At 1:40am on the morning of Tuesday the 12th of March, the councillors of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council approved the Living Streets scheme by a vote of 30 votes in favour and 7 against. In this article, we are going to cover what was voted on and by whom, as well as explain what the scheme will mean for our town and most importantly, how it will effect you.
The Beginning of Living Streets
Over the last few years there have been a number of issues that local community groups were raising with the County Council, including safety on Tivoli Rd, the future of Clarinda Park and the future of retail on Georges St.
In the last number of years Ireland has made strong commitments to addressing climate change, for example, making a legal commitment to reducing CO2 emissions by 51% by 2030, giving environmental groups presence in all Strategic Policy Committees and Minister Ryan invested a lot in active travel funding with the highest investment in cycle infrastructure globally.
Council Executives saw an opportunity to address issues while also helping to realise its climate obligations and the Living Streets Project was born.
The funding comes from the National Transport Authority who want to reduce the number of car journeys, to achieve Net Zero targets. Living Streets should also enhance the heart of the town and the overall quality by pedestrianisation and changes to the roads.
The core elements of Living Streets will include
> Closing 3 roads for through traffic with modal filters:
1.Tivoli Road near Patrick St
2.Cross Ave at the junction of Patrick St.
3.Clarinda Park West, near Georges St.
> Pedestrianise Georges St between Patrick St and Myrtle Square
> Real time signage for car parking
> New Street Lighting, paving, planting, landscaping and decluttering for the entire length of Georges St from York Rd to the Peoples Park.
> There will be a campaign to publize and promote Dun Laoghaire town upon completion of the Project.
The Council Meeting
The council engaged in consultation and traffic modelling for many months all of which culminated in the vote on March the 11th. Some of the main concerns expressed by Cllrs were:
Tivoli Road Modal Filter / Closure
Those against the modal filter said it would push traffic on to other roads and cause disruption everywhere in and around the town, for example Monkstown Farm. Those in favour concede it will cause some delay but believe it is essential to get the emissions reductions that the project requires and that it will improve all the streets in central Dún Laoghaire.
Closing Tivoli Road to through traffic from cars means if you were travelling from CBC Monkstown to the Harold NS you would have to either drive down York Rd, up Marine Rd and out of the town towards Glenageary, or turn right up Mounttown Rd and across Upper Glenageary Rd or, of course, simply cycle or walk.
Pedestrianisation & access to the hospital/Bloomfield by bus users
Concerns are that the elderly and infirm could be among the worst effected and they are who need access the most. Those who are in favou say that the hospital was fully consulted and a new bus stop on Crofton Rd with access to the rear mean that the impact is minor and acceptable for the benefit the project brings.
Impact of the loss of Car parking on Clarinda Park to Businesses and residents
Losing too many car parking spaces will hurt both businesses in the town, especially those near the peoples park but also hurt residents. Those for it say that we need the reduction to achieve the emissions targets and that there is a lot of car parking in the town already with many spaces empty in the car parks, on street parking should be for residents and short visits. Also increasing the park will create an amenity for everyone in the town.
There was a motion from Cllr Fayne to remove the Tivoli Road modal filter from the project. Before the councillors voted the CEO of DLRCC Frank Curran along with the Director of Climate both said they felt the filter was essential to the successful funding of the project. The following 14 councillors voted to remove the filter, O’Leary, Baker, Dockrell, Fayne, Halpin, Moylan, Clark, Gildea, Lewis, Smyth, Ahmed, Murphy, Sexton and Dockery. Cllrs O’Connell and McNamara did not vote, while the remaining councillors all voted in favour of retaining it.
There was a motion to keep buses running along Georges St during day on weekdays by Cllr Gildea, this was defeated. Many Cllrs felt that the shuttle bus would help resolve this issue, see amendments below.
Two motions were put forward about parking in Clarinda by Cllr O’Connell, one to increase the level of parking on Clarinda, this was defeated by a single vote, then a second amendment was put forward to reduce the proposed park size and remove a reduced amount of car parking space retaining two smaller car parks. This passed easily.
Amendments
The councillors did vote in favour of some additions to the project. These amendments included:
Cllr Quinn proposed a 6 month pilot scheme for a shuttle bus around the town to see if there is demand and if it helps alleviate disruption caused by the pedestrianisation and the moving of bus stops.
Cllr Quinn raised a motion for a data based review of the project to be done 2 years after measuring emissions, footfall numbers, air quality, economic activity and car numbers in and around the town. A report to be written as part of the review.
Cllr Hall raised a motion for an Implementation Committee that will be created to work with community groups including but not limited to DLBA, Tidy Towns, LEO, Gardaí, the Emergency Services and Resident Groups and Associations. This committee will engage with the community during the implementation phase to assist in the success of the project. We welcome this amendment and we encourage residents to get involved to raise any issues and hopefully have them resolved quickly during the implementation phase.
This had a surprisingly large number of dissenters with 17 Cllrs voting against it, including Cllrs Moylan, Fayne and O’Connell within our local ward all against the idea.
The Vote
After 30 amendments were debated and voted on, the actual vote on Living Streets took place at 1:40am, more than 8 and a half hours after the meeting had started. 30 councillors voted in favour, 3 did not vote, Cllrs Blain, Murphy and O’Connell while 7 voted against, Baker, Clark, Dockrell, Fayne, Gildea, Moylan and Sexton.
How this will affect you?
Nothing will change immediately as the first step is for the tendering process to begin. The council will spend the rest of 2024 engaging with companies, assigning contracts and creating a schedule to complete the works with the least amount of disruption.
Work will probably start in early 2025 and will continue for over 12 months. It is hard to estimate how long it will take, public infrastructure works regularly take longer than expected and run into unexpected problems. The size and scope of this project means that few would be brave enough to commit to any deadline but hopefully it will be finished sometime in 2026.
The project has elements across the whole town so the construction phase will impact you. It is important for residents to be able to communicate to the council while the works are on going. You can contact DLRCC as an individual through info@dlrcoco.ie, this is always recommended but we would also urge residents to form even small WhatsApp groups with neighbours to be able to send individuals to take part in regular meetings with DLR during the construction phase. Everyone has on option to be part of the Implementation Committee through their local group.
If you are unsure, please contact us at info@dlcra.ie and we will try to help.
When the scheme is fully implemented it will effect everyone. It will make driving through or around Dún Laoghaire more time consuming, that is, in part, an aim of the project. It will also make the town more pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists. The modal filters will remove a lot of traffic from streets across the whole town, this should make it a better place to live. The hope is also that this will make Dun Laoghaire town a better place to shop as well as live, with the town becoming a destination rather than through way. Time will tell.
Even with the extensive modelling that was undertaken, the full impact, both positive and negative, of the project will only be fully known once it is completed. Thankfully DLRCC has committed to measuring the impact of the project and publishing a review. The business association, who are in favour of the project, will be doing their own monitoring and review. We will continue to work with all stakeholders in the town to help keep residents engaged and communication open so that no matter what happens, we can all work together in good faith for the betterment of our town, our home, Dún Laoghaire.
D.L.C.R.A. 