COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

MOTION NO. 7

MOTION: Councillor E. Coburn

"That the Manager provide an updated report on the various meetings held with Residents and M50 Concessions Ltd and detail the outcomes of these meetings."

REPORT:

Recent Liaison Meetings involving Residents of Orlagh/Airfield/Prospect Estates, M50 Concesssions Ltd and their Contractor (M50 D&C), SDCC’s Rep., Rathfarnham Area Counilors and the NRA’s Consulting Engineer’s Rep (Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers) have been held in order to discuss the M50 Upgrade Works and in particular the Residents concerns relating to;

  1. noise disturbance arising from night works,
  2. traffic congestion arising in the morning peak
  3. installation of noise barriers
  4. removal of existing planting in the verges
  5. installation of sign gantries
  6. timeframe for completion of works.

Following discussion by the above mentioned parties of items 1-6 the up-to-date position is as follows;

  1. M50CL agreed to have all heavy noisy works completed by 11pm and to undertake other less intrusive night works such as laying of macadam using a “low-noise work regime” in which the noise of working plant is surpressed. This approach appears to have worked satisfactorily and the road-works for Scholarstown Junction to Ballinteer Junction section are now substantially complete. Similar road-works between Scholarstown Junction and Tallaght (N81) Junction are scheduled to be substantially completed by 22nd Nov after which 3 traffic lanes will be available through the full extent of M50 mainline.
  2. The use of On/Off-Ramps at Scholarstown for queue jumping resulting in east-west traffic crossing over the M50 being blocked was raised with the Gardai who agreed to place a motor-cycle Garda at the Junction to discourage this activity. Following the addition of the third lane on the main M50 as mentioned above the congestion should significantly decrease as there will be a greater opportunity for traffic from the Ramps to merge into mainline traffic.
  3. Various discussions about noise barriers has resulted in the following. M50CL has confirmed that the barrier adjacent to Orlagh Ave is located as per the EIS and so will NOT be moved closer to House No 27. Residents also requested that the barriers to be provided adjacent to Orlagh Estate be erected as soon as possible. This has now been done. Residents at Castlefield Manor and Orlagh Lodge requested that their noise barriers have a similar finish on the inside as on the M50 side. This has been agreed by M50CL and this work will be undertaken shortly. M50CL will discuss the possibility of lowering the barrier adjacent to Prospect (as requested by Residents Reps due to diminished light) with the NRA only if ALL of the Prospect Residents provide written confirmation of this request.
  4. M50CL explained that trees planted in the verge had to be removed to enable installation of noise barriers in accordance with the M50 Upgrade Scheme EIS. M50CL has installed the barriers as close to the boundary walls as possible to reduce the potential for anti-social activity in the gap between the wall and barrier. Where there is adequate space outside the barrier the contract Landscaping Requirements call for “low canopy planting mix” which includes trees up to 2.5m in height.
  5. Residents expressed concerns about the visual impact of Gantries No 78 (adjacent to Orlagh) & No 81 (adjacent to Airpark) and the directional signs that would be erected on these. The Residents were informed that sign gantries have been located by M50CL in accordance with their Contract and the M50 Upgrade Scheme EIS. Subsequent to the Liaison Meeting of 29th Oct it has come to light that Gantries 78 & 81 are for VMS (Variable Message Signs) and not the large blue ADS (Advanced Directional Signs). The VMS signs are electronic display messages to inform motorists of accidents ahead, fog/snow, lane closures for maintenance, etc and these are compact signs which are generally contained within the dimensions of the main boom of the gantry. SDCC’s Rep undertook to discuss the resident’s concerns with the NRA with the view to mitigating the visual impact of the gantries. The NRA has indicated that they will consider the residents views and will examine the possibility of planting mature trees to screen the gantries.
  6. M50CL has indicated that they expect to have the main road-works for the 3rd lane on the main M50 substantially completed by 22nd Nov ’09, the N81 Junction Works substantially completed by mid-Dec ’09 and the Scholarstown Junction substantially completed by mid-Feb 2010. Remaining works such as landscaping are expected to be completed in the following month.