Councillors seek traffic calming on “Mondello-like” Crumlin Road but officials remind them it’s an “arterial route”

Councillors are seeking traffic calming on Crumlin Road in Dublin — labeling it as “one of the most dangerous roads in Dublin” — but at a recent local Dublin City Council meeting, an official reminded the elected officials that the road is an “arterial route”.

The issue of safety on the road was brought up as a motion by Cllr Tara Deacy (Social Democrats), Cllr Pat Dunne (Independents 4 Change), Cllr Carolyn Moore (Green Party), and Cllr Deirdre Conroy (Fianna Fáil) at Dublin City Council’s South East Area Committee meeting in July 2023.

One of the things mentioned by councillors and sought by the residents who contacted them is more protection for people cycling on the road, but the redesign of the road planned as part of BusConnects includes removing the space for bicycles and narrowing footpaths to make way bus lanes, mostly in just one direction.

At the last local area council meeting in July before the Summer break from council meetings this month, councillors criticised the lack of progress on any traffic calming measures.

Cllr Tara Deacy (Social Democrats) said: “The issues in terms of Crumlin Road / Mondello [race track] at the stage have three ways once again, Cllr Dunne probably about 18 months ago discussed and brought a motion around a number of traffic calming measures that were very necessary to be implemented. That was 2 years ago. I think we got a lollipop lady was probably the best we could get from that.”

“That was, as I said, two years ago there was a near-fatal accident on Father’s Day with a young boy and a number of the residents have been in contact with me,” she said.

She said she was happy from the written response that the officials are willing to have a look at the issues. “In terms of the recommendations, there’s much smarter engineers sitting on this call that I’d like to engage with,” she said, adding that a meeting with residents would be useful.

Cllr Pat Dunne said that had previously requested the installation of electric speed display signs for Crumlin Road, and council officials had claimed there was no issue with speeding on the road.

He said officials were “continuously coming back” to him without any data to support the claim there was no speeding.

“We need to be put in traffic coming measures of some description and I think to bollards again … to protect the cycle and bus lane,” he said. “Because if private motorists there were restricted to just going up the centre lanes, it would make it much, much safer.

He added: “I think we have to realise that on roads like the Crumlin Road that the bus lane needs to be protected because it’s not just a bus lane, it’s also a cycle lane and on that section of the Crumlin Road, particularly coming out of the city.”

He said that councillors have brought the issue of motorists using the bus lane but added: “nothing has been done”.

Cllr Carolyn Moore said the response from council officials “requests further information on the location” even when the councillors were “quite specific with the location”. But looking at one location of one incident missing the point too, she said.

“I think that misses the point in terms of thinking that this is an isolated incident and that we’re looking for a specific measure to prevent another child being knocked off their bike outside number 57, which we are, of course, but I think we’re also equally looking for a holistic approach to the entire road,” she said.

Cllr Moore said: “All of us [councillors], dealing with residents over the last few years have been able to point out specific junctures along that road where numerous factors are play. That means that people are either going over the speed limit or the speed limit is just isn’t appropriate for the road or that kind of thing.”

“There’s people living in the area that would love for their children to be able to cycle or walk to school or to sports practice safely but they just cannot do it at the moment,” she said.

She said that potential interventions that residents want includes traffic calming, road narrowing, protecting the cycle lanes, and visual speed displays.

Neil O’Donoghue, an executive engineer with Dublin City Council, said: “As you know, there’s two lanes in and out of town from the Canal to Sundrive Road. Currently, at this very moment, we’re getting a speed survey done on the road first of all so we will get the exact speed that are occurring.”

“When you’re coming out from town, from the canal, going towards a Sundrive Road, you don’t get a continuous flow. There’s like just three sets of pedestrian crossings which helps slow down the road. But, yes, we are looking at what can be done. But also we have to remember It is a main arterial route and an emergency service route out to Crumlin Hospital so we have to monitor those things that are in place already.”

“I will be talking to the Gardai to find out what are the issues already. I think it doesn’t need some type of enforcement by the Guards,” he said.

He said that speed display signs are typically used where the speed limit is changing and are expensive items, but that the council will consider everything. He also said that the council does not put yellow boxes into bus lines.

He said he will come back to councillors when they have a report on the road compiled and they will meet with councillors.

IMAGES BELOW: Before and after images as part of the BusConnects route on the road shows cycle lanes removed, footpaths narrowed and the road widened from school grounds and other locations to fit in bus lanes.