Carrigaline 'park and ride' wouldn't work in Cork as half cars going to 'free' Mahon Point car park, says NTA

Detailed analysis on a Cork Park and Ride strategy is ongoing, but initial analysis suggests that a facility on the N28 from Carrigaline would not be as effective as initially envisioned, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has said.

A spokesperson for the NTA said in a letter to chair of the City Council's transport committee that the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) was published in early 2020 and identified Carr's Hill near Carrigaline as an "indicative location" for a strategic park and ride (P&R) facility.

“Initial analysis subsequently undertaken by the Park and Ride Development Office (PRDO) suggests that a strategic P&R facility at this location may not be as effective as had been envisaged at the time of the preparation of the CMATS," the letter adds.

Reasons listed included that “almost half of northbound private car journeys on the N28 corridor during the AM peak are destined for Mahon, where the Mahon Point Shopping Centre provides over 2,000 free parking spaces,” they said.

“Many southbound private car journeys on the N28 corridor are destined for the Carrigaline and Ringsakiddy areas, but the destinations themselves are highly dispersed and therefore difficult to serve using a bus link from a P&R facility (in addition, many of the large employers in Ringaskiddy offer ample free parking)."

Thirdly, they said: “Carrigaline town centre is currently served by Bus Éireann routes 220 and 220X between Cork City and will, in the future, be served by BusConnects routes 3A and 3B, providing direct connections between Carrigaline and the Apple campus via Cork City.” 

The NTA addedd that more detailed analysis is currently being undertaken as part of the development of the NTA's park and ride strategy for Cork, but if it supports this initial analysis “it is unlikely that the strategy will recommend” a P&R facility on the N28 corridor in Carrigaline.

The committee chair, Labour councillor Peter Horgan, told The Echo: “Anyone living on the southern side of Cork city knows that the congestion is out of control across the urban conurbation and in the rural back roads.

“The volume of traffic is growing week-on-week. There isn’t a week goes by where I don’t hear about buses not showing up. We have no set date for the introduction of BusConnects.

“We have to encourage public transport usage and utilising a Park and Ride in Carrigaline would go a significant way to taking a certain number of cars off the road.”