New bridge in Waterford city is ‘not really a transport bridge’ and ‘not very inclusive’
A number of councillors spoke on the subject at the June plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council
The sustainable transport bridge in Waterford city is “not really a transport bridge” given the absence of a shuttle bus, a council meeting has heard.
In February, the National Transport Authority (NTA) published its feasibility study of a shuttle bus travelling to and from the North Quays.
The report found that it was not feasible for a shuttle bus to operate on the bridge, despite it being included in plans going back a decade.
It cited various reasons, including fears for public safety, a perceived lack of demand and financing difficulties.
The matter of the lack of transport on the bridge was raised by Labour Party councillor Seamus Ryan at the June plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council.
Cllr Ryan said: “The sustainable transport bridge - I don’t see anything ‘transport’ about it.
“It’s a pedestrian bridge so what I’m asking really is, the original tram or whatever it was, is that completely gone?
“I know we brought this up a number of times but it’s one that I’m particularly keen [on]. I don’t think we should just be abandoning it.”
He continued by saying that the inclusion of a shuttle bus was particularly important given the number of people who are going to be living on the North Quays.
Cllr Ryan argued it was wrong to expect people to walk across the bridge in poor weather conditions.
He concluded by asking the council to “continue to pursue” the implementation of a shuttle bus service on the bridge.
In response to Cllr Ryan, Senior Engineer Seán Dobbs said that the bridge will be “an Active Travel bridge”.
Mr Dobbs said: “You asked about the sustainable transport element of the bridge. When it opens, it will be an Active Travel bridge so it will be in use by pedestrians, cyclists and wheelers.
“I think it’s important that the planning and design for the bridge does accommodate bus services in the future - an electric bus.”
He went on to explain the outcome of the NTA’s feasibility study, which has been discussed at a number of previous council meetings.
“We have made a submission to the NTA for an electric bus service. We made that case too them.
“The NTA’s decision continues to be that their focus for the city is in the rollout of Bus Connects.
“They haven’t ruled out potential funding into the future but it’s not on their radar at the moment.”
Mr Dobbs concluded by saying that the council could potentially enquire about the feasibility of the shuttle bus after the rollout of the Bus Connects Programme in 2028.
The issue was also raised later in the meeting by independent councillor Declan Barry, who argued that the bridge was not in keeping with the council’s inclusive policies.
Cllr Barry said: “I’m just going back to the point that you raised yourself about the sustainable transport bridge or lack of transport on the bridge.
“I thought we were [supposed] to be an all inclusive city and county and that.
“A person that gets on the train maybe in Dublin or on the way down, they get off in Waterford and the bridge is no use to them because they have no mobility issues they can’t use it.
“So that’s not very inclusive, I don’t think.”
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin councillor Jim Griffin said that it was “disappointing” that the plans for the bridge had changed drastically since they were first introduced to councillors.
Cllr Griffin said that cycling had only become known as a form of transport in recent years, adding: “It’s not really a transport bridge, it’s walking and bicycles.”
He went on to argue that the council should look to bring in a private operator to run a shuttle bus across the bridge.
“Is it now time for us to look at a private operator perhaps going in there and not having to wait until 2028 and find that they won’t agree to another operated vehicle going across there?”
He suggested that the council put out an Expression of Interest to find out if any private operators would be interested in running the service.
Cllr Griffin continued: “It’s very evident already if you stand on the bridge at the moment, you can see the amount of people that have to walk over and back with suitcases.
“So I would certainly be saying we need to be on top of our game on that now and not have to wait until 2027 Q4 or 2028.”
The two councillors received no response to their queries at the meeting, as Mr Dobbs ran out of time and was told to correspond with them privately after the meeting.