On foot of a proposal from the Green councillors, Fingal County Council is to reallocate road space in areas around the county to facilitate people queueing at local shops and exercising on local roads. As councillors we had noticed locations where narrow footpaths mean people have to pass close to each other either going in opposite directions or when there’s a queue outside shops. We, and fellow Green councillors around the country, were also aware of steps being taken across the world to reallocate road space.

When we raised it with the Corporate Policy Group (CPG) last week we were pleased with the positive reaction and support from other councillors and the immediate engagement of officials who shared our concerns and perspective on the potential for improvement. Yesterday the CPG approved a plan from the Operations Department addressing different areas of the County. Measures include

• temporarily widening footpath space by reallocating parking and loading bays (Howth, Malahide, Portmarnock, Balbriggan)
• pedestrianisation of the street (Malahide)
• converting bus lane to cycle lane and pavement cycle track to footpath (Castleknock)
• residents only car access to the street (Skerries)

If you have noticed other locations where similar measures could be taken, please suggest them.