Agenda item

Motion 1 from Councillor Dermot Lacey taken with Motion 13

This committee agrees to write to the Buildings Manager of Baggot Street Hospital to ask for a temporary licence to be given to the Dublin City Council and the Pembroke Road Association jointly to renovate the garden spaces on either side of the entrance to the hospital and to open them up for use by the local community.

Order: Agreed.

 

Motion 2 from Councillor Dermot Lacey

This committee requests the manager to outline why double yellow lines were placed on Wellington Lane, Dublin 4 against the wishes of residents, when the simple fact is that cars parked along the road in front of the houses acted as a safety barrier and encouraged passing cars to slow down and if these double yellow lines will be removed.  To further ask if a limited entry period sign could be erected to reduce the number of cars entering the lane as a rat run in the evenings.  Further details for information purposes are submitted with this motion.

 

“The traffic on Wellington Lane in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 is of huge concern for the residents.  It impacts on quality of life and more importantly is a massive safety issue.  Commuter traffic is bad in the morning and in the evening and is getting worse each year.  Wellington Lane is a small narrow residential lane.  It cannot accommodate massive flows of commuter traffic.  The evenings are particularly bad.  Commuter traffic should be restricted to the main roads. 

 

I attach photos from last night.  Between the hours of 4.30pm and 6.30pm the traffic is constant on the lane.  The cars were backed up almost the entire length of the lane.  Some cars mount the footpath to avoid each other as you can see in one photo.

 

There is a very small footpath in bad condition on the north side of the lane.  Often pedestrians with buggies and children on bikes / scooters have to move onto the road to navigate the path as it is too narrow.  This is an accident waiting to happen.

 

Yesterday double yellow lines were reinstated outside all houses on the lane to prevent residents parking on the lane.  Previously Roy O'Connor of DCC had suggested that getting more residents to park on the lane would help slow down and reduce traffic.

 

The bigger picture is removing commuter traffic from the lane.  We have suggested the following to the council in December 2016 with our plebiscite:

 

  1.  One way system heading east

  2.  No right turn from Waterloo Road heading north

  3.  Widen footpath

  4.  Remove all double yellow lines

 

Wellington Lane is the only lane in the area with double yellow lines on both sides of the road - why is this?  The result is the lane is used as a rat run by commuters.

 

What do the council suggest?  This is an urgent safety issue.  Many children living in the area use this lane to access schools and Herbert Park.”

Order: Agreed.

 

Motion 3 from Councillor Dermot Lacey taken with motion 9

This committee agrees to discuss and requests a response from the manager on the idea of a Rathmines Bus gate as outlined in the documentation submitted with this motion.

 

“Rathmines would thrive with bus gates limiting thru car access

 

IMAGE: A line of people cycle down the Rathmines Road after crossing the Portobello Bridge, while only a few cars cross the bridge in the same sequence. 

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: Transport authorities are looking to abandon key sections of the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network before it gets off the ground, as this website reported in June, but there’s another way.

The plan for the route along the Rathmines Road in the infrastructure part of the BusConnects project (see the consultation document) is the key example of the bus plan having little regard for the cycle network plan when both were authored by the National Transport Authority.

 

The background for Rathmines is that, as far as Dublin goes, Rathmines is as close as it get to the centre of bicycleland. Portobello Bridge at the northern end of the Rathmines Road has by far the largest volume of bicycles entering the city centre. In the AM peak last year, there was 1,637 bicycles and 1,325 cars/van, even with the traffic counts happening in November.

The Census shows that more commuters who live off the Rathmines Road, Rathgar Road, Harold’s Cross Road, Ranelagh Road, and Sandyford Road routes use their bicycles than get the bus.

 

As well as outnumbering cars in the AM peak, 12-hour traffic counts for Portobello Bridge shows cycling here has a better chance than any other route at outnumbering cars across the day way more than any other route into the city — this will be accelerated by BusConnects, which will reduce the space for cars across the city centre.

 

The numbers of bicycles is already increasing but the people on them are left mixing with cars and buses.

