Calls made to put Main Street and Main Road back on the map

CONFUSION has erupted over the naming of a street in Tallaght, after South Dublin County Council erected new signs in the heart of the village with a different name than what is listed on readily available maps.

Calls are being made to “put Main Street and Main Road back on the map” after signs erected this past week on the roads labelled them as Old Blessington Road.

On the Government’s ordinance survey map online, the streets are listed as Main Street and Main Road and on other map services, the street is listed the same.

According to the State’s available maps online, Old Blessington Road runs adjacent to St Maelruain’s Church and becomes Main Street at the bend by The Dragon Inn.

It is understood that Main Street runs down past the entrance to the Priory and Molloy’s Pub before turning into Main Road at the junction where Bank of Ireland is situated.

However, this is where the discrepancy came about because the local authority, using an internal system, made street signs labelled Old Blessington Road and erected them on what is believed to be Main Street.

The junction at Bank Of Ireland in Tallaght Village

“As part of our Tallaght Tidy Towns project, we reviewed the streets and public places last September,” a spokesperson for Tallaght Community Council (TCC) told The Echo.

“A glaring gap was street signs to help create a sense of place, but also wayfinding in the village.

“It seemed crazy there was no signs for Main St, Main Rd, Old Bawn Rd etc.

“ We met with SDCC and they agreed to close this gap.

The sign was removed by Wednesday morning

“We were delighted to see the historic village streets finally get street signs last week.

“However, Main St and Main Rd didn’t feature in the signs, instead signs for the ‘Old Blessington Rd’ appeared.

“We understand from SDCC that the street signs were ordered based on the listing on a data source called, the ‘road scheduler’.

“Many residents and businesses contacted us as they were confused at the new road signs and some were upset.

The Old Blessington Rd sign

“Their address, as they had always known, wasn’t being recognised in the street signs.

“It seems to us that the ‘road scheduler’ is at odds with the details in the land registry, OS maps and other frequently used public sources for wayfinding.”

On Tuesday evening, the sign outside The Dragon Inn was in place but by Wednesday morning it had been removed.

Signage for Old Blessington Road on Main Road was still in place as of Wednesday.

“Given that there is dissent over the name, we will remove two of the street nameplates near the Dragon Inn junction until this issue is resolved,” a council official told Tallaght Community Council in response to its concerns.

On Wednesday, the council said that Main Street is not the official name of the street – despite maps showing otherwise.

“SDCC erected street signage requested by local groups recently on Old Blessington Road,” a spokesperson for the council told The Echo.

“While this road is known locally as Main Street, Tallaght, this is not the correct name as per the Road Schedule.

“The correct name for this street as per the Road Schedule is Old Blessington Road.

“The Road Schedule Pavement Management System which is set up by the RMO (Roads Management Office) contains a list of all the official road names nationwide.

“The council can only install signs for the official street names.”

Tallaght Community Council believe that updating the road scheduler is a “matter of urgency”.

“The simple solution is to update the road scheduler to reflect Main St and Main Rd as a matter of urgency.

“Put Main St and Main Rd back on the map,” a TCC spokesperson said.

However, changing the listing on the Roads Management Office’s Road Schedule Management System is not so easy.

On this internal system, the street is listed as Old Blessington Road and it is understood that changing this would require an official plebiscite conducted by corporate services in the council.

If a plebiscite was to be conducted and a name agreed upon, then the local authority’s traffic section can erect new street signage reflecting such.

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