Dundalk cllrs pass motion for dished curves at footpath on Dublin Road at Fairways

Councillors at the Dundalk Municipal District December meeting passed a motion proposed by Cllr Tomás Sharkey, requesting that Louth County Council install dished curbs at the footpath on the Dublin Road adjacent to Chapel Road and fairways.

Cllr Sharkey's motion said that the proposed dished curbs would allow pedestrians with pushchairs utilise the dished traffic island at the location. 

In the Council's response to Cllr Sharkey's motion, Catherine Duff, Director of Place Making and Physical Development, said that "The Active Travel Section have received funding from the National Transport Authority (NTA) to advance a Scheme which will provide a segregated cycle path of 2.64km in length on both sides of the R132 from Xerox Junction to Greengates.

"This proposed scheme incorporating cycle path and upgraded footpaths will connect into other proposed Active Travel Schemes on the Inner Relief Road & Dublin Road (o/s DkIT) and provide connectivity to Blackrock & Environs."

Ms Duff's reply continued, "As part of our design process, we will [be] incorporating a number of pedestrian and cyclist crossing points to allow vulnerable road users to cross this road from East - West in a safe manner.

"The anticipated timeline of commencing delivery of this infrastructure is estimated to be late 2024. In the interim, Louth County Council (LCC) will discuss with the NTA if they can provide finance in order to construct this stand-alone crossing point.

"An integral part of the design philosophy is to reduce the speed limit from 80 km/hr to 60 km/hr which is more applicable for pedestrian and cyclist movements in this environment."

Cllr Sharkey told the meeting that a fix in the interim would be appreciated as families are already crossing at the location. 

Cllr Marianne Butler commented that she supported Cllr Sharkey's motion as interim measures were needed and would make life easier for people in the area.