COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

HEADED ITEM NO. 15

Updated Report on Proposed Alterations to the Taxi Rank at Lucan Village

The following report was presented to last month's meeting of the Area Committee:

"The Road's Department is aware of the issues resulting from night time use of parking areas in Lucan Village.  In the recent past various plans have been proposed, developed and put forward for review by all relevant stakeholders, without a sufficient level of agreement being achieved.  It must be an objective of any solution that may be proposed that it has the support of users, is self-enforcing, is seen as a workable solution and attracts taxi drivers to correctly use the provided facility.  Should it occur that taxis are casually able to get better benefit from avoiding a provided taxi rank then the current issues may remain unresolved.

Following meetings with local traders a preference to relocate the taxi rank to the northern side of the Lucan Road was proposed.  Initially the area in the vicinity of the bus stop was identified as it is currently a parking area.  However this proposal would place the head of the queue for the first taxi furthest from customers leaving the village. The up hill nature of the rank would also mitigate against the easy progressing of taxis and would most likely result in stopping / starting of the engines of all taxis in the queue when the first taxi moves off. While it would be possible to provide adequate space for taxis, its use is at best uncertain.

As it is clear that there is substantial agreement among stakeholders to the location of a taxi rank on Lucan Road, consideration has been given to alternatives which might be considered would generate a greater degree of success.  If a taxi rank was to be provided on the opposite (southern) side of the road it was considered that notwithstanding the need to regularise the road layout, the existing bus stop and the existing Pay and Display spaces, that it would be possible to achieve a workable design which respected existing entrances and side roads.

The proposal in summary would involve:

• the provision of 4 - 6 taxi rank spaces, reserved on a 24 hour basis for such use, outside Village Court on the southern side of the Lucan Road, by reconfiguring the existing parking bays and bus stop
• the installation of an overflow contra flow taxi waiting area from 8pm on the parking spaces on the northern side of Lucan Road
• the removal of the existing taxi rank spaces in the village area

A sketch layout showing how this proposal would operate is attached to this report.  If the Members agree that the proposals form a workable solution to the provision of taxi rank spaces in the Lucan Village area, then further consultations will be held with the relevant stakeholders with a view to the earliest implementation of the proposals."

Following the presentation at the Area Meeting and following contributions from the Members it was AGREED that the Members would provide contacts for relevant stakeholders so as to ensure that consultation can take place prior to finalisation of the proposals. Following the Area Meeting and reports on the matter in the local media, the Council has received a number of verbal submissions regarding this proposal. The submissions claimed to be representative of the traders adjacent to the location of the new rank, the local users of the existing taxi rank and local residents. All callers were requested to submit their views in writing but to date these have not been received.

The matter is again before the Members for review.