Greater Dublin Area Draft Transport Strategy 2011-2030

Measure WCY 4:The Authority will seek:• The application of a general speed limitof 30km/h on residential roads, and in thevicinity of schools;• The design of new residential areas toprovide a safe and pleasant movementenvironment for pedestrians and cyclists,including suitable lighting, with residentialfrontages overlooking routes, andprovision of appropriate landscaping andstreetscaping features along routes;• The reconfiguration of residential streetspace to create a safer and more attractiveenvironment for pedestrians and cyclists; and• The use by designers of the design guidelineprinciples and approaches for residentialareas set out in the Authority’s National CycleManual and forthcoming Walking Facilities’Manual, and DoT/DoEHLG ‘Manual for Streets9.4 WalkingPrevious Sections 9.2 and 9.3 addressed approachesand measures common to both cycling and walkingmodes. This Section focuses on measures specificto walking only.The Strategy proposes a multi-pronged approachto walking, including:• Improvements to footpaths;• Reductions in pedestrian delays whencrossing streets;• New and enhanced leisure walking routes;• Appropriate planning to provide walkingopportunities and pedestrian friendlydevelopments, and provision of walking designadvice for a local authority engineer, plannerand private developer audience;• Better information on walking andcommunicating the benefits of walking; and• Enforcement of traffic laws against offences thatimpede pedestrian movement.The means of achieving these improvements areset out below.9.4.1 Improving footpathsAn effective way of identifying how walkingroutes and facilities could be improved is througha ‘walkability’ audit, that considers the currentnetwork and identifies where there are missinglinks, mobility issues for certain people or wherethe level of service could be improved.The use of good quality footpath materials makesthe walking experience more pleasant, and improvesthe public realm. Particular attention needs to bepaid to the improvement of pedestrian environmentsin town centres as set out in Section 9.2 and onapproaches to public transport stops or stations.Measure WCY 5:The Authority will seek:• The provision of adequately lit footpaths onboth sides of roads and streets in built upareas, except in exceptional circumstances;• The provision of footpaths alongside roadsin rural areas where pedestrian safety is aconcern, subject to appropriate pedestriandemand;• The widening of existing footpaths, wherethese are too narrow to comfortably andsafely cater for pedestrians wishing to usethem, including wheelchair users and thosewith buggies or prams;• The maintenance of footpaths to a goodstandard, and where appropriate theupgrade of footpath surfaces with higherquality materials; and• Audits of existing footpaths, identifyingexisting constraints and barriers to pedestrianmovement such as redundant poles, signage,guardrails or telephone kiosks followed byremoval or relocation of barriers or clutterwhere appropriate, whilst taking account ofsignage requirements.Chapter 9: page 4 www.2030vision.ie