Council to visit three streets to assess traffic safety in the area
Concerns have been raised over the safety on Drumfinn Road/Drumfinn Avenue junction

Council to visit three streets to assess traffic safety in the area

DUBLIN City Council roads enforcement will visit three streets in Ballyfermot to assess pedestrian access, parking on footpaths, and traffic safety, following a request by local councillors at the recent South Central area committee.

The three locations are Thomond Road, Raheen Road, and Drumfinn Road, the latter of which saw a horrific accident in March, when a car ploughed into two pedestrians on the footpath.

“I don’t know if it’s just this area, but I’ve never seen the amount of cars and vans parked outside houses. Go down Drumfinn Road and just have a look, the garda station, social welfare office, four schools, it is absolutely unbelievable that there hasn’t been more accidents,” said Cllr Vincent Jackson (Ind).

“People coming out from Gurteen Avenue onto Drumfinn Road and people coming from Drumfinn Avenue onto Drumfinn Road, at the Civic Centre, you are halfway out on the road because there is big box trucks parked right up to the corner. You genuinely are in the middle of the carriageway before you can see what is coming up or down. I don’t know how the guards haven’t said anything themselves, if they are responding to emergencies.”

Daithí De Róiste (FF) said there is a “massive problem in relation to accessibility” for people with disabilities at places like Raheen Park, and noted parts of Cherry Orchard “you can’t even come out of junctions because you can’t see.”

“The guards say ‘we can’t fine everyone’ but as I said to them, let them know and fine them if needs be.”

Cllr Daithi Doolan (SF) reiterated the need for action but not to create “division.”

“I have contacted the city council but got nothing back – what can we do to tackle those two sites,” said Cllr Doolan.

Neil O’Donoghue, Senior Engineer DCC, said parking enforcement would visit the sites to assess the situation, but that they want to “work with communities”, because if they “clamp straight away it will cause trouble in the communities.”

Mr O’Donoghue said they had to look at it in a careful way because they are “very residential” areas and “we might be causing harm to the local population.”

He said roads 6.5 metres wide, is wide enough to have double sided parking “makes it slightly a single lane”, but that is “good for keeping traffic speed down.”

Derek Kelly, Executive Manager DCC, said there was a report last year brought to local committees around proposed changes to parking enforcement policy, and parking on footpaths.

“Consultation is warranted because on some of these streets, there is parking on footpaths because they isn’t driveways, or they are trying to keep the road clear, by default they are blocking the footpath. So, it is a difficult thing to solve but you discommode somebody and it just pushes the problem around the corner.”

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