COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 08, 2023

QUESTION NO.10

QUESTION: Councillor Lyn Hagin Meade

To ask the manager to describe and list in tabular form, the types of public benches available in South County Dublin public realm, noting height differentials and inclusive attributes, examples would include: no back/ low arm/ wheelchair inclusive / supportive of those with hip or knee replacements / suitable for arthritis sufferers.

REPLY:

Details of benches that are made in-house by Public Realm staff are set out in the table below.  In addition to these there are benches that have been purchased directly from street furniture suppliers and installed in new park and playground developments.  Seating has been provided over the years as parks and other areas have been developed and this has resulted in seating of different types and make being installed in accordance with what was available at the time. 

In general seating is provided at a height of 450mm, some seats have been provided back and arm support and some without.  The current preference is to provide robust seating with back and arm rest, however these have not always been provided.  In some locations picnic benches have been provided and at some of these locations picnic benches which are accessible to wheelchair users have been provided.  Seating provided tends to be of a standard format and in general does not include special or once-off features.

Type of bench	Height of bench off ground	Height of armrest off ground	Height of backrest from seat	Height of tabletop	Space for wheelchair/pram
Bench with no back	450mm	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bench with back & armrest	450mm	700mm	450mm	N/A	N/A
Universal accessible bench	450mm	700mm	450mm	N/A	920mm
Picnic table	450mm	N/A	N/A	850mm	N/A
Universal accessible picnic table	450mm	N/A	N/A	850mm	920mm