Lots of positives, with a few suggestions to make it even better

POSITIVE Scheme

This is a very positive scheme which has the potential to be the first of many similar schemes that can deliver a cohesive active travel network in our city.

SAFE Cycle Route from Suburbs to City

There is currently no safe cycling route from the city to Raheen/Dooradoyle/Mungret, a regrettable fact that prevents so many from accessing the city centre in a fun and healthy way.

The proposed scheme is not just a positive thing for those who currently cycle.  It’s a positive enabler for those who don’t currently cycle as they don’t feel comfortable or safe doing so.

The scheme isn’t for middle aged male cyclists on racing bikes.  It’s for my 9 year old daughter to cycle (with me) to GAA training in Mary I or Laurel Hill on winter nights.  It’s for that same daughter in a few years’ time to cycle (by herself) to secondary school in Laurel Hill or to her friend’s house or into Penneys without bothering her Mam or Dad for a lift.  And It’s for that same daughter to cycle to college in Mary I or TUS in 10 years’ time.

EDUCATION for the Youngsters

South Circular Road is lined with schools (primary, secondary and third level) and has just under 7,000 students attending class there every day.

This scheme can allow a huge number of those students to walk, scoot, skateboard, or cycle to their classes in a safe and pleasant environment.

Does anyone really want to retain the status quo that sees thousands of cars clog up this road every day with pedestrians confined to narrow footpaths and cyclists squeezed out entirely.

PERSPECTIVE for the Oldsters

We’ll be long gone when our kids and grandkids will be looking after this place.  For the love of the Sweet Baba Jay, let’s leave them with something that allows them to get around their city in a fun, healthy and independent way like our parents and grandparents did.

They won’t thank us for ‘fighting’ for our parking on SCR back in ’22.  Give them real independence instead.

Things YOU LOVE TO SEE

There are a lot of very positive features of this design to be commended:

• Tight corner radii to slow drivers and reduce pedestrian crossing distances
• Continuous footpaths and raised table crossings

These designs should be made the norm across our towns and cities.

I’M NOT SO SURE About These Things

• The narrow footpaths, which fail to prioritise pedestrians as per DMURS user hierarchy
• Shared space at Dooradoyle end is a weak link that may deter less confident cyclists
• The half filter at Lifford Avenue 
• That Crescent Shopping Centre access road

A SQUASH & A SQUEEZE  - When Space is Tight, Cyclists Are Squashed & Pedestrians Are Squeezed

Design Manual for Urban Roads & Streets (DMURS):

“To encourage more sustainable travel patterns and safer streets, designers must place pedestrians at the top of the user hierarchy…….

…….. Designing for cyclists must also be given a high priority………..

……… Placing private motor vehicles at the bottom of the user hierarchy should not be interpreted as an anti-car stance”

It therefore follows that, if the spirit of these guidelines are being observed, designers would first sketch sufficiently wide footpaths, then allocate space for cycle lanes, with the remaining space available for private cars.  

DMURS also provides guidance on the width of footpaths:

“Minimum footway widths are based on the space needed for two wheelchairs to pass each other (1.8m).“

Using the area just to the south west of the junction of South Circular Road, we can see that this policy-based hierarchy has been turned on its head:

• Narrow Footpath Retained  -  The narrowest section of existing footpath (1.2m, but actually only 0.9m due to a bollard in the path which was installed to stop drivers from driving on the footpath) is NOT being widened to 1.8m.  Instead, it is being retained as is.

• On-Street Parking Instead of Protected Bike Lane  -  Instead of providing a protected bike lane on this section, this space is used for on-street parking. 
  • This is objectively absurd when you look at the maps and realise that all the houses in this section have 50 – 80 sq. m of off-street space to the front (a parking space is less than 12 sq. m) AND all the houses in this section have rear access, many with garages

Why is this absurd?

Well, this is an active travel scheme with the objective of encouraging the movement of people along this road by walking and cycling, but instead it has prioritised not only the movement of people by private car, but also the storage of empty and stationary private cars over the need of those who walk and cycle.  It has turned the user hierarchy upside down.

Why should we care?

I can see that that the designers are using the staggered on-street parking to regulate the speed of drivers in this area.  That may be sufficient to allow confident & experienced cyclists to navigate this section but it will likely deter many less experienced cyclists from using this section.  And given that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, if people are deterred from using this one section, it will deter them from using the whole section, thus generating more car trips.

In short, while this ‘shared space’ approach may be fine for me as a confident cyclist, it does not provide sufficient levels of safety and comfort for many others.  For example, if I cycle with my 9 year old daughter in a 2-way protected bike lane, both she and I are nice and relaxed (low risk) but if we must share a road with cars that are weaving in and out between parked cars, we are both on edge watching for danger at all times.

It only takes one bad experience while cycling for someone to say “that’s it, I’m never doing that again”. 

What should we do?

Please do the following here:

• Widen the footpaths to 1.8m;
• Add protected bike lane(s); and
• Make this section one-way for private cars

Dangerous Entrance to Crescent Shopping Centre

The existing entrance to the Crescent Shopping Centre from the flyover just before Ballykeeffe Roundabout is currently very dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists as drivers switch lanes to swing left into the shopping centre at high speed as they come down the hill off the flyover.

The danger in this area is exacerbated by the manifold traffic movements at this point:

• Pedestrians at the pedestrian crossing
• Buses (and taxis and private cars) pulling into the bus stop
• Drivers switching lanes on the approach to the roundabout
• Drivers turning into the shopping centre

Is there really a need for this entrance given that there are 3 other entrances on Dooradoyle Road? I suggest that this dangerous junction be closed to motor traffic so that at least one of the above listed traffic movements is removed for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

At a minimum the radius of the junction should be tightened significantly to slow turning drivers (I note that this is included in the design already) and that a continuous footpath / raised table junction be provided here to make it clear that pedestrians have priority here (it is notable that while most junctions on SCR have been provided with this treatment, this junction has not).

Keep an Eye on that Half-Filter

It will be interesting to see how the half-filter at Lifford Avenue works out.  I would be concerned that the following may occur:

1. Impatient inbound drivers may be tempted to ‘bypass’ the filter and put outbound cyclists (and drivers) at risk; or
2. There may be a temptation for drivers on the dock road  / Ashbourne Avenue to use SCR outbound as a rat run which would increase traffic volumes along the ‘hared’ sections of SCR (see previous observations re the downsides of ‘shared spaces’ in encouraging cycling for less confident cyclists)

Please monitor and measure the use of this filter from the above 2 perspectives and if one or both are occurring, please review the approach and look to introduce a full permeable filter here across both lanes.

Message to Active Travel Team  -  Well Done & Stay Strong

Overall, this scheme is very positive from an active travel perspective, with many pro walking and cycling design features included.  This project (if you hold your ground on the important elements in the face of the undoubted pressure you will come under) has the potential to set a precedent for the quality of future schemes.

Well done on bringing forward a (for the most part) progressive design and please be even braver on the next projects.