I have made a submission to the public consultation on new speed limits in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown to show my support for safer speed limits on our local roads. Overall, I am very supportive of reduced speed limits in residential areas, village/town centres and on narrow roads with high volumes of people walking/cycling.
I do think however the council can do more to make our villages liveable places. I think 30kph is the appropriate speed in areas where we shop in our local businesses, meet up with friends and family, and bring our kids to play or go to school.
These central spaces in our communities should be low speed areas and not feel like they're divided by dual carriageways.
I would strongly encourage you to make a submission too. You can see all the documents and maps for the new speed limits and complete the council survey here . The deadline for making submissions is midday on Friday 19th January 2024.
You can download my submission by clicking on the file:
Or read it below:
Re: Draft Special Speed Limit Bye-Laws 2024
A chara,
As the Green Party representative for the Dundrum area, I wish to make several observations regarding the Draft Special Speed Limit Bye-Laws 2024.
Firstly, I wish to register my support for the overarching goal of the proposed Bye-Laws and particularly the broad implementation of the special speed limit of 30kph on the vast majority of residential streets across the county. This is undoubtedly a significant step towards making our streets safer and more accessible for those choosing to walk, cycle or use other sustainable modes of transport.
I however argue that further consideration should be given to extending the special speed limit of 30kph to roads where such a reduction in the speed limit would contribute positively to the sense of place in the villages of the Dundrum Area. This would include:
- Braemor Road between the junctions of Nutgrove Avenue and Landscape Gardens, reducing speeds and thereby creating a safer and more appealing environment for those accessing the village businesses and amenities in Churchtown.
- Ballinteer Avenue to enhance the sense of place and the potential for the development of Ballinteer as a less car dominated village. Increasing safety to access the businesses and amenities of the village.
- Dundrum Road, given the large number of turns off the Dundrum Road, the narrow width of the road and footpath at certain intervals, and the fact that it is significantly built up with homes and businesses on both sides. It would make a material difference to the safety of vulnerable road users to reduce speeds on this road to 30kph. In addition, Reducing speeds in this area would improve the sense of place in Windy Arbour and improve pedestrian safety and access to all the local businesses.
I again wish to note my support for the overall intention of the proposed Bye-Laws and thank the council for their consideration of my observations.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Jones
Green Party Local Area Representative
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