Anger at ‘outrageous’ noise from roadworks
By Aideen O'Flaherty
RESIDENTS living in the vicinity of Scholarstown Road in Knocklyon were kept awake by late night roadworks, with a local councillor describing the situation as “outrageous”.
Work on the development of a shared cycle lane and footpath, junction improvements and traffic calming measures on Scholarstown Road began last July, and in recent days residents have complained of “excessive noise” late at night as trucks and lorries are used for the roadworks.
Roadworks are taking place on Scholarstown Road
Deirdre O’Donovan, an Independent councillor for Rathfarnham, told The Echo: “The residents are very, very upset.
“My phone was hopping from about 2.30am to 4am [on Wednesday morning] with people sending me videos of the noise from the roadworks.
“The residents received no warning at all. There was no consultation given and the works went on until 4am – it’s outrageous.”
Cllr O’Donovan added: “The roadworks have caused enormous traffic disruption since July, we have chronic traffic congestion and putting in a cycle track is going to slow traffic down.
“All of this chaos is for something that the community isn’t particularly enthusiastic about.”
Residents have also voiced concerns about the new width of Scholarstown Road, which was implemented as part of the upgrade works on the road, as there are worries that two buses will not be able to safely pass each other on that stretch of road.
The new width satisfies Dublin Bus’s standard width requirement
However, the council stated that the new width satisfies Dublin Bus’s standard width requirement for two buses to pass, as the road width is now 6.3m and this is in line with Dublin Bus’s minimum requirement of 6m.
In response to the overnight roadworks, the council said: “Necessary non-peak time road planning works were carried out on Scholarstown Road and a regulating layer of tar laid.
“All grinding and cutting works ceased at 11pm. The impact on directly affected residents was minimised and all residents were facilitated for access to and from housing estates, all buses ran.
“Ahead of the works commencing all residents directly affected by the works were informed.
“Any inconvenience to residents is regretted, however the nature of such works dictate that they take place outside of peak traffic hours.”
The expected end date of the roadworks is November 30.
