I welcome the opportunity to make an observation on the TUS Moylish to City Centre Active Travel Scheme.
When complete the scheme will be an important component of the walking and cycling network in Limerick City, serving thousands of residents, students, commuters and others. It is vitally important, for social, economic, health and environmental reasons that this network is built out as quickly as possible. It is also vitally important that the design standard is such that it can and will be used by a large volume of people, of all abilities, i.e. it should be designed for young children through to elderly persons and less confident cyclists. In that regard, it appears to me that this standard has been achieved along most of the route and I would like to commend the project team for their efforts. The inclusion of continuous footpaths across junctions is an important development and is very welcome.
With respect to specific aspects of the project, I would appreciate if the following points could be considered.
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Moylish roundabout
There is a good opportunity to improve this roundabout and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. A ‘Dutch-style’ roundabout could be considered here. Alternatively, the removal of the roundabout and its replacement with a signalised junction would give the local authority more control over traffic flows in addition to making it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. -
Connection from TUS to Thomond College
These third and second level institutions are very close to each other but the students of Thomond College (if cycling from the direction of TUS) will still have to negotiate a section of roadway which is unsafe due to fast moving traffic. There is sufficient roadspace in this area so it would not be particularly difficult to extend the scheme as far as Thomond College. -
From High Street to Ennis Road (i.e. section through Bellefield Gardens)
The proposal at the northern end of Bellefield Gardens near the junction with Farranshone Road - to create a constriction such that traffic must slow and yield to oncoming traffic - would be welcome on any quiet, residential street as a means to create a safe, shared space. However, the volumes of traffic on this road, and the fact that this section is a short cut for motorists, increase the likelihood of dangerous motorist behaviour, such that a second constriction (i.e. closer to the rear entrance to the UHL Maternity Hospital) and other further design interventions may be required in order to ensure traffic is sufficiently slowed and the roadspace is made safe for cyclists. The primary characteristic of the scheme from TUS to the junction of High Street/Farranshone Road (known locally as Fraser’s Corner) is safe, off-road cycle track. This characteristic is not a feature of the link from the High Street/Farranshone Road junction to the Bellefield Gardens/Ennis Road junction, and it should be carefully considered whether the departure from segregated cycle track on this section undermines the objectives of the overall scheme. -
From junction of Belfield Gardens/Ennis Road to Sarsfield Bridge
The left turn lane from Ennis Road to Clancy Strand is seldom used and unnecessary. The scheme could be extended, utilising this space to install a segregated cycle track as far as Sarsfield Bridge. It also would provide an opportunity to improve the junction of Ennis Road and Clancy and O’Callaghan Strands for pedestrians as well as cyclists. Being along the primary pedestrian artery from the north side of the city to the city centre, this junction experiences a very high volume of pedestrians at all times of the day, and it is my strongly held view that an upgrade of it should be included in this scheme.