Traffic and Road Safety: Carysfort National School, Convent Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin, Safe Routes to School, "School Zone"

Overview

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is working with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to deliver their “Safe Routes to School” (SRTS) Programme, the aim of which is to improve safety at school entrances, improve access routes to schools and encourage as many pupils as possible in primary and post-primary schools to walk and cycle.

The SRTS Programme includes the delivery of “School Zones” consisting of public realm upgrades outside schools which will:

• Reduce vehicular congestion at school gates;
• Encourage drivers to slow down in the vicinity of a school;
• Reduce vehicle drop-offs, pick-ups and vehicles idling at school gates;
• Highlight the presence of schools and their vulnerable road users;
• Provide public with cleaner air, safer streets and more vibrant and inclusive public spaces.

As part of this Programme it is proposed to deliver a “School Zone”, public realm upgrades outside Carysfort National School, Convent Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin.

What is proposed at Carysfort National School, Convent Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin?

A Parent Survey carried out in 2021 indicated that 88.9% of the parents of children in Carysfort National School, Convent Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin support works at the front of school that improve student safety and put pedestrians and cyclists first.

Carysfort National School, Blackrock has entrances off Convent Road and Avoca Avenue. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has considered all these locations in developing proposals for public realm upgrades outside this school. Details of the proposals are outlined in the document accompanying this notice.

The proposals include:

• Traffic calming in front of the school;
• Provision of wider footpaths in front of the school;
• Highlighting the presence of the school through carriageway colour and coloured road markings, feature bollards and traffic signage;
• Provision of additional raised pedestrian crossings outside the school and on roundabout;
• Provision of enhanced pedestrian space at the school entrances including new biodiverse soft landscaping and tree planting.

The design features will be consistent with those proposed nationally under the NTA Safe Routes to School Programme.

Why your views matter

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is seeking views from the public to help inform the proposed design. A Non-Statutory Public Consultation is being held on the proposals from 4^th August to 1^st September 2022 (4 weeks).

Submissions and observations can be made via e-mail to info@dlrcoco.ie or by logging on to www.dlrcoco.ie and visiting the Public Consultation Hub.  Observations should be clearly marked 'Carysfort National School, Convent Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin, SRTS, School Zone.'

The closing date for receipt of submissions is 1^st September 2022 at 12 noon.

What happens next

Further to this Non-Statutory Public Consultation, a report will be brought back to the Dún Laoghaire Area Committee meeting in the Autumn 2022.