Increased Safety Risks to residents of County View Terrace

I am a resident of County View Terrace on the Ballinacurra Road, and I wish to voice an objection to the proposed plans to develop the surrounding area to incorporate cycling lanes.  I have several concerns regarding these plans.

Firstly, the traffic congestion on the Ballinacurra Road, South Circular Road, New Street and O'Connell Avenue is already at an unsafe capacity during rush hours and this is encouraging reckless and unsafe behaviours from drivers such as speeding down the bus lane and breaking the traffic signals at Punches Cross.  Routing additional traffic to this road is going to make driving conditions hazardous during these times.

Secondly, many residents on County View Terrace have parking  (one car per house)  to the back of our homes via a concealed entrance on Lifford Avenue which we enter through an electric gate.  To operate the gate, you need to stop on Lifford Avenue and use an electronic fob.  The gate takes about 60 seconds to open and once it does you have move through it swiftly so the sensor will detect the vehicle and the gate will remain open until you pass through.  Lifford Avenue is narrow and consequently, coming from the Ballinacurra Road direction, when you stop to operate the gate, your vehicle is causing an obstruction to those behind you.  As it is, despite signalling that you are turning right,  many cars will try to overtake you while you are waiting for the gate to open.   Furthermore, the anticipated increase in cars coming down Lifford Avenue from the South Circular Road means that we will be depending on the goodwill of oncoming drivers to allow us to reach the gate before it starts closing.  There is an increased risk here that we will either end up getting stuck mid-way on the street or with damage to our cars from the closing gate.  My final point on this gate is that there is a blind spot-on exit, so you have to move your car onto the road to check for approaching traffic.  There is an increased risk here that we will collide with a car coming down Lifford Avenue. 

While I am very supportive of increasing opportunities to cycle around our city I believe that the proposed plans pose an increased safety risk to the residents of County View Terrace.  There is access to a cycle lane at the Baggot Estate so cyclists can avoid the Ballinacurra Road, however this is not well known as it is not clearly signposted from the main road.  Clear line markings and signposting is needed so cyclists are aware of this option.  This may also prevent people from cycling or scootering down the footpaths outside our front gates and reduce our current risk of being run over.   As you already understand from the information evenings, the traffic and parking situation in this area is a real source of stress for those of us who have to navigate these roads everyday.  I would appreciate if my concerns were given some consideration.