The Council agreed today to my motion for the Council to work with the other Dublin local authorities to introduce a Direct Vision Standard similar to that being put in place in London. I put together a few slides with extracts from the Transport for London website to explain the standard.
Category Archives: Transport / Taisteal
Motion on Direct vision Standard and HGV Safety Permit system
Motion I’m submitting to a forthcoming Council meeting:
That in light of the risks to other road users posed by poor visibility from Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV), the Mayor and Chief Executive liaise with the other three local authorities in the Dublin Area with a view to agreeing to introduce a common Direct Vision Standard and HGV Safety Permit system similar to that being introduced in London.
Response to public consultation on Kinsealy Local Area Plan
Response to Bus Connects Consulation on Clongriffin, Swords, Blanchardstown and Lucan routes
Response to public consultation on Fingal Climate Action Plan
My brief response to the consultation on a draft Fingal Climate Action Plan focussed on the importance of a more detailed public participation process for taking climate action to achieve the 40% reduction in emissions which is a target we signed up to in the Covenant of Mayors . I advocate a major focus by Fingal County Council on actions to reduce transport emissions, as transport is the largest emission sector and one for which Fingal has significant influence.
The submission: Meeting the commitment to the Covenant of Mayors through a process of public participation
This will be coming back to the Council for final decision in either April or May.
South Fingal Transport Study
A South Fingal Transport Study has been carried out for the Council. (This is in fulfilment of an objective in the County Development Plan which specified the Study would include public consultation; unfortunately the public consultation hasn’t happened.)
The Study contains strong recommendations about prioritising walking, cycling and public transport in the area, and will be discussed at a Planning and Strategic Infrastructure Policy Committee meeting on Monday 28th.
Response to Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy consultation
As a member of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, I was involved in drafting the Green Party submission to the consultation on the draft Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy. The submission is quite brief and contains recommendations in the following areas:
- ensuring that effective sustainability indicators are used;
- halting and reversing biodiversity loss in line with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, including large-scale rewetting of peatlands and restoration of natural ecosystems including wetlands and woodlands across the region, taking account of the major social and economic benefits which could result;
- ensuring the implementation of the Water Framework Directive through the planning system;
- transitioning to the circular economy;
- measuring the greenhouse gas emissions from the plan and ensuring it puts us on a path to a low -carbon economy
- investing in walking and cycling, recognising their public health and environmental benefits
- investing in public transport, in particular rail.
Kinsealy Greenways Feasibility Study published
The report on the Kinsealy Greenways Feasibility Study for which funding was obtained in 2017 following discussion in the County Development Plan process in 2016 has been published. It will be discussed at the Area Committee in March.
Overall, the report demonstrates the feasibility and value of providing dedicated greenway cycle routes between the towns and villages in the area.
There are a few aspects of it which I’m not clear about, and I’ll post updates when I receive them.
Kinsealy Environs – Final Report – Nov 2018
Appendix B – Existing Planning Applications-13.03.2018
Appendix C – Ecological Constraints Map
Appendix D – Tree Survey and Report
Appendix E – Architectural Heritage Map
Appendix F – Archaeological Study and Report – Cultural heritage constraints study
Appendix G – Existing Built and Natural Environment-Map
Draft Bus Connects submission
***Bus Connects consultation today Monday 17th September 2pm to 8pm Grand Hotel Malahide***
***Submission deadline 28th September www.busconnects.ie***
My draft submission is below. I would be interested in any feedback, positive or negative before I submit it.
1.Howth to city centre along the coast
Iarnród Éireann’s new timetable breaks some of the connections in our integrated public transport network
Many people responded to the public consultation in 2015. Unfortunately, it seems as if those responses weren’t taken into account. Is there a document summarising the content of the input received to the consultation and IÉ’s responses to the submissions?You seem to have reduced services to some areas more than in the proposal you put to consultation. It is simply not correct to say that “Howth Junction, Clongriffin and Portmarnock will be served by fewer weekday Northern Commuter services”. The timetable which has been put online shows no diesel services stopping at these stations. There’s a considerable amount of irritation at the fact that so many trains will now be passing through Portmarnock, Clongriffin and Howth Junction without stopping and that the travel patterns people have developed in reliance on the services will not be disrupted.