Plans shared for an Area-Based Transport Assessment for the western part of the county

SOUTH Dublin County Council has shared plans for an Area-Based Transport Assessment and Transport Plan(s) for the western part of the County, with preparations set to take approximately 2.5 years.

Tender responses for an ABTA and Transport Plan(s) across Rathcoole, Newcastle, Saggart and lands on the western side of Clondalkin were received in late September.

The Council intends to complete the assessment of tender responses and appoint a transport-led consultancy team in Q4 2026.

Mayor Francis Timmons, a Clondalkin resident, told the chamber that locals and Councillors are at their “wit’s end” with the lack of progress on a Transport Plan for the area and the numerous plans for further residential developments.

“We’re now working on the next County Development Plan, and I brought this motion down at the last County Development Plan. We’re only starting the consultancy that we spoke about five years ago.”

According to SDCC, the planned ABTA and Transport Plan(s) will “augment the Clondalkin Local Transport Plan (2025), which was incorporated into the current County Development Plan under Variation No. 1 (2026), together with the transport plans/strategies that have been incorporated into the Clonburris SDZ and Adamstown SDZ Planning Schemes.”

Councillor Gino Kenny agreed with the motion and with fellow Councillors regarding the need for more housing in the area but emphasised the need for a plan to be implemented, ensuring all residents can travel in a timely and stress-free manner.

“Where there are more people and more buildings, there’s going to be more cars, and we need to come up with a plan very, very soon, or people will lose confidence, not only in planners but also in public representatives.”

An Implementation Plan, which has been listed as one of the “primary deliverables for the Transport Plan(s) for the western part of the County”, will be formulated by SDCC, involving “the phasing/sequencing of transport and demand management measures in relation to development, including housing, within and around its boundary.”

Before either the ABTA and Transport Plan(s) can be delivered, “extensive rounds of public consultations at various stages of the commission” will be held and will take “approximately 2.5 years.”

The Manager of the project told the chamber that the timeline given in the report is “accurate in terms of the process that must be gone through” and the completion of a report of the site, but draft reports will be “on the table long before that end date”, ensuring “there’ll be something positive to talk about.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting