COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM / TEMPLEOGUE / FIRHOUSE / BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
MOTION NO.12
MOTION: Councillor P. Kearns, Councillor Y. Collins, Councillor J. Sinnott
That this committee calls on the manager to allocate school wardens to Riverview ETNS, Limekiln Road, Greenhills. We are aware that Riverview is part of the Safe Routes to School programme, however, it is our assertation. supported by confirmation from the manager at our last ACM that this should not preclude them from having a school warden, as evidenced by other local schools in the area that have several wardens in tandem with the programme.
REPORT:
SDCC has received multiple requests in relation to the potential for assignment of a school warden to assist school going children cross the road to attend Riverview ETNS.
All of these requests have been considered in the context of the following:
1. Safe Routes to School
The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme was developed in partnership by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Green-Schools, as a response to the need to support schools to increase walking and cycling to school. Details of the SRTS Programme can be found online at this website; Safe Routes to School - Green-Schools (greenschoolsireland.org)
The current SRTS Programme was launched in March 2021 and was open to all schools in Ireland to apply for active travel funding and delivery. Nationally, the programme received expressions of interest from 932 schools, almost one in four schools in the state. Funding for the scheme is provided annually by the NTA as part of the overall annual allocation to roads authorities, and SDCC receives such allocations relative to the school approved.
Riverview ETNS (RETNS) was approved under Round 1, and as a school in the SRTS programme, was surveyed regarding the school’s students’ requirements for travel to and from the school, with an outline delivery plan issued in June 2022.
The report provides meaningful information regarding the origin of school pupils and their mode (method) of travel. From this school survey it was noted that the school attendees predominantly originate in residential areas to the northeast of the school. These areas include Drimnagh, Walkinstown, Perrystown and Greenhills.
RETNS was incorporated into the Council’s Wellington Lane Active Travel Cycle scheme, for the specific purpose of accelerating delivery of the SRTS works for the school. However see immediately below - the RETNS SRTS scheme is now for delivery in 2026/2027 as a result of incorporation into the Wellington Lane Active Travel Cycle Scheme
2. Wellington Lane Active Travel Cycle Scheme
As referred to above, the SRTS RETNS work was incorporated into the Council’s Wellington Lane Active Travel Cycle scheme, for the specific purpose of accelerating delivery of the SRTS works for the school.
This enabled the school team from An Taisce to liaise with RETNS to develop and agree a draft delivery plan. The recommendations from that plan were incorporated into the Wellington Lane AT scheme (Limekiln Road element).
Members of this committee will be aware that the Wellington Lane AT Scheme received Part 8 Approval at the December 2022 Full Council Meeting. However, as part of that approval, amendments to the Part 8 were approved by Councillors, requiring that trial designs be put in place initially on Rossmore and Whitehall Road. In effect, this has delayed the planned work in front of RETNS proposed under the initial Part 8 scheme.
The Rossmore trial element is now substantially complete while the Whitehall Rd. trial is yet to be commenced.
Progress on the detailed design of the rest of the Wellington Lane scheme has been ongoing, and it is planned that the scheme will be delivered on a phased basis from 2025, the delivery of the works will be aligned with the available resources and ongoing NTA funding for 2026 (and beyond).
3. Dublin 12 Bike Bus
It was also observed that active travel, as a travel mode, was well established in the school community with a “bike bus” group who travelled to the school from the areas mentioned. In response to this the Council brought forward for delivery a significant active travel scheme providing cycle tracks and a quiet street route towards the school.
This scheme, the “D12 Bike Bus Route - Light Segregation Scheme”, was completed in 2024 and included junction tightening along Fernhill Road / Mountdown Park to lower car turning speeds and shorten the pedestrian crossing distance, and the construction of a cycle track along Limekiln Lane.
These works exceeded €2 million in capital expenditure, and were funded by the NTA. The scheme provided safety improvements for most active travel school attendees. See details of the scheme here:
4. School warden assisted crossing criteria
Each local authority can arrange for school traffic wardens to patrol places where school children cross public roads. The school traffic warden’s role is to ensure that primary school children cross public roads safely to and from school and so, School Wardens are not assigned to schools but rather to road crossings.
Requests for School Warden assisted crossings are examined on a case by case basis along the following lines
- Traffic Volume and Speed: The number of vehicles passing through the crossing and their speed
- Pedestrian Volume: The number of children and other pedestrians using the crossing - a higher number of pedestrians, especially young children, indicates a greater potential need for a warden assisted crossing
- Visibility: Visibility of the crossing to both pedestrians and drivers
- Complexity of location: It is acknowledged that wider and more complex crossings are more challenging for children to navigate safely
- Gap in Traffic: The frequency of safe gaps in traffic are considered, eg if there are not enough safe gaps for children to cross, a crossing may need to be assisted to create these gaps.
- Age of Unaccompanied Students: Younger children typically need more assistance as they may struggle to judge the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles and so the scheme applies to crossings in the vicinity of primary schools
- Local Policies: All staff appointments are subject to approved HR workforce numbers and budgets.
Summary:
Members from the Traffic Management Office and the Road Safety Office met recently with the Principal to discuss her expressed safety concerns around the school.
It now transpires that the areas of concerns are around the Limekiln Park and Mountdown Park areas, as these are the walking routes of the children attending the school.
It must be noted that Limekiln Park is a cul-de -sac and Mountdown Park already has traffic calming measures installed and junction tightening works undertaken at the internal junctions (as referred to above in D12 Bike Bus Route).
It has been demonstrated that there has been extensive investment in safety and active travel school related improvement at this location / vicinity of this location, and there are now very limited, if any, remaining options for implementation in the absence of additional identified resources.
It is acknowledged that there are remaining planned and already agreed works for outside RETNS.
In conclusion, this is not considered a priority location and it is not appropriate to contemplate reassignment of an existing approved work force plan School Warden to this location.