[article] Plan to reduce Phoenix Park traffic

Navan Junction

Frank McDonald, Environment Editor
10/10/2006


A radical plan to reduce through-traffic using the Phoenix Park in Dublin has been drawn up by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and will be presented today to the Dublin Transportation Office, An Garda Síochána and the local authorities.


The plan, which is to be implemented in phases from January 1st next, will curtail the use of minor roads or "rat-running", cut the speed limit on part of the main avenue to just 30km/h (18mph) and allow a city bus service to run through the park for the first time.

In line with a traffic study by consultants Faber Maunsell, speed cameras with automatic number plate recognition would be installed to enforce speed limits if this proves to be necessary, said David Byers, the OPW commissioner in charge of State property.

A system of one-way exits or entrances is to be introduced at the park gates, with the exception of the Castleknock gate, the North Circular Road gate and the main Parkgate Street gate in an effort to reduce the volume of traffic crossing through the park on minor roads.

In future, entry only will be allowed at Ashtown and Chapelizod gates, and exit only at Cabra and Islandbridge gates. The winding Military Road, running south of the Magazine Fort, will also be closed to through-traffic to prevent it being used by speeding cars.

Mr Byers told The Irish Times yesterday that the OPW was incredulous to discover that a "phenomenal" 10 million car journeys were being made through the Phoenix Park every year.

The volume of traffic and the speed at which some cars travel had resulted in numerous accidents, mainly involving cyclists and pedestrians but also deer.

He said this was in conflict with the protection of the park as a public amenity area. Mr Byers also noted that the lower end of Chesterfield Avenue (the main avenue through the park) was increasingly being used for commuter parking, with up to 300 cars parked on both sides between the Parkgate Street gate and the first roundabout.

This informal "park-and-ride" site was making it more difficult for people visiting Dublin Zoo to find parking spaces, so the OPW is seeking planning permission from Dublin City Council for a dedicated car park on land just west of the zoo boundary.

The proposed tarmac car park, which is to be landscaped, would only be available from 10am onwards, to coincide with the opening time of the zoo and discourage its use by commuters. It will have 250 spaces, all of which would be free of charge.

The OPW is also planning to introduce an extensive cycleway network to encourage more recreational use of the park by cyclists. Traffic calming would also make it safer for people using it for walking and jogging.

"We know that some of these proposals are going to be contentious, but we're asking people to consider the choice - to preserve the landscape and amenity value of the park or have it eroded by rat-running commuter traffic," Mr Byers said.

Referring to the plan to allow a city bus service to run through the park, he said this would facilitate about 1,500 people working in Dublin Zoo, the Ordnance Survey and St Mary's Hospital who currently had no option but to drive to work.

Noting that tour buses were already permitted to use Chesterfield Avenue, Mr Byers said Dublin Bus was "positive" about the proposal for a new route running from Castleknock to Parkgate Street.

Plans for a shuttle bus from Heuston Station, running in a circular route around the park every 15 minutes in the summer months, are also being considered. This would provide a link to the Tallaght Luas line at Heuston.

© The Irish Times

Navan Junction

Irish Times, 10/10/2006

Plans to control the volume of traffic in the Phoenix Park will make it a more pleasant place for everyone, writes Frank McDonald


That the Phoenix Park is under pressure from traffic can be illustrated very simply. Last week, an irate commuter - frustrated by the fact that Knockmaroon gate is not opened until 7.30am - used a power saw to break its padlock and chain so that he could drive through earlier.

The problem for the park is that it's now engulfed by Dublin's sprawling suburbs - the "exploding city", as Office of Public Works (OPW) commissioner David Byers said yesterday - and this, in turn, has generated a staggering 10 million car journeys a year.

The Phoenix Park was correctly identified by the OPW in a 1986 management plan as a "national historic park". This definition elevated it above city parks and put it beyond the clutches of Dublin Corporation (as it then was), which might otherwise have taken it over.

The corporation's parks department, encouraged by the late John Boland TD, who was minister for the environment at the time, talked of "developing" the park for more intensive leisure and recreation uses, including hard tennis courts and perhaps even a swimming pool.

The OPW takes a different view. It wants to preserve the landscape of the park which, at 733 hectares (1,760 acres), is reputedly the largest urban park anywhere in the world. It was first enclosed by the Duke of Ormonde as viceroy in the 1680s, to protect the royal deer.

But at least three or four deer are now killed every year by speeding cars.

A traffic study by consultants Faber Maunsell, commissioned by the OPW, shows that there are also numerous road accidents involving cars hitting pedestrians and cyclists, especially at night.

The measures planned by the OPW to curtail the abuse of the park as a commuter "rat-run" are likely to prove contentious in some quarters. However, they are clearly needed to protect the park's tremendous amenity value and unequalled landscape.

"We think that grasping the nettles about traffic will allow us to preserve the ambience of the park, if this creates difficulties for car commuters in the outer suburbs," Mr Byers said. "But it will bring benefits to people living nearby and recreational users."

There are some who would probably argue that city buses shouldn't be allowed to go through it. But tour buses are permitted to use its main avenue and the fact that ordinary buses are excluded, while cars are not, invidiously discriminates against public transport.

The OPW is now involved in consultations on its plans. If these plans are accepted by the relevant authorities - and there is no valid reason why they shouldn't be - the Phoenix Park will become a more pleasant place for everyone.

© The Irish Times

Navan Junction

Oh, oh. Think the commuters of west Dublin and Meath are going to go la, la...

They have a point though.

loyatemu

they should run a QBC through the park - wouldn't have much adverse impact on the park itself but would give buses a clear run in from Blanch. It could be tidal - inbound in the morning and outbound in the evening.

steve-o

Cycle lanes that aren't jammed full of pedestrians (and cyclists going the wrong way) would be really nice

spacetweek

All of this is welcome, but most of it is a no brainer and should have been the case ages ago. The bus lane is long overdue and I'm looking forward to the cycle lanes.

