COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

MOTION NO. 21

MOTION: Councillor T. Delaney

That the Manager outlines by way of a report what maintenance arrangements are in place and what significant work has been carried out this year regarding the upkeep and presentation of the Grand Canal Green route particularly litter & graffiti removal.

REPORT:

 Regular meetings are held with the contractors responsible for the maintenance of the canal. Following complaints some time ago inspections of the bins are carried out a minimum of twice a week.  Where CCTV monitoring discovers littering along the canal or instances of broken glass immediate action is taken to have it removed.  There has been a significant decrease in recent times in the level of littering. There have been instances where litter bins have been set alight and locks broken.  This necessitated the introduction of a programme to replace the plastic bin liners with steel liners and to replace broken locks. Recently as part of the Landscape Maintenance Programme litter which had been trapped on the berms has now been removed.

Graffiti has been an issue since the Grand Canal Way-Green Route was opened.  It is a constant and persistent problem and is likely to remain so.  Efforts have been made to remove it but literally the following day it will be replaced.  The financial recourses are not in place to have someone working on a daily basis removing graffiti.  We are examining whether the poles, seating and bins can be treated in any way to prevent or easily remove such graffiti. It is quite difficult to remove the graffiti without causing serious damage.  Arrangements have now been made to test a number of products to see which one would be able to do the best job causing the least amount of damage. If a suitable product is found a Programme of Works will be put in place to remove the graffiti.