RESIDENTS of Summerhill North are to mount a protest later today to demonstrate their opposition to what they have described as “ludicrous” proposals for the area under BusConnects Cork.

Summerhill Residents Association claims that, under the latest plan shown to residents this month, the National Transport Authority (NTA) is proposing to “shoehorn three lanes of traffic through one of the best preserved and most historic parts of Cork City”.

Residents say the latest proposals for the Summerhill North stretch of the Route B: Mayfield to City sustainable transport corridor “represents nothing less than vandalism to this sensitive area”. The residents have told the NTA that they are not opposed to a bus lane if the car traffic is reduced to one lane but claim the NTA “appear determined to pursue a three-lane vision for the area”.

“This ludicrous proposal to include a bus lane, with no reduction in car traffic capacity effectively turns it into a three-lane highway in the heart of a heritage residential area,” the association said in a statement.

“To accommodate this carriageway expansion the existing footpaths are being made narrower... in places.”

The association said large numbers of pedestrians commute in and out of the city centre every day using these footpaths and highlighted safety concerns.

A loss of on-street parking was also among their concerns.

Public consultation on the current set of published proposals to deliver 12 sustainable transport corridors across the city closed last October. The NTA has previously stated that a second round of consultation will occur when an update of the design has been completed taking account of public feedback.

The proposed project for Cork includes the development of approximately 93km of bus lane/ bus priority and 112 km of cycle facilities across the city with sustainable transport corridors proposed connecting the areas of Dunkettle, Mayfield, Blackpool, Hollyhill, Ballincollig, Bishopstown, Togher, the Airport Rd, Maryborough Hill and Mahon with the city centre as well connecting the Kinsale Rd to Douglas and Sunday’s Well to Hollyhill.

The corridors, the NTA has said, are aimed at transforming the public transport network “into a more efficient, sustainable model to help meet anticipated growth and future demand in the region”.

The protest on Summerhill North takes place at 4.30pm.