Dublin city style HGV Ban can benefit European capitals – Hayes

Brian Hayes, Fine Gael MEP for Dublin, highlighted the success of Dublin City’s HGV ban and called on other EU capitals to follow our example. Last week the European Parliament discussed new laws for the continent’s haulage industry. The revision of the current Directive aims at improving road safety, energy efficiency and the environmental performance of road transport through greener and safer trucks.

“This year is the eight anniversary of the introduction of the ban on 5+ axle vehicles in our city. During the hours of 07.00-19.00 large HGVs are banned seven days a week. As a result 1,000 HGVs per day were removed from our city’s quays alone. Dubliners can shop and stroll without the whoosh of a huge truck going by. The change has been dramatic.

“We’ve gotten so used to it that it is hard to imagine what it was like. Driving in the city was challenging, queuing behind commercial trucks transporting goods from Dublin Port to the rest of the country. The city’s quays were not attractive to pedestrians as huge vehicles whooshed past. As I come and go between Dublin and Brussels every week I’ve noticed the absence of the HGVs on Dublin’s streets again. An astonishing 4,000 HGVs per day have been taken off our streets. That’s 88% of all 5+ axle HGV traffic taken off the roads of the capital.”

“There is no doubt this has had a real benefit to private road users. The increased safety of our streets and reductions in noise and pollution has been a real boon to Dublin’s visitor and shoppers. As we constantly compare ourselves against Europe we must remember Dublin can also be an example to the rest of Europe.”