District Enhancement Scheme will make community attractive

PLANS for the Bawnogue District Centre Enhancement Scheme includes South Dublin County Council taking charge of the shopping centre carpark and the reduction of a number of car parking spaces.

The aim of the district enhancement schemes, which SDCC have delivered for a number of years now in Tallaght, Rathfarnham and Palmerstown, is to enhance local communities to make them more “accessible, sustainable, and attractive for residents, businesses, and visitors.”

Bawnogue Shopping Centre carpark is not currently in charge of SDCC but the local authority have initiated a ‘Taking in Charge’ process for inclusion of the carpark in the overall scheme.

Currently there is 58 car parking spaces in the car park, but this will be reduced to 53, and 17 on street parking spaces will be eliminated to make way for “extended public realm.”

“In reality we have done surveys on how well they are used, and at maximum, there were 35 car parking spaces used at it’s peak – so 53 spaces is ample to meet the needs of the area,” said SDCC Director Mick Mulhern, during a presentation of the scheme at Monday’s council meeting.

Cllr William Carey (SF) sought assurances from the local authority that paid parking will not be introduced to Bawnogue carpark and if space can be provided to cater for large events.

An artist impression of the car park and the area around ACE Enterprise Park, ­Youth and Community Centre and the Church of Transfiguration

“I attended a fairly large funeral there this morning. When we say we are losing these spaces, we need to create space whereby alternatives for these larger events can be taken into account.

“We had up to 150 cars in the area this morning, it was quite challenging.”

Mr Mulhern said it is not their intention to introduce “pay parking at this time” and that it would be hard to accommodate large amounts of car parking spaces for these schemes, acknowledging infrequent times where demand is higher.

Works include proposed improvements to the street layout, traffic calming measures, promotion of active travel, and introduction of landscaping and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) at Bawnogue District Centre.

Bawnogue District Centre is a busy retail centre containing various businesses and community facilities such as ACE Enterprise Park, Bawnogue Youth and Community Centre, and the Church of the Transfiguration.

The council expect work to start on site in the first half of 2025.