COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM / TEMPLEOGUE / FIRHOUSE / BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
MOTION NO. 14
MOTION: Councillor P. Kearns
Cathaoirleach's Business
'That this committee calls on the Manager to conduct a review of the Rossmore Road Safe Routes to School trial and that a comprehensive traffic management scheme be designed with a full consultation of all the stakeholders in the local community. In addition that the unsafe aspects of the scheme as listed below are removed with immediate effect due to the urgent safety concerns of residents. 1: The unnecessary and excessive junction tightening at the corner of Rossmore Drive, Rossmore Grove and Rossmore Crescent while retaining the junction tightening at the corner of the Watercourse where it is needed as part of a safe School zone. 2: The removal of the overly intrusive and potentially dangerous Bus ramps which were not included in the original plan for the area. 3: The installation of a sign at the parking bays at the top of Rossmore Road advising 30 mins maximum parking to stop the current park and ride situation.'
REPORT:
The Rossmore Road Trial is now substantially complete, and we have been monitoring the scheme. No significant safety issues have been observed to date. An independent safety audit of the scheme will be carried out once the scheme is complete.
The red surfacing on the newly installed cycle track is expected to be installed at junctions at the end of March / beginning of April 2024. This work can only be carried out at this time of the year because it needs dry warm weather for the installation to last. Once the red surfacing at junctions and around the school is in place the monitoring and evaluation of the scheme will commence in April. A number of parameters will be observed and measured, and these will be compared with base figures (before measurements). The parameters to be evaluated will include vehicle speeds on Rossmore Road, number of cyclists and pedestrians, roadside interviews of users, parking surveys etc. This evaluation and assessments of these parameters will determine whether the scheme is successful or not.
The two-way cycle track has been constructed to encourage more cycling in this general area and also to provide a safe facility for children cycling to and from school. The ‘junction tightening’ at Rossmore Drive, Rossmore Grove and Rossmore Crescent has been undertaken to reduce the turning speed of vehicles as they cross over the new cycle facility. The tightening of the junctions will also improve the safety of pedestrians using these junctions as the crossing distance is shorter and the vehicles making the turn are doing so at much reduced speeds. The reduced junction radii are in line with current design guidance such as the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets and the Cycle Design Manual. The point to retain the new traffic calming at The Watercourse is noted.
Regarding corner radii at junctions, it is worth noting the requirements in DMURS Section 4.3.3 which states as follows: "Reducing corner radii will significantly improve pedestrian and cyclists safety at junctions by lowering the speed at which vehicles can turn corners and by increasing inter-visibility between users (see Figure 4.42) Reduced corner radii also assist in the creation of more compact junctions that also align crossing points with desire lines and reduce crossing distances." The junctions were designed as per the current guidelines, DMURS (Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets). The key to negotiating these junctions correctly and safely is to do it at a slow speed. The junctions were tightened in order to slow down traffic as there is a lot of school children and cyclists using these junctions. These junctions are close to two busy schools and other amenities in the area.
Two new modular bus stops have been constructed along the route of the new cycle track as part of the trial works. The bus stop has been designed to give pedestrians priority over cyclists allowing them to cross over the cycle track without having to step onto the road. Signage and road markings are provided to alert cyclists to the presence of pedestrians. This type of bus stop has been installed elsewhere in Dublin such as the Phoenix Park and Carysfort Avenue and to date, no safety issues have been identified at these locations.
We acknowledge the size of the first bus stop (nearer to schools) and this bus stop is being monitored with the view of reducing it to the size of the second bus stop which is smaller. These modular bus stop can not be removed completely as this could compromise the safety of both pedestrians and cyclists.
Supplementary Plate P 057 Time Limit (Clause 5.17.17 Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual) can be erected to prevent the new parking bays being used for long term parking. It is important to note that enforcement of these parking restrictions will require a revision of the Parking Bye-Laws. Even with the bye laws in place it will still be a challenge for the council to maintain presence of personnel to enforce the bye law.
We note that the trial has been monitored since construction commenced in Q4 2023 and, based on feedback, significant changes have already been made to improve the functionality and safety of the scheme. This has included addressing feedback already received from Councillors, local residents and other road users such as Dublin Bus. When the works are complete and the facilities open to the public, South Dublin County Council and the Design Team will continue to assess and monitor the usage of the new cycle facilities and road layout, reviewing all feedback received from the public over the forthcoming months.