[ad_1]
Proposals to introduce a two-way cycle path in Sandymount, south of Dublin, have been postponed until early next year, due to opposition from local residents.
Dublin City Council intended to restrict vehicles to a single lane on Strand Road, to allow for the introduction of a two-way cycle path.
The coastal cycle path would be separated from traffic with bollards and would face Dublin Bay. The one-way traffic lane would run south from Seán Moore Road, near Irishtown Stadium, to Merrion Gates.
The proposal has met opposition from some local Sandymount residents, who are concerned about the potential increase in traffic through the village and on smaller residential roads.
The changes were supposed to be introduced for a six-month trial period at the end of October, however, it has now been deferred until January 2021.
Councilors agreed to postpone the trial until early next year at a southeast area committee meeting Monday.
A “compromise” motion proposed by Labor Councilor Dermot Lacey to reduce the trial to four months from January was rejected.
However, councilors approved a report from Dublin City Council in response to the motion agreeing to delay the cycle path test until January.
Cllr Lacey said that while its “compromise” motion had been rejected, the council had agreed to hold more consultations with residents, as well as groups in favor of the proposal, such as the Dublin Cycling Campaign.
The local authority committed to reviewing the proposed scheme to take into account submissions on the plan received in recent weeks.
He also pledged to provide “a more comprehensive traffic management plan around the Sandymount area to show how he intends to manage the cycle route test.”
A council spokesperson said it had received more than 2,500 submissions on the proposed cycle route.
The local authority had agreed to form an “advisory committee with stakeholders, including groups of local residents, chaired by the mayor,” the spokesman said.
Paddy McCartan, Fine Gael councilor for the Pembroke area, said the main concern for Sandymount residents was the knock-on effects of the changes in traffic. “The fear is that this displaced traffic will end up going down narrow parks and highways in Sandymount,” she said.
Locals were particularly concerned about trucks and heavy vehicles that had used the highway to travel north to the Tom Clarke Bridge and would now be pushed onto smaller roads in the neighborhood, he said.
[ad_2]