Publication of Five Cities Demand Management Study Phase 1 Report and Toolkits

The Five Cities Demand Management Study identifies transport demand drivers, and assesses the suitability of measures to reduce demand in Ireland’s five largest urban centres—Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick, and Galway. As part of the Study, measures were examined using insight from international best practice and national stakeholder engagement in order to assess their impact in reducing emissions, tackling congestion, improving air quality, and improving the overall urban environment of the five cities. The Study, which will be published in two phases, is intended to inform the direction of complementary demand management policy measures at a local and national level.

Phase 1 of the Study consists of a report examining the qualitative elements of shortlisted demand management measures, and a set of user-friendly Toolkits to enable stakeholders, such as Local Authorities, to quickly identify appropriate demand management measures for their local contexts. The Phase 1 Report examines measures that could be applied in different ways according to the different circumstances of each of the five cities. These measures include parking prices, Slow Zones, car clubs, flexible working, School Streets, and variable speed limits. The Toolkits provide an assessment of the implementation of these measures and offer flexibility and additional options for local and national interventions. It is recommended that all measures within the Toolkits are considered for implementation within the next five years, as required by the individual needs of cities.

The Phase 1 Report and its associated toolkits will immediately support stakeholders in addressing their areas of concern relating to carbon emissions, air quality, and congestion. The Phase 2 Report, which quantifies and predicts the impact of a number of demand management measures, is expected to follow in Q2 2021. Overall, the Study’s recommended measures form the future strategic direction of demand management in Ireland’s major urban centres.

• The Department of Transport commissioned a Demand Management Study in late 2019 in response to Action 81 of the Climate Action Plan 2019 ('to examine the role of demand management measures in Irish cities, including low emission zones and parking pricing policies’).
• Systra Ltd. was awarded a contract to carry out the Five Cities Demand Management Study.
• Phase 2 is currently experiencing some unexpected delays; an element of the quantitative analysis associated with the Study has been slowed down due to an issue with regional transport models.