COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE 2

Monday 28th May 2007

MOTION No. 11

MOTION: Councillor M. Daly

"That this Commitee agrees to install pedestrian lights at the site of the temporary bridge on the N81 with immediate effect to compliment the existing structure which is unsuitable for all users."

REPORT:

As part of the development at the “iceland site” the developer was conditioned to improve the pedestrian bridge across the N81 Tallaght By-Pass. The old bridge did not provide the desirable clearance resulting in a detour for the highest vehicles through Tallaght Village and accordingly a new bridge is being provided in the same position.

During the bridge upgrade works the permanent bridge is unavailable. Several options were proposed to accommodate pedestrians. Traffic signals allowing pedestrians, including many school children, to cross this section of road on a temporary basis are considered undesirable on safety grounds due to the geometry of the road and the approach speed of traffic from the M50, and are therefore not recommended.

As an alternative, the developer, in agreement with the Council, provided a temporary pedestrian bridge adjacent to the permanent bridge. This temporary bridge was initially intended to be accessed via steps only, though it was acknowledged that this would pose problems for certain users. Following discussion at a previous Area Committee Meeting, it was agreed to approach the contractor for the development with a request to provide ramp access in addition to the stepped access already in place and these are now being constructed. The ramps will have a gradient 1 in 12, and the walking surface will be non-slip type on flat boards. This is considered to be the optimum solution having regard to all the factors involved.