 

Rather than upgrading the cycle route as outlined in the GDA Cycle Network Plan, the National Transport Authority wants to remove cycling priority by removing cycle lane, and possibly also narrowing footpaths — in effect, the street would become a busway and road for through traffic in both directions or one:

 

The Rathmines Road route is planned to support the (11) Tallaght to Terenure and (12) Rathfarnham to City Centre bus corridors:

One of our most popular articles last year was “What to do with a problem like cycling in Rathmines?”, which was published before BusConnects. It this details a solution using continuous cycle paths and peak-time bus gates. It suggested:

“The bus gate could operate peak times and in peak directions only — this would give higher priority to buses than is currently given by broken bus lanes in one direction only and often abused.”

 

Here’s some examples which can fit along the Rathmines Road:

 

BusConnects changes things. So, adding to the above, the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) published an interesting article last week — “Filtered permeability on cycle highway C95 in Copenhagen“.

 

The ECF gives us an example of what we know as a “bus gate”. One which is in place in Nørrebrogade in Copenhagen which is much like the location of Rathmines in Dublin. The ECF article outlines the example in more detail (although this kind of bus priority is not usually referred to as filtered permeability).

 

Basically, the only motorised through traffic allowed is bus lane traffic in two lanes and the space left over allows for segregated cycle paths in both directions:

 

The above photo of the street in Copenhagen (taken from the ECF’s article) is much like the cross-section we suggested last year for Rathmines:

Here’s the locations of Nørrebrogade — with the two bus gates highlighted — north of Copenhagen’s city centre, just beyond the city’s large artificial lakes:

 

IMAGE: Of Nørrebrogade with two bus gate locations. Image by European Cyclists’ Federation and Open Street Maps.

 

In Rathmines — just south of Dublin’s Grand Canal — the locations of the bus gates would need to be placed in a way to allow cars and vans etc. to access the car parks like the ones in the Swan Shopping Centre, the Cricket Ground, the school, the church, and the private residents.

 

Unlike the wider bridge in Copenhagen, Portobello Bridge at the Grand Canal is not wide enough to maintain car and bus access while providing segregated space for cycling — this means it is a must that the canal bridge is a bus gate, for safety alone.

 

Here’s some suggestions for bus gate locations in Rathmines:

 

There might be better locations, but, as said above, the canal bridge one is a must. Why must? To provide for cycling safety and priority while also providing for a high frequency of buses as planned under BusConnects.

 

YES — all of this would be a big change. But a big change is needed in a growing city which claims it wants to be sustainable, have better public transport and be cycling friendly.

 

Some people will claim the bus gates would be anti-business but there’s little evidence of this in Dublin or internationally. The opposite is true — the claims are made and proven wrong.

Providing segregated cycle routes would be of huge benefit to the area and our suggestions above would be better than the suggestions by the National Transport Authority — their suggestions would be mainly about providing through traffic for buses and it seems also cars. By removing the cycle lanes, buses would be closer to pedestrians and one of their solutions is to notably narrow the footpaths.

 

On the other hand, if bus gates and cycle paths are provided, it’s not just good for cycling but also pedestrians and street life in Rathmines. It’s also good for buses — bus lanes without cycle paths will mean buses will mix with cycling and that’s not good for cycling or the bus service.

 

Bus priority, with continuous cycle paths and local motoring access will provide the same kind of mix in Copenhagen and that’s common in Dutch cities too. It would make the area more liveable, healthier, environmentally friendly, and allow local businesses to thrive more than currently and far more than BusConnects without cycle paths.”

Order: Agreed.

 

Motion 4 from Councillor Mary Freehill

That  the need for a pedestrian crossing on Upper Rathmines Road as first proposed last May be treated as an urgent safety matter.  This is a route to many schools, traffic travels at high speeds up and down this road plus the bend at Murphy’s pub considerably curtails the vision of pedestrians when crossing what is quite a wide road.  It is unsafe for even 12 year olds to cross this road and parents find that they have to be with their children to help get them safely to and from school.  This makes life both unsustainable for many and dangerous for children.  In the circumstances, I propose that this proposal be treated as an urgent health and safety issue that requires very urgent attention.

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 5 from Councillor Dermot Lacey

This committee requests the Traffic Department to prepare a comprehensive traffic plan for the area bordered by Sandford Road / Lower Beechwood Avenue and Anna Villas to reduce traffic speeds and rat running.

