COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM / TEMPLEOGUE / FIRHOUSE / BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

HEADED ITEM NO.10

HEADED ITEM: P. Realm

Boden Park Proposed Pedestrian Entrance & Improvement works

REPLY:

Motion 7 on the agenda of the September 2024 Rathfarnham/Templeogue/Firhouse/Bohernabreena area committee meeting requested that a new footpath and pedestrian access be provided from The Rise, Boden Park across the green space to Ballyboden Way. The motion was agreed by all councillors and and the report from Public Realm management proposed that the project would be included in the draft Public Realm Improvement Works Programme for 2025. At the meeting of the area committee held on 14th January the draft Public Realm Improvement Works Programme was presented to the local elected members and included the proposed Boden Park project, the draft programme was accepted and the Boden Park project received no objections at that time.

At the February County Council meeting the elected members requested that Public Realm seek resident feedback before the project would proceed. On May 29th a deputation meeting was held with the Boden Park Residents Association during which the Council agreed to share the proposed landscape plans with elected members and residents. During the deputation meeting the local residents advised that they themselves had carried out a poll within the estate and the results of the poll showed that there was a large proportion of residents who didn’t want the new entrance to go ahead.  The Council has received details of the poll from the residents association which shows that 89 homes are against the proposal, 25 are in favour of it and 7 did not express any preference.  It is not known how many homes in total were consulted in the poll however the information provided shows that residents at Boden Park Glen were consulted as well as those in the main part of the estate.

The residents' primary concern relates to potential antisocial behaviour, informed by previous issues where a woodland entrance without a defined route or clear destination had to be closed. In contrast to that entrance the proposed footpath provides a clearly defined, direct and universally accessible pedestrian link from Boden Park to Ballyboden Way. By encouraging regular use and increased pedestrian activity the new route is expected to significantly reduce the likelihood of antisocial behaviour.  The rationale behind this proposal is to formalise and improve the existing informal route which currently sees residents crossing grass and climbing railings to avoid a 1km detour (2km round trip) to access local shops. The proposed 43 metre long footpath and entrance would reduce this to a 270m route (540m round trip) which would significantly improve accessibility, connectivity and pedestrian safety.

Residents also requested maintenance of the existing pedestrian entrance from Boden Park Green onto Ballyboden Way. The required pruning and vegetation management at this location will commence at the end of the bird nesting season after August 31st, in the interim selective pruning will be carried out to cut back branches which are blocking pedestrian movements at this access.  Proposed improvements also include removing the kissing gate to enhance universal access, installing improved lighting and replacing steppingstones on the grass margin with a tarmacadam footpath.  These improvements can be proposed for inclusion in the 2026 Public Realm Improvement Works Programme if the members of the area committee are in agreement..

The Council would like to thank residents and Councillors for the pro-active engagement on this proposal to date.