City councillors voice concern about slow progress on mobility projects

Several Dublin City Councillors have raised concerns about the lack of progress following the publication of a report on walking and cycling projects being developed by DCC.

At this month’s county council meeting, the report on transport and mobility projects was presented to the council.

Drafted by the Environment and Transport Department of the local authority, the report said that cycling and walking projects, particularly those being implemented as part of the Covid-19 pandemic response, were “critical infrastructure, and work is proceeding on these.”

The report also says that footfall in the city “has remained consistent throughout April with no significant changes since the start of the year,” and that “cycling numbers continue to increase, with the weekday totals now around 80% of pre-Covid levels.”

Projects, such as the Mountjoy Pedestrian Crossing, Griffith Avenue Cycle Route, Blessington Street Protected Contra-flow Cycle Lane, and Collins Avenue Extension Cycle Route are all at various stages of progression, according to the report.

However, several councillors raised concerns about the slow progress of many projects across the city.

Green Party councillor for North-Inner City Janet Horner said: “There have been a lot of measures that have not been implemented and show no signs of being implemented.”

Horner said that construction on a number of projects earmarked for development in a report published in May 2020 has yet to begun.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable that we have this report launched in May 2020 and nothing is done.

“It’s ad-hoc, there’s no transparency or accountability about what gets done and what doesn’t get done.

“I was expecting cycle lanes on Gardiner Street, all along Dorset Street – there’s no evidence of them, no progress on them, no element of reporting on them.

“I don’t think that’s acceptable.”

South West Inner-City councillor for Labour, Darragh Moriarty said that a map illustrating where each project is located would be useful for councillors as he says “there are black spots that are not being attended to at all.

“In my own area there were 63 submissions asking for improved cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and nothing has been done.

“It’s the same in Inchicore and Kilmainham where we keep on getting the same response from the black hole, that Bus Connects takes precedent but that are complimentary measures that could be implemented in the short-term to improve cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.”

Also for the South-West Inner City, Green Party councillor Michael Pidgeon says that he has been campaigning for a two-way cycle route on the southside of the Grand Canal.

“We were told by the end of quarter two of this year, we are approaching the end of that quarter, when are we going to see drawings, and would it be possible to even see drawings?”

Catherine Stocker, Social Democrats councillor for Clontarf said that Vernon Avenue is “currently a mess for parking, two-lane traffic with insufficient space and narrow footpaths.

“I am calling on the chief executive to implement a trial pedestrianisation or one-way route similar to that undertaken in Blackrock by DLR council.”

However, Fianna Fail councillor for Clontarf said that there has been “a bit of negativity around the Griffith Avenue cycle route,” and says that is “a really positive peach of infrastructure.

“I would ask the manager to make sure that this project does not turn into a negative and stays as a positive,” she said.

Fianna Fail councillors Deirdre Heney and Keith Connolly, Social Democrats councillor Tara Deacy, Independent councillors Damian O’Farrell and Mannix Flynn, Fine Gael councillors Colm O’Rourke James Geoghegan, Ray McAdam, Labour councillor Joe Costello, and Green Party councillors Carolyn Moore, Donna Cooney and Caroline Conroy also made comments on the report.