the south andextending westwards to include the Heuston areaand eastwards to encompass the Docklands Area.The RPG Settlement Hierarchy for the GDA, andthe equivalent settlement categories used in theGDA Transport Strategy are set out in Figure 8.1:Chapter 8: page 2 www.2030vision.ie