COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM/TEMPLEOGUE/FIRHOUSE/BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

MOTION NO. 4

MOTION: Councillor D. O'Donovan

That the Manager organises a safety review of the 'Shared Surface' footpath leading down from the Orlagh Roundabout to the Knocklyon Road junction at Supervalu Knocklyon. A child was knocked down in November because they were going too fast on their scooter as a result of the natural slope on the path, shot out into the oncoming traffic and yet SDCC are refusing the install a barrier to stop the same thing happening again.

REPORT:

 The Junction at Knocklyon was upgraded and completed in 2016 and a number of safety audits were carried out for the scheme and no issues were raised regarding the absence of pedestrian railings / barriers. In the stage 2 safety audit the following observation was made in relation to the pre-existing barriers 'The retention or replacement  should not compromise visibility to pedestrians waiting at any crossing and should be positioned away from the kerb line such that cyclists can escape the highway if impeded by a turning vehicle'. Based on the above observation made on the Safety Audit Stage 2 and the current NTA design guidelines that ecourages de-cluttering of the junction to facilitate good visibility pedestrian railings were not included as part of the design.

It is important to note that there are a lot of pedestrians who use this junction especially mornings and afternoons when school children are going in and coming out of schools. So if pedestrian barriers are present they reduce the efficiency of the junction as access to cross the road will be restricted and pedestrians can only cross at a certain narrow point which may be inadequte and unsafe and may encourage crossing during late amber or to some extent red man.

The shared path approaching the Knocklyon road junction from the Orlagh Roundabout  has been examined and the slope was found to be safe and well within acceptable limits. A number of safety audits were also carried out for the scheme completed in 2019 and no issues were found regarding the slope and safety of the shared facility. While it is very unfortunate that an incident involving the child occured at this location, however installing pedestrian barriers at this location will not in any way improve safety at this junction but will impact on the safe operation of the junction.