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 6 from Councillor Patrick Costello

That the council pilot an underground glass recycling facility within the Harold’s Cross area, these are common in many other countries and currently there is no glass recycling facility in the area.

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 7 from Councillor Patrick Costello

This area committee agrees to install a pedestrian crossing on the junction of Cowper Road and Palmerston Road.

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 8 from Councillor Patrick Costello

That this area committee calls on the manager to address the lack of toilets in Terenure library as a matter of urgency.

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 9 from Councillor Patrick Costello taken with Motion 3

This area committee agrees to examine the feasibility of a bus gate on Rathmines Road.

Order: Agreed.

 

Motion 10 from Councillor Patrick Costello

This area committee agrees to a site meeting at Rathgar Junior School to address the significant outstanding pedestrian safety concerns.

Order: Agreed.

 

Motion 11 from Councillor Mannix Flynn moved by Cllr. McGinley

That this committee of Dublin City Council agrees that any motion to delist any of Dublin City Council’s public housing complexes in the south east area must come before the South East Area Committee for consideration prior to any presentation to other committees or Strategic Policy Committees. 

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 12 from Councillor Mary Freehill

That the person responsible for delivery of cleansing services attend and make a report to our December LAC meeting setting out the cleansing service in the Rathmines Rathgar Ward area.  The fact that the leaf sucking machine has not been seen for a while, although we were told at the last meeting that staff were being trained to operate the machine all day, we need to know why the machine seems not to be functioning. There are more leaves on footpaths this year than in recent years, this is extremely serious as our area has a drainage system that is not fit for purpose and we cannot afford to have leaves clogging up our drainage system.

We therefore ask that the manager state the current staffing levels and compare with 6 years ago.  Has the move to Davitt Road had a deleterious impact on the delivery of service?  It is agreed by the meeting that the cleansing service needs to be seriously improved and that this committee receives a monthly report on the delivery of the street cleansing and gully cleaning services during the winter months.

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 13 from Councillor Frank Kennedy taken with Motion 1.

This committee resolves that the area Manager shall write to the Buildings Manager of the Baggot Street Hospital building to request that he grant a temporary licence to Dublin City Council and the Pembroke Road Association jointly to renovate the garden spaces on either side of the entrance to the hospital and to open them up for use by the local community.

Order: Agreed.

 

Motion 14 from Councillor Frank Kennedy

This committee resolves that the area manager shall write to each home insurer in the Irish market advising them of the extensive flood prevention/defence works in the Pembroke South-Dock ward over the past five years and the updated scientific estimates as to flood risk (or lack thereof) in Pembroke South-Dock including but not limited to the following areas:

 

-       Bath Avenue (and surrounds, including Havelock Square);

-       Serpentine Park;

-       Sydney Parade Avenue;

-       St Alban’s Park; and

-       Richelieu Park.

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 15 from Councillor Mary Freehill

That the Parks Department prunes the trees along Clogher Road, even in winter they are so overgrown that they seriously impact on the level of public lighting on the road.   Furthermore that this road is prioritised for LED lighting, it’s a long dark road which is difficult to walk at night especially for females walking alone.

Order: Agreed.

 

Motion 16 from Councillor Claire Byrne

That this area committee calls on the area manager to put an end the dumping of uneven tarmac as a solution to fixing roads and pathways. This is an ongoing issue in the city, but especially in the South East Area and is particularly problematic along key cycle lanes and pathways. It makes the city unsightly and poses threats to the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, in particular the more vulnerable.  Can the area manager also put further measures in place to ensure that proper plans are put in place when resurfacing works are carried out to ensure that there is sufficient quality control, particularly when works are carried out by utilities companies?

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 17 from Councillor Claire Byrne

That this area committee calls on the area manager to put protections in place for the fountain, railings and trees in Wilton Park, to ensure there is minimal impact on the park during the development of surrounding area and to avoid the commercialisation of the park. Can the manager also ensure that any development is in keeping with the local area conservation orders? 

Order: Report to councillor.

 

Motion 18 from Councillor Claire Byrne

That this area committee calls on the area manager to in increase the level and frequency of gully clearing as a preventative measure in light of the impact of recent storms and related flooding.

Order: Report to councillor.