The Chairman and Members of

1. The North Central Area Committee

2. The Central Area Committee 28th August 2017

Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Route Part 8 Proposal

Explanatory Note on Amendments

Executive Summary

Following the Part 8 Consultation Process and briefing to Area Committees, further alterations have
been made to the section of the scheme fronting Fairview Park. These amendments have been
made in order to avoid as much as possible the removal of mature kerbside trees.

One inbound traffic lane for a 350m section of Fairview from Malahide Road to a point
approximately 100 metres south of Fairview Footbridge will now be removed to provide space for
the segregated cycle facilities. This will result in the retention of trees in Fairview Park with the
exception of four kerbside trees that will be lost in order to retain the existing number of lanes on
the approach to Edges corner.

These changes will result in some reduction in traffic capacity in the inbound direction; however this
will facilitate retention of 42 of the 46 roadside trees. The number of traffic lanes from 100m south
of Fairview Footbridge will remain the same as present.

These proposals allows the outbound cycle lane to be fully segregated from Annesley Bridge to
Malahide Road on the village side and a segregated inbound cycle track between the existing two
rows of trees along Fairview Park. The rest of the scheme remains the same including the planned
4m esplanade within the park.

1.0 Amiens Street to Annesley Bridge Proposed Amendments

The original Part 8 scheme from Amiens Street to Annesley bridge remains largely unaltered and
there are no changes proposed with regard to the configuration of cycle and traffic lanes. In
response to observations made by the Public and DCC Parks Department, further emphasis will be
placed on greening, softening and enclosing the streetscape by providing additional planting
between lengths of linear car parking and in median areas.

2.0 Annesley Bridge to Malahide Road Junction Proposed Amendments

There has been a revision to the scheme which allows for the retention of the majority of the mature
trees along the length of Fairview Park, it retains all the current parking provision on the village side
however to achieve this there will be a reduction in the number of inbound traffic lanes from 2 to 1
for a length of approximately 350 meters.

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The following drawings have been provided to demonstrate the alterations and revised layouts and
should be read in conjunction with this note:

Dublin City Council Drawings DCC120033-P100 to P107 showing revised lane configurations
through Fairview
Dublin City Council Aerial Drawings DCC120033-P110 to P112 showing the sections of the
original Part 8 scheme that have been amended.

The proposed changes from Annesley Bridge, through Fairview to Malahide Road are summarised as
follows:

(i). The inbound segregated cycle lane that was to be provided adjacent to the carriageway has
been removed and replaced with a segregated inbound cycle lane that will be positioned
between the two rows of trees that are located along the perimeter of Fairview Park. (Refer
Figure 1 for details).

(ii). The segregated outbound cycle lane located adjacent to the carriageway is to remain as per
the original Part 8, however a uniform 1.75m width under Fairview footbridge is now
proposed and safety buffer zones have been provided between the cycle lane and the linear
car parking in Fairview Village. This is to mitigate the risk of conflict when opening vehicle
doors. The cycle lane will continue to be segregated from the carriageway by means of a
50mm vertical kerb separation to the carriageway and locally at-grade through the bus
stops.

(iii). The 46 roadside trees that were to be removed along the length of Fairview park are now to
be retained but with the exception of four trees located adjacent to Fairview Strand
Junction. The removal of trees at this isolated location is necessary in order to permit the
inbound right turn lane at Fairview Strand junction to be retained as failure to retain a right
turning lane of sufficient length at this location would result in excessive queuing and severe
congestion on all inbound approaches to Edges corner.

Of these four trees to be removed, two are noted in the arborist assessment report as being
in poor condition and are recommended to be felled. 1 common Lime is in fair condition
with an anticipated life expectancy of 20 years and 1 mature London Plane categorised as in
good condition with an anticipated life expectancy of 40 years.

(iv). The proposed 4m esplanade shared space located inside the perimeter of Fairview
Park is retained as per the original Part 8 proposals for the use by pedestrians and leisure
cyclists.

(v). In order to facilitate an outbound segregated cycle track, maintain existing traffic lanes and
retain outbound car parking from Annesley Bridge to Edges Corner, a small section of
footpath will be reduced in width to a minimum 1.8m.

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(vi) The bus lane & two general traffic lanes inbound from Malahide Road junction to Fairview
Footbridge is to be reduced to a bus lane and single inbound traffic lane. The loss of one
inbound lane over this length of the scheme will permit the retention of the kerbside row of
trees along Fairview Park and will also permit the retention of all existing parking outbound
in the village.

(vii). Bus lane widths in the village where feasible have been increased from a minimum 3.0m to
3.25m. The restrictions on available cycle and traffic lane widths under Fairview Footbridge
have also been eliminated as a consequence of the reduction to one general traffic lane
inbound.

(viii). The proposed toucan crossing located approximately 40m to the outbound side of Fairview
footbridge is to be retained. It is proposed to delay the introduction of the toucan crossings
at Marino College and on the city side of Malahide road junction in order to assist the
inbound traffic flows through the village. These crossing point locations will be future
proofed with appropriate ducting that will allow for toucan crossings to be provided at a
later date should the traffic flows following completion of the scheme be found to be
favourable.

