There are fears footpaths and cycle lanes will be squeezed in the BusConnects project in Dublin

Maintaining two lanes for cars in one direction in Dublin at the expense of footpaths, cycle tracks and bus lanes is no longer acceptable, a transport lobby group has said.

The Dublin Commuter Coalition (DCC) wants footpaths and cycle paths to be made the priority in the allocation of road space across the BusConnects project being developed by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Allocating space for road traffic should be considered only after provision had been made for all other road users, it said. The DCC expressed concern that the plans for BusConnects seem aimed at maintaining as much of the present road layout as possible “adding bus lanes and then squeezing in footpaths and cycle lanes”.

It described this as “a backward approach” and