COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

QUESTION NO. 19

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

"To ask the Chief Executive to present an update on the Tallaght Village Improvement Scheme and in reporting will he confirm that actions have been taken in respect of matters submitted by Tallaght Community Council and will he make a statement?"

REPLY:

"The current Improvement Scheme is being implemented at two locations in the village - Old Greenhills Road (adjacent to The Priory) and Old Bawn Rd (between N81 and Main St.).

Old Greenhills Road is progressing well and is due for completion at the end of November 2017.

Old Bawn Road will be commencing at the end of this month and is due for completion at the beginning of December 2017.

Following is the submission from TCC in response to our Part 8 of April 2015 with our response, in light of the current scope of Tallaght Village Phases One and Two.

On Monday, February 23, 2015, tara de buitlear <tallaghtperson@gmail.com> wrote:

A Chara,

Please find detailed the TCC observations & suggested tweaks to the proposed Tallaght village improvements out for consultation with a deadline of today for feedback.

1. The proposed Greenhills cul plaza style area won't add value & provide a function unless the new village signage is added here to create an village entry information point. This information point would be visible to cars as well as foot passengers - thus promoting Tallaght village to the passing traffic as somewhere of value to visit & value.

It improves perception & reputation.

The current pilot signage/wayfinding project at Tallaght Village and The Square is nearing completion. Taking this into account, some revision to the existing specifications will be considered. We will include for provision of signage/wayfinding at Old Greenhills Road once the revisions have been completed.

However, fundamentally This cul de sac misses the opportunity of improving the flow of traffic from The Priory & Retreat House at peak mass times / evening funeral masses our of the village - currently all traffic leaving is routed out via the Main Street, which causes a bottleneck & tail backs for cars & buses at both lights.

There is an opportunity to create a left only turn from The Priory & signal control this road - or some other movement control to use this exit route from the village & have another emergency route for the village. We suggest The Priory need to be consulted about this aspect of the plan.

This is outside the current scope of works for Phases One and Two.

2. A better use of funds to pave & integrate a historical site into the streetscape is The 8 th century hedge monastery rampart which runs between St Maelruains - all buildings on High St & The old Cycle Inn building is a national monument & needs an appropriate street setting to encourage footfall to view it - and importantly to finally honour it as a historical gem. This should be the granite paving, lighting & better signage explaining the national monument. The signage treatment should be fitting & appropriate for a national monument.

The national monument should be incorporated into the High Street & not left to linger in the rubbish / goods inwards areas as it currently is.

It is a unique feature of the village & according to local historians, unique in the region. It needs to be elevated in these works - if not included in these works, a major opportunity to leverage this asset for the locals & visitors will be missed.

This is outside the current scope of works for Phases One and Two.

• The maps & new signage points is I know & we would like to see that as part of the overall village improvement plan.

1.  

See response to Item 1 above.

4. Planting

The new trees are welcome.

In addition to that we want the flower baskets on the lights planted & maintained for the Summer months.

The wooden planters need hard box bushes in the centre to give greenery all year round, with bedding plants around the perimeter changed seasonally.

They were all planted for Tallafest14 & were left intact, they are now all dead as the plants shown were not hardy & died once the cold weather hit.

As demonstrated successfully in our other villages, this is a matter for the Tidy Towns Committee.

5. Drainage in the parking bays on Main Street - these need attention as the car bays carry pools of water during / after rain & render them inaccessible.

This issue has already been addressed by Roads Maintenance

6. The flower bed at the totem pole - the bamboo needs to be removed to fully showcase the street art & new Irish cultural centre at this junction. It creates a visual barrier to enjoy the TJ Burns houses & the street art from this end of the village & encourages negative loitering in this plaza which is below road level.

The bamboo has already been removed.

7. The Priory walls - in full consultation with the Dominicans, funding from this initiative should be provided to finish the removal of the concrete render of the exterior walls on Main St to reveal the historical Priory walls between The Dragon & the pedestrian gate - completing the reveal of the historical walls.

This new graffiti hotspot might also be discouraged if the natural stone is exposed. See photo attached.

The Priory Walls are private property. However, if The Priory was to approach SDCC on the matter, we would be happy to review the matter with them.  

8. We are awaiting sight of the signage locations around the village & to check what is included as features on the map - is the Poddle, the Poddle Walk, the old Garda station, the TJ Burns houses, the street art, the cottages in the Old Greenhills Road, the tower, the losset etc.

See Item 1 above.

9. Tallaght is an area of archeological interest & should be noted as such - with historical rivers, a castle, gardens, churches & the Monastry dating back to the 7/8th century.

See Item 1 above."