The public display documents relating to this project are now available to view in the reception area of Wicklow County Council, Station Road, Wicklow Town, Co Wicklow

The severity of traffic congestion issues on the N11/M11, particularly at peak travel times, requires an early intervention to start addressing the problems on the corridor. Accordingly, a project to assess the feasibility of providing bus lanes on the N11/M11 corridor is progressing.

This project, called the ‘N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme’ (N11/M11 BPIS), is progressing as a multi-authority project involving Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the National Transport Authority (NTA), Wicklow County Council and Dún-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. Kildare National Roads Office has been appointed to project manage the scheme. Wicklow County Council has appointed Arup as technical consultants to progress the planning and design of the project in accordance with the TII Project Management Guidelines (PMG).

The overriding objective of the N11/M11 BPIS is to develop a proposal for the provision of bus priority measures (in both directions) during peak periods on the N11/M11 national road. Priority facilities can be used by buses/coaches to avoid congested traffic lanes and help to reduce the current unsustainable dependency on the private car. Where feasible, it is envisaged that the N11/M11 BPIS could be considered for implementation in advance of the larger and more comprehensive N11/M11 Junction 4 to Junction 14 Improvement Scheme (which is being progressed in tandem by Wicklow County Council).

The N11/M11 BPIS is examining the feasibility of providing dedicated bus lanes along the section of existing N11/M11 route extending from Loughlinstown roundabout in the north to N11 Junction 9 (Glenview) in the south. While it is desirable that the provided lanes would be continuous, some level of discontinuity may be considered where the impacts to adjacent constraints by providing full continuity would be considered excessive or disproportionate, within the context of an interim scheme.

This section of the N11/M11 corridor traverses two local authorities, with the northern portion of the scheme located within the boundary of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the remaining extent within Wicklow County Council. The scheme covers sections of the existing route designated as Motorway and Type 1 Dual Carriageway.

The N11/M11 route is identified within the NTA’s Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016 – 2035 (GDA Strategy) as a ‘Regional Corridor’ as part of the ‘Core Bus Network’. As outlined in the GDA Strategy, in order to develop an efficient, reliable and effective bus system, the core bus network should be developed to achieve:

Continuous priority for bus movement on the portions of the Core Bus Network;
Enhanced bus lane provisions on these corridors;
Removal of current delays on the bus network, enabling the bus to provide a faster alternative to car traffic along these routes;
A more efficient core bus system with faster bus journeys means that more people can be moved with the same level of vehicle and driver resources.

Further information:

See https://n11m11bpis.ie/ for up to date news on the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme.

Glenview Hotel, Glen of the Downs on the 28th & 29th November, 2022

Wicklow County Council is progressing the development of the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme (BPIS) in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport.

The N11/M11 BPIS aims to deliver a practicable interim solution capable of realising bus journey time benefits in the short to medium term. The key strategic goal is to deliver as much contiguous bus priority as practically achievable, such that the transportation deficiencies blighting the corridor could start to be addressed early, in advance of the more comprehensive scheme to follow. The BPIS proposed must also integrate into the preferred option for the more comprehensive N11/M11 Junction 4 to Junction 14 Improvement Scheme.

Public Display Event

The public, stakeholders and interested parties are invited to attend to view information on the Preferred Option identified for the BPIS scheme, the work undertaken to date and the programme for advancement of the project. This non-statutory consultation event also provides an opportunity for feedback and observations to be submitted regarding the process and conclusions reached to date, which may inform the further development of the scheme in the next phases.

The public display event will be held over two days in the Glenview Hotel, Glen of the Downs, on Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th November 2022 between 12.00 noon and 8.00pm.

Members of the Project Team will be available on both days to provide guidance and to answer questions.

The public display documents will also be available to view on the project website www.n11m11bpis.ie from 12:00 noon on Monday 28th November 2022.

Submissions will be accepted via the online feedback form available on the project website www.n11m11bpis.ie or by email to n11m11@arup.com or by post addressed to N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme, Transportation Department, Wicklow County Council, County Buildings, Whitegates, Wicklow Town, A67 FW96. Submissions will be accepted from Monday 28th November 2022 and must be received on or before Thursday 22 December 2022.

Wicklow County Council values the opinion of the community on this project and welcomes feedback and submissions from the public and interested parties. The knowledge gained from the engagement will be considered by the project team as part of the next stages of the development of the scheme.