I would really like to see more education and consultation with residents on a one to one basis, taking genuine concerns on board. While I congratulate the Council and Engineers on the work they have put in, there was a lack of consultation to better inform the plan. Many people are opposed to the plan in its current format but would support an alternative plan. Perhaps some of what I suggest is not possible but it is more considerate of residents' needs than the current plan and would certainly make the area safe for cycling, encouraging more of us to cycle. I believe a 4 week trial before Christmas, blocking access from Ballinacurra Road, would help to convince more residents of the merits of reducing traffic on the SCR. The addition of Park and Stride Facilities are also curcial to the success of this plan.
Filtered Permeabilty Blocking Traffic onto SCR from Ballinacurra Rd Flyover
I believe that the scheme would work best if we concentrated on getting the traffic that uses the SCR as a rat run, off the road. This could be done by taking away the left filter coming from the Crescent Shopping Centre and putting in filtered permeability for cyclists. If we could devise two Park and Stride points at O’Connell Ave and on the Dock Road for the schools, we would remove a lot of the school traffic off the road also and it would be good for the kids who are being driven to school to get some fresh air in the morning! The road could stay two way for residents and cyclists and the need for filtered permeability at Lifford Avenue would be removed.
To ensure that Lifford Ave does not then become the new Rat Run and to improve quality of life for the residents on that currently congested road, it could become One-Way out to Ballinacurra Road with traffic lights to facilitate this. Parking COULD be largely kept, but some current parking spaces could be given over to chicanes with trees as there are far too few trees in urban Limerick
NB: I would like to see those who have no access to parking on their properties, being supported financially and practically to create such access if necessary. I would like to see the scheme being modified slightly to take the needs of those who don’t have this option into consideration if possible.
Fennessys to MIC Summerville Ave
On the section from Fennessy’s to Summerville Ave there are parking spaces alongside MIC that students currently use and understandably don’t want to lose. I would like to direct them to the more than 20 spaces at the Dock Road end of Summerville Avenue that are rarely if ever used. It is a short walk up to college through the lower gate on Summerville Avenue and these spaces could also be useful for parents dropping to School via the Dock Road.
Scoil Máthair Dé may have concerns about dropping off and set-down spaces for their children who come by car. I suggest that they are facilitated to create a set-down area by moving their wall back 2.5m. As a bonus some native trees could be planted for them inside the new perimeter wall to make up for the beautiful mature trees that were knocked a few years ago. As there is no provision for children to cycle through to the Model school I believe MIC could be persuaded to allow a cycle lane through their new campus so that parents and their children cycling to school could get safe access to O’Connell Street where they can cross at the lights and walk the last few metres to the Model School.
Summerville Ave to Laurel Hill Avenue Road Width and Parking Spaces
I am concerned about how the section from Summerville Ave to Laurel Hill Ave is supposed to work as it seems to be too narrow to include a 3m cycle lane and a min 2.75m carriageway. With existing paths of 1.5m and 1.2m at the narrowest point, parking spaces of 2.4m and a carriageway of just over 2.5m, it is only 7.7m wide. Where the paths are slightly wider, the road itself is still under 5m wide. There is no cross section depicting this particular section. As there is no option to keep parking here, it should be explained to residents who are worried about oil deliveries and set downs, that the cycle lane will not be separated by bollards so shopping and oil deliveries etc and letting elderly people out at their gates, can still happen by pulling in momentarily as they currently would. A cyclist could just pull out around a temporary blockage and these deliveries generally happen outside rush hours anyway.
Many of these houses have their own driveways. The houses along here with no rear access on the right going into town do however have access to ample parking which should be identified for permit holders only so that home owners and their guests can avail of them. There is space for even more parking that has not been identified on the maps. In fact more than 50 spaces already there with potential for many more. As well as the 9 spaces at St Gerald’s Court, 22 at the top of Summerville Ave, and 5 in the back lane after the first 5 houses. There is room for 3 more there and another two further down as well as at least 7 or 8 spaces behind the second section of houses. Furthermore there is ample space for off street parking in the lane off Laurel Hill Ave as well as a derelict site there that could be converted to at least 20 more parking spaces. Together with the 10 new spaces proposed at the corner of LH Avenue and a set down space that could be created alongside the wall of the Redemptorists, (where there is currently a double yellow line), most residents would be catered for within an acceptable distance of their homes, and closer than one would be in any other European City.
Redemptorists to Henry Street
There is no back access or front gardens to convert in this stretch. As this part is wider, parking should be kept here with a 3m shared Carriageway for cars and bikes going into twon and a 1.5m contraflow cycle lane out of town on the far side of the road to avoid car door opening incidents. I know this goes against the desire to have a seamless dual cycleway the whole way into the city but it is a tiny stretch and if they can do shared laneways down the Ballinacurra Road end they can do one here too.
Finally I would like to say that I fully support the modifications suggested by the residents and traders of Henry Street re one-way traffic, parking, planting and getting rid of seating areas.
Do a 4 Week Trial blocking off Ballinacurra Road access before Christmas. Meeting people who have concerns helping to allay their fears....set up a team of people who will listen but who also understand the merits of the scheme to go door to door!
I am hugely in favour of the scheme if we can have the best possible version. We need it for so many reasons, but we must be mindful of residents needs without watering the whole thing down. This needs to happen and from my reading of the submissions most would support it if parking and delivery concerns could be addressed.