Land & Economy

Please note that the views expressed in the below consultation summary were recorded during the Reference Group meeting held September 2001 and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BMTP team.

Introduction

Congestion and the under-funding of public transport services were identified as key problems – threatening the level and competitiveness of business activity in the metropolitan area and quality of life of residents. Land use policy and the preferences of people for suburban-style housing has propelled the increased use of the car.

While the problem of congestion has not yet reached a critical stage, there is the perception that the provision of public transport has deteriorated relative to its need. It was argued that Belfast has still has time to develop solutions to avoid the ‘gridlock’ experienced by Dublin. These solutions must however be focused on improving public transport in order to both tackle car traffic congestion and the disadvantages faced by residents without access to a car. There are economic benefits to be obtained from relieving traffic congestion and increasing the mobility of the workforce.

Road Traffic Congestion

Causes of Congestion

There is a desire among people to live in suburban style housing in all areas of the Belfast Metropolitan Area. This leads to the location of housing schemes on the periphery of the city which generates traffic on main routes into the city

Impact of piecemeal and large development is not being accompanied by proportionate increase in road or public transport capacities. In particular, train capacities appear to have decreased

Difficult to undertake many journeys without using a car.

Congestion Impact

The performance of buses is adversely affected by congestion.

Other Issues

Investing in roads is not targeting social need. Therefore people without cars are unable to reach jobs located outside of Belfast city centre.

People living in the centre, particularly those without cars are not getting the benefit of lower prices offered in out of town shopping centres.

People will inevitably use a car even if living in centre – no car parking apartments will lead to increased on-street parking, potentially overspilling into already established residential areas.

Public Transport

Public transport appears to be seriously underfunded in relation to treatment of other cities not only on the continent but within the UK itself.

Public transport services in Belfast are caught in a vicious circle. Low funding leads to low service quality and relatively high prices, leading to lower patronage, higher fares and lower service quality

Use of City Hall area as bus layover is an eye sore and misuse of area

Belfast city centre is not well designed for the introduction of bus corridors

There is concern at the apparent under-utilisation of existing QBCs. Translink appears to have difficulty funding services even on these routes.

The frequency of local train services from areas like Lisburn has decreased dramatically in recent years, adding to car use.

Cycling/Walking

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