Figure 1 a. & b. below indicates the typical revised cross sections proposed at Fairview Park with the
inbound cycle lane located between the avenue of trees and the retention of the esplanade within
the park for pedestrians and leisure cyclists.

Figure 1a: Revised Typical Cross Section from Malahide Road to 100m south of Footbridge

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 Figure 1b: Revised Typical Cross Section at Right Turn to Fairview Strand

3.0 Reasoning for Segregated Outbound Cycle Lane through Fairview

The Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan, published by the NTA has designated the Clontarf to
City Centre Cycle route as the first of thirteen primary radial routes into and out of Dublin City. DCC
traffic counts on North Strand Road show that over 1450 cycle journeys are made inbound during
the peak 3 hour AM commute and circa 1200 outbound journeys during the 3 hour PM commute
daily. The necessity for quality cycle lane provision along the route is therefore fully justified.

The NTA has committed to fund this scheme, including the revisions outlined in this note, on the
basis of providing a segregated outbound cycle lane through Fairview. Exclusion of the outbound
cycle lane in the proposed scheme will not adequately serve the Malahide and Howth roads and is
not an acceptable option and will result in no NTA funding being available for any part of the
scheme.

There are several reasons for requiring an outbound cycle lane:

An outbound cycle lane provides the most direct route for commuting cyclists.
An outbound cycle lane permits ease of access and connectivity for cyclists to turn left at
Fairview strand, Marino Mart, Malahide Road and Howth Road junctions.
Cyclists have ease of access to the shops and businesses in Fairview Village in using the
outbound cycle lane.

4.0 Assessment & Impacts of Inbound Lane Reduction through Fairview

Figure 2 over shows the typical AM and PM hourly traffic flows at Fairview and includes the number
of vehicles accessing Fairview from Fairview Strand, Malahide Road and Howth Road junctions.
Approximately 1250 vehicles travel inbound under Fairview footbridge during the AM peak hour.
Conversely, almost 2230 vehicles travel outbound in the evening during the peak PM hour.

The principal reason for the larger number of vehicles outbound is the contribution of over 800
vehicles travelling outbound through Fairview Strand junction.
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 The capacity of a general traffic lane at the footbridge is circa 1350 vehicles per hour; hence
reducing to a single traffic lane outbound through Fairview with 2230 vehicles per peak PM hour
would not provide the necessary capacity required. The AM peak traffic volumes inbound however
will permit the loss of a traffic lane.

A single traffic lane inbound already exists from Edges Corner into the city centre. The proposed
alterations to the Part 8 will see this single lane extended through Fairview to the Malahide road
Junction while retaining the inbound right turn facility at Fairview strand. South of Fairview
footbridge to Edges Corner the number of traffic lanes remain the same as the current arrangement.

It is anticipated that there will be additional queuing inbound during the morning rush hour period
as a result of the lane reduction, with existing queue lengths extending further on the Malahide
Road, Howth Road and Clontarf road approaches especially during the 08:00- 09:00 time period.
However It should be noted that the volumes inbound outside the peak weekday will be adequately
catered for in this new arrangement, as will weekend traffic. Maintaining the outbound lanes means
that there should be no increase in queuing or congestion outbound on either Amiens Street or on
the Fairview Strand approach to Fairview.

AM = 635

AM = 436

AM = 236
AM = 1251
PM = 2228

PM = 616
AM = 346

AM = 905

PM = 1412

Figure 2: Hourly AM & PM Traffic Flows through Fairview Village**

**(note the AM inbound figure of 1251 through Fairview include 300 buses and taxis

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To assist in trying to mitigate the increased queuing on the inbound approaches to Fairview Village,
it is proposed to delay the installations of the toucan crossings at Marino College and on the city side
of the Malahide road junction, however all necessary ducting and road crossings will be completed
as part of this project for these toucan crossings. It is proposed that post implementation of the
scheme that a decision will be made as to when these crossings can be made operational, taking into
account future traffic conditions.

Conclusions

Following the submissions made during the Part 8 Consultation process in relating to the loss of
trees at Fairview Park, a number of amendments have been made to the scheme that if approved,
will allow for retention of the majority of kerbside trees located along the perimeter of the Park.
The proposed amendments have also resulted in the retention of all existing outbound car parking in
the village.

The revised scheme continues to provide quality inbound and outbound cycle lanes and retains the
proposed 4m wide shared pedestrian and cycle esplanade located within the park.

The impact of the loss of a general traffic lane through Fairview has been assessed with regard to
traffic volumes and traffic flows. The loss of an inbound lane will result in some additional inbound
traffic queuing during peak AM weekday hours. The proposal allows for the same number of lanes
inbound to be maintained from before Edges corner, the provision of a sufficient length of
dedicated turning lane for Fairview Strand will assist in managing peak hour inbound traffic.
Delaying the installation of two of the proposed toucan crossings at Marino College and Malahide
Road junction will further assist in managing inbound traffic, particularly for vehicles turning into
Fairview from Malahide and Howth roads.

Dick Brady,

Assistant Chief Executive, Environment & Transportation Department