6-month trial for Belmont Ave: One-way entry for motorists at Sandford Road end

— Residents on the street favoured filtered permeability.
— Some residents fear one-way option will make issues worse.

A 6-month trial of having Belmont Avenue as a one-way entry at its Sandford Road to Belmont Gardens for motorists, starting from June 2022. The option was chosen ahead of an option for filtered permeability.

Two-way cycling will be provided for at the Sandford Road end of the street. Most of the street — stretching from Belmont Gardens to Donnybrook Road — will also remain two-way for access.

Residents staged a “footpath protest” last month ahead of councillors looking at options for anti-rat-running measures. The protest stopped the common practice of motorists mounting the footpath to get around congestion.

One resident involved with the protest said at the time said that he fears that the one-way option might make things worse by increasing speed and thinks it would do little for the safety of people cycling

According to a public consultation report, the vast majority of respondents agreed that there is a safety issue on the street. A majority of residents on the street and also a majority of overall respondents who favoured any option favoured filtered permeability.

The council report said: “The preferred option to be implemented for a six month trial appears to be Option 2 Filtered Permeability. This received the highest level of support (44% of all respondents; rising to 57% of respondents for those living in Belmont Avenue). As 6 to 7% of respondees supported either option to be implemented for a trial, this preferred option would increase to 50% of all respondees and 64% for those living in Belmont Avenue.”

The report said: “However, it should be noted that there were a number of objections from adjacent streets such as Eglington Road and Marlborough with residents concerned that either option could lead to an increase in traffic and access issues. This is reflected with the majority of residents on both streets preferring neither option (Do-Nothing) to be implemented for the six month trial. In terms of total responses, 20% of all respondees supported neither option.”

The council said: “After a preliminary review, DCC Traffic Section would recommend the trial of Option 1 – Restricted Access for safety reasons.” After the safety issue on the street lasting 15 years or more without being addressed, no details were given about the “safety reasons” stopping filtered permeability.

The same report said that “A Road Safety Audit (RSA) will be undertaken of both options as part of finalising the preferred design for the temporary trial.”

Councillors said that, after a recent meeting, councillors and officials have ruled out filtered permeability for the street.

Councillors who spoke at their South East Area Committee meeting today all welcomed the one-way option at their local area meeting.

Cllr Paddy McCartan (Fine Gael) said that the issue has been on-going for years.

Cllr James Geoghegan (Fine Gael) said some residents of Belmont Gardens suggested the removal of all parking on Belmont

Cllr Claire O’Connor (FF) said she welcomed that it is a trial and asked how the changes will affect residents of the surrounding areas. She said that the data used should look at a school week, not just data over the summer.

Cllr Hazel Chu (Green Party) asked if the project could start before the summer.

Cllr Dermot Lacey (Labour) said one resident said that they cannot get to a consensus so it’s up to councillors now to make a decision.

Andrew Duff, a transport engineer at Dublin City Council, said that it will be monitored at school times, not just in the summer. He said that there would be monitoring of nearby roads.

Duff said he would have to check with senior management if the trial could start earlier.


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2 comments

  1. I was on Belmont recently and there didn’t seem to be any change to the road; traffic going through in both directions. Does anyone know if this is still going ahead?

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