Deansgrange cycle lane row

NeW cycling facilities on Deansgrange Road in south Dublin will “destroy a small community” by “removing all parking” for residents, it has been claimed.

According to Independent. ie, those living in Grange Terrace, Blackrock, have been told parking spots outside their homes are to be converted into a cycle lane.

Breda Dowling, who has been living in the area for over 30 years, is concerned about this transition. “It’s a lovely, small community that’s going to be destroyed,” she said.

“We’re not against the cycle lanes whatsoever. I’m all for looking after the climate and keeping people safe, but our safety is being ignored, we’re not being taken into consideration at all.

“Businesses won’t be able to get any deliveries and their customers won’t be able to get to them.

“We don’t know where we’re going to park. We’re really stuck and we’re afraid of what’ll happen to us.

“What do you do with your shopping and your children?

In the depths of winter if you’re parked up the road or around the corner, we’re in a bad way, we don’t know what to do.

“We’ve no driveways so we rely on street parking because we have nothing else.

“They’re not giving us any alternative, there’s nowhere to park. They’re talking about making a nearby green area into 14 parking spaces, but not for the residents, for graveyard users.”

According to Breda, there are 29 cottages and 11 businesses in the area, and nobody was told what the plans were.

“We were completely unaware that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council were removing these parking spaces.

“It’s a disaster, we’ve so many older residents, we’ve ill residents, younger couples with babies and toddlers and it’s not going to be safe for people.

“They had a meeting on March 13 where they voted not to go through the cemetery. There were a lot of people upset over that.

“They voted on a new motion to have two-way traffic and a two-way cycle track instead. There was no consultation, nothing. The residents knew absolutely nothing.

“A lot of councillors told us they didn’t realise it was removing all parking, they thought it was a much, much smaller number, possibly six spaces.

“It’s actually the parking of the whole road,” Breda said.

A spokesperson for DLR County Council highlighted that for the past two and a half years they have been seeking to provide cycle facilities along Deansgrange Road to comply with their policy obligations and to complete the Active School Travel routes.