Navan Junction

spacetweek wrote:

All of this is welcome

Yep, but there is no alternative arrangement in place.........

DerekP11

Yep, its a good idea, but yet another example of an initiative that will contribute further to the unsustainable traffic problems in Dublin, before real public transport alternatives are provided to those who feeled compelled to use the park as a rat run. Thats the bonker bit.

daymobrew

Referring to the plan to allow a city bus service to run through the park, he said this would facilitate about 1,500 people working in Dublin Zoo, the Ordnance Survey and St Mary's Hospital who currently had no option but to drive to work.

No option but to drive? Bull.
Dublin Zoo is close to the #10 terminus, Luas and any bus that passes through Parkgate Street.
St Mary's Hospital is very close to Chapelizod and served by the same buses as those that go through Parkgate Street.
Ordnance Survey is very close to the Castleknock Gates so the #37 works there.
I think the attitude is that if it's not door-to-door they have to drive.

The current Irish Heart Foundation campaign is trying to encourage people to make physical activity part of their everyday lifestyle. The fourth poster says "Sick of Traffic? Walk".
I saw the "Free exercise machine" poster (encouraging stair use) at a lift in Blanchardstown Hospital recently. Clever image.

Despite the number of pedestrians on the cycle tracks on Chesterfield Ave, I really like the cycle tracks and their good surface.

dowlingm

Wouldn't a bus from a Sligo line station near Phoenix Park to Heuston not only serve cross-park traffic but relieve the pressure on Connolly-Heuston bus/LUAS?

Navan Junction

dowlingm wrote:

Wouldn't a bus from a Sligo line station near Phoenix Park to Heuston not only serve cross-park traffic but relieve the pressure on Connolly-Heuston bus/LUAS?

Not much use for us Navan commuters

DerekP11

daymobrew wrote:

No option but to drive? Bull.
Dublin Zoo is close to the #10 terminus, Luas and any bus that passes through Parkgate Street.
St Mary's Hospital is very close to Chapelizod and served by the same buses as those that go through Parkgate Street.
Ordnance Survey is very close to the Castleknock Gates so the #37 works there.
I think the attitude is that if it's not door-to-door they have to drive.

The current Irish Heart Foundation campaign is trying to encourage people to make physical activity part of their everyday lifestyle. The fourth poster says "Sick of Traffic? Walk".
I saw the "Free exercise machine" poster (encouraging stair use) at a lift in Blanchardstown Hospital recently. Clever image.

Despite the number of pedestrians on the cycle tracks on Chesterfield Ave, I really like the cycle tracks and their good surface.

Your points are all valid, but in my opinion, the real crux of this project is the 1000s who use the park to avoid a congested M50 between the Blanch, Lucan and Red Cow exits, the 1000s who use it coming in from the public transport wasteland that is Meath and beyond and lets not forget the motorists who use it as a "short cut". Im all up for this plan, but not until we've actually addressed the public transport problems we have. Cart, Horse etc etc.

Its my view that Dublin City authorities are doing their best to create a "workable" road traffic and public transport plan for the "inner area". However, the biggest problem, is the one that they created..... commuters travelling in by car from up to 80 Kms away. Transport 21 reflects this if you take the time to look at it closely.

By all means, close the park to traffic, but watch the chaos that will ensue, as a result of dispicable public transport planning that is behind the times within the city environs and ignorant and lacking of the issues that exist beyond it. Pedestrians, cyclists, tourists and a tiny amount of commuters will be happy with this decision, but the root cause of it will be unaddressed. Result? Failure.

dowlingm

NJ

not sure why not - if you were coming in from the Clonsilla line and working near Heuston.

Stark

Traffic through there today is manic. It was nearly 8:00 and the northbound traffic was still backed up all the way through the park and up until the Blanchardstown roundabout. Luckily I was able to take a few backroads home so I wasn't stuck in the queues going completely insane.

There were gardaí everywhere controlling the traffic and everything. I'd love to know what was going on. I saw the odd car or truck parked on the side of the road with hazards but nothing that would account for the insane traffic well past rush hour really.

DerekP11

Stark wrote:

There were gardaí everywhere controlling the traffic and everything. I'd love to know what was going on.

Maybe it was the fact that the gardai were on site. Or was Mary returning home?

Navan Junction

dowlingm wrote:

NJ

not sure why not - if you were coming in from the Clonsilla line and working near Heuston.

Sorry dowlingm, I meant as things stand where your only option is car commuting..

Navan Junction

DerekP11 wrote:

Maybe it was the fact that the gardai were on site. Or was Mary returning home?

No, RTÉ traffic news said truck broken down on Blanch side of N3

DerekP11

Navan Junction wrote:

No, RTÉ traffic news said truck broken down on Blanch side of N3

Its like takin candy from a baby. Truck broke down on left lane of Blanch roundabout at 5ish. So think about things if the Park was closed to traffic. Woo hoo!

Stark

Amazing, the tailback was all the way through Castleknock and through the park for at least an hour and a half or so. I had driven down, parked my car there, went for a run and when I came back 50 mins later or so, the traffic was still in the same state, and all well after rush hour.

Yup, imagine the rush hour chaos if they closed the park.

daymobrew

Stark wrote:

Yup, imagine the rush hour chaos if they closed the park.

How much of that would people take before trying an alternative mode of transport?

Navan Junction

daymobrew wrote:

How much of that would people take before trying an alternative mode of transport?

That's the problem... There are no alternatives for many at present.. Look at the bus situation even