Architect Niall Montgomery is critical of city planners and wants a new approach for Dublin and its people.
A result of an industrial dispute that has seen a shortage of petrol is that traffic in Dublin is flowing more freely.
People on the streets of Dublin give their reaction to the reduced traffic on the streets with one woman commenting.
I've given up driving my car at the moment as I simply haven’t got any petrol.
However, not everyone is so pleased.
I think traffic is very bad in Dublin compared to what I see anywhere else in Europe.
Niall Montgomery (1980)
Architect Niall Montgomery takes a look at the problems facing Dublin City Council when it comes to traffic and the frustrations that motorists face in navigating the city. Not a fan of the car as a mode of transport, he believes that the city needs to be rid of cars. However, in order to do this effectively, Dublin requires a working public transport network.
Traffic and transport are the most ancient and evil things there are.
Broadcaster Mike Murphy makes a brief appearance at the top of Grafton Street and is critical of the service provided by CIÉ.
On Harcourt Street, Niall Montgomery talks about the threat the street is under of demolition by the city authorities. He is critical of decision makers in CIÉ and laments the removal of trams from the city. He describes the closure of Harcourt Street station as,
One of the worst crimes committed against the Dublin people.
He believes that in light of the current petrol crisis, the only answer for the city is public transport.
Along the banks of the Grand Canal, he describes it as "a great linear garden" and believes that city administrators must have ideas about how to make the city more liveable.
You won’t solve the problem of transportation by considering it in isolation. It has to be related all the time to planning.
He continues that,
Planning has to be related to people and to the living city.
'Ireland’s Eye’ broadcast on 9 October 1980. The presenter is Niall Montgomery.
