Dublin City Council are proposing big changes to the junction of Suir Road, Davitt Road and Dolphin Road. The full plans are online here, with consultation closing on the 9th of August 2024.

Below is my submission to the public consultation.

I am broadly supportive of the plans and think they should be implemented.

The current layout has essentially 12 car lanes, plus Luas tracks and marked bike lanes running into one unusually shaped junction. It clearly needs change.

The proposals improve safety for pedestrians, adding extra crossing points for them, reduce traffic impacts, give public transport more priority, make cycling safer, and grow the green space in the area.

I have a few suggested amendments to the proposal:

  1. The bike lane on the north of the junction (south of the Luas tracks) should be two-way. This would make the simplest and most logical improvement, which cyclists are more likely to follow. It would also provide a more logical connection to the towpath, which is heavily used but not really improved under this design.
  2. I would leave the vehicular entry/exit to Grand Canal View largely as it currently is. The number of vehicles using this road is very, very small, given that it is the entry to just one complex. A small number of vehicles could be safely accommodated here to turn as they currently do.
  3. The shared space on the south of the junction should be reconfigured, to offer greater protection to pedestrians. The idea of shared space is to “reduce conflicts”: this approach reduces the appearance of conflicts on a drawing, but not in reality. It would be preferable to have fully segregated lanes and pedestrian paths. The “conflict” between cycling lanes wouldn’t need to be as engineered or controlled as a junction between car lanes.
  4. Two-way cycling should be accommodated on the north eastern bike lane, to allow cyclists from Slievnammon to enter the linear park/Grand Canal View.
  5. The new landscaped area could be integrated into the park at Good Counsel, making it a more effective public space than what is proposed. If this can’t be done within the scope of this project, it could at least be suggested to the parks department.

Generally, I think the project is much-needed and I would support its implementation.