Currently Planned BusConnects Network 
NETWORK MAP SUBMISSION: TEMPLEOGUE-WALKINSTOWN
This article was originally posted in December 2020 (amended November 2023).
Proposal:
Addition of new F4 bus route to be added to New Dublin Bus Area Network as part of BusConnects.
Route: The F4 route would join the planned F1,F2,F3 in forming the F spine from Kimmage to City Centre.
Outbound from City Centre: The F4 would follow the same route as the F spine until the KCR.
At KCR it would continue straight onto Fortfield Road and onto Wainsfort Road before turning right at the roundabout onto Templeville Road. The route would continue straight until Walkinstown Avenue Park where it would terminate.
Inbound towards City Centre: The route would follow the same path and at KCR the would continue on the F Spine toward city centre
Improving bus frequency of the Kimmage-City Centre corridor which is due to have several Bus Gates in operation.
The Network Redesign proposed as part of the BusConnects plan will leave residents of Walkinstown/Templeogue with a sub-standard bus service that does not deliver quality public transport for residents. In some areas, the Bus Connects plan will provide an inferior service even to the existing network. Having analyzed the plans, we conclude that the Walkinstown/Templeogue area as a whole will have very limited services between suburbs with other areas such as Orwell and those living within proximity to the R112 (Greentrees Road/Templeville Road) vulnerable to a loss of direct city centre services also. Below we have attempted to illustrate the problem and have set out a proposed solution.
Spotlight: Bus Stop at Templeogue College will be not be served by any bus services after BusConnects Network Rollout.
In residential areas bus stops should be located ideally so that nobody in the neighbourhood is required to walk more than 400 metres from their home.
Property Impact: Estimated number of private properties that may be directly impacted = 0.
Roadside tree Impact: Estimated number of tree removals = 0.
Bus Stop Location: New additional bus stops would be along Wainsfort Road, Greentrees Road, St Peter’s Road. Other roads impacted would utilize existing bus stops after local input/feedback.
Providing for quality public transport will help safeguard the area against projected traffic increases to due planned/upcoming housing developments, such as the City Edge project and those currently being planned for Kimmage Road West and Fortfield Road.
Traffic Mitigation
As well as improving city centre access, the above measures will significantly improve bus services between suburbs including links between residents and a number of schools such as St Pauls Greenhills, Holy Spirit Limekiln, Bishop Galvin/Shanahan, Templeogue College, and St Pius X National School. Areas that are currently underserved by Dublin Bus such as Wainsfort Manor and Greentrees Road would now have a direct and frequent line to the city which they didn’t have previously.
We would expect the frequency of the F4 to be in line with the other routes of the F spine as below.
See Bus Connects Frequency Tables
Noise and Traffic Impact: The above proposals will also result in a net reduction of vehicular traffic in the area. It is also worth noting that Dublin Bus is already in the process of transitioning to a fully electric fleet which should help address concerns about the noise/pollution from such vehicles. Depending on demand, the bus could potentially run as a single deck vehicle also.
With a larger number of journeys accessible by bus, including to various schools, the amount of private traffic on our streets could decrease significantly, particularly at peak times.
If you would like to indicate your support for the above proposals to be explored by the NTA, please take the following steps.
Next Steps
1. Leave us a comment below and/or copy this link and share on social media, local community groups etc…
2. Email it to the BusConnects team directly at info@nationaltransport.ie indicating your desire for the proposal to be considered. You may wish to address that NTA’s main point that the country cannot afford to run/maintain a bus service here.
Note 1: Our organisation understands that not all journeys can be made by bus or public transport and wish to remind our readers again that nobody is suggesting this. These all-or-nothing fallacies are common. Statements like “We can´t all take the bus”, “Public transport is not reliable” etc.. are valid. We all know these issues exist and that there is some fear and mistrust towards the institutions tasked with resolving these issues. However, we have also seen that this mindset can drown out the possibility of having real productive discussion about imagining solutions for a cleaner more connected city. We encourage our readers not to fall for these patterns of thinking. We also understand (and there is data supporting it) that there are a significant minority of road users in Dublin who rarely ever use public transport and some who, more importantly, are opposed to using it at all.
Note 2: Switching our entire transport fleet to electric is a step in the right direction but will not solve our constrained road-space problem. It will also disproportionately affect third world countries where lithium mining results in significant environmental impacts and human rights violations. Ireland needs to make the switch to electric vehicles but also decrease the net number of private vehicles in favour of more sustainable modes, particularly in urban areas. The answer has to be fewer cars.
