Inbound access from the M20 Limerick Southern Ring Road to Carew Park Link Road.

The completion of the proposed M20 inter-urban motorway network in the Munster region will create
opportunities for growth for all industries in the ‘Atlantic Corridor’ and will ease congestion pressures on the
eastern side of the country. Without a satisfactory motorway link Cork, Limerick and indeed the entire South-West
cannot realise their full potential. Investment in this vital piece of infrastructure will enable the region to grow,
develop and create job opportunities. It will deliver on a better-balanced Ireland. It will improve the quality of life
for our future generations. There is an enormous national bene??t in consolidating the “Atlantic Corridor” as a
hugely attractive option for FDI. Improving accessibility into the south and mid-west region o??ers a wonderful opportunity for collaborative, cost e??ective possibilities between the cities along the Atlantic Corridor and between
the eastern and western sides of the country. The proposed scheme also provides Government with an
opportunity to take into account existing obstacles to social advancement and provide leadership with meaningful
solutions as outlined in this submission. In 2003, Carew Park Road was linked to the national roads network, but a
new slip road built in 2007 linked Childers Road to the national network. Although it was universally agreed at the
time that this would be a short-term arrangement, the completion of the Limerick Tunnel in July 2010 resulted in
this becoming permanent. This has left Limerick City South regeneration communities e??ectively cut o?? from the
national network. The Rosbrien Interchange (M7) in the southwest, in its current design, only allows for vehicular
tra??c coming from the west to access the Southill area. Inbound access from the south (M20) or east (M7) to
Southill is a crucial element of the regeneration process. This has severely restricted the viability and vitality of the
Southill area. Local movement is also restricted due to the cul-de-sac nature of existing developments. Three
existing bus routes currently serve the area. The Southill and Carew Park areas have been rendered invisible since,
as a result of the introduction of the new Rosbrien Interchange to facilitate the Limerick Tunnel.
Impact
Although originally residents in the area were opposed to an inbound access route because of potential increases
in tra??c volume, Carew Park and Southill have since became part of the Regeneration project which promotes the
inclusion of disadvantaged estates into the road network. It is well documented that physical exclusion and social
exclusion are interlinked according to the Fitzgerald Report[1], and despite multiple representations by many
stakeholders in Limerick over the past 10 years with the NRA to reverse the decision, no action has been
forthcoming. The Regeneration areas in Limerick City South are relatively well served in terms of distributor roads,
with Hyde Road and Prospect Hill, and the Roxborough Road, providing direct connections into the city centre from
Ballinacurra Weston and Southill respectively. However, these roads primarily serve through-tra??c rather than
provide good access for local residents and businesses. As a result of low level of connectivity from the distributor
roads,
• vehicular permeability area as a whole is poor.
• there is a tangible lack of developer/private sector interest or investment.
• lack of diversity of house type and tenure.
• Regeneration areas su??er from negative perceptions.
• various social and economic problems continue.
Separately, the lack of inbound access currently is having a detrimental e??ect on the economic viability and future
potential of the Limerick Enterprise Development Park and Roxboro (Thomond) Shopping Centre. Both these retail
parks play a signi??cant role in the community ecosystem, providing vital local employment, the provision of goods
and services to the community and businesses as well as accommodation via the Maldron Hotel. However vacant
units are now more and more visible due to a lack of two-way tra??c.
LEDP has made known its long-standing concerns over the years regarding the lack of inbound access, and
consistently made representations at every opportunity to relay solutions. As such, I attach a preliminary report
prepared in 2012 which LEDP contributed to and supported – ‘Limerick Southside Regeneration Area – M7 Junction’
outlining possible options to retro??t the junction which was one option among many under consideration at that
time, sadly without any further action or progress to date. This report presents proposals for an alternative layout
at Rosbrien Interchange (Option 2A) to provide improved connectivity to Limerick City for northbound tra??c on the
M20. Easy access to the centre of the Limerick City is clearly a major problem and again will be solved if the original
inbound access is reinstated. There is a dire and obvious need to thoroughly re-examine the increased tra??c loads
which will arrive at the Rosbrien Junction for incoming tra??c to Limerick City, particularly from the new M20 and
the addition of the N69 tra??c which will be re-routed onto the M20 from near Adare.

Opportunity
With a reinstatement of the inbound access from the south (M20),
• it will contribute to the delivery of the 2040 National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan
2018-2027, targeting population growth of 50% by 2040 for Limerick.
• it will contribute to the delivery of the strategic vision intended to guide the sustainable future growth of Limerick
in this Limerick Development Plan 2022-2028.
• Ballinacurra Weston and Southill will be reinvigorated as communities well located adjacent to Limerick city
centre, with potentially high levels of accessibility.
• The Southill area located immediately adjacent to the open countryside, o??ers possibilities to create a new urban
edge, and visual and physical connections into this hinterland.
• The strategic location and road infrastructure of Southill, represents a signifcant gateway location • for the city.
• The Southill Regeneration area possesses large areas of unused or under-used land where early development
can promote regeneration.