Businesspeople in Deansgrange, south county Dublin, who say they have lost business due to two years of roadworks in the area, have called on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to pause further planned works.
Some 70 people in the area staged a protest on Tuesday evening, calling on locals to support their position before Thursday’s deadline for online submissions on future plans.
The council has published a number of options for a planned “upgrade of Deansgrange village from an accessibility and public realm point of view”.
“Four options have been developed and we are seeking feedback on which (if any) are favoured by the local community,” according to the council’s website.
RM Block
However, on Tuesday traders claimed the plan’s main effect would be to remove parking from outside a line of shops on a slip road, set back from the main road.
Darragh Buckley of FX Buckley Butchers said the removal of parking from outside his shop would remove 40 per cent of traffic into his premises. “We have no back entrance, how are we meant to get deliveries of beef and lamb into the store?” he asked.
Rachel Twomey of the local SuperValu said the line of shops included a chemist, a medical practice, a newsagent, butchers and a takeaway. “There is an elderly population here and many of these people need to get their prescriptions filled, to be dropped off at the doctors or to collect their dinner,” she said.
“This will close businesses,” she added.
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Stephen Moore of estate agents Byrne and Moore said: “If shops close and you have shuttered empty buildings on the streets, house prices in the area will fall.”
Dr Michael Quirey said he was a cyclist and normally approved of improved access for active travellers. In this case, however, the design of cycling facilities on local road was not consistent, he said.
“There is nobody who comes out from the council to discuss these plans. There is no face we can talk to, no model of what it might look like in the local library,” he said. “We pay taxes and we should have more say in how our infrastructure money is spent.”
Local Fianna Fáil TD Cormac Devlin and his party colleagues Michael Clark and Justin Moylan said they were supporting the businesses. Mr Clark said businesses in the area needed “a pause” on development works in the area.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has said its public consultation on a range of options would close on Thursday.
The council’s website page for the project says: “The outcome of this engagement will form the basis for the development of the future project (if any) and to support the application for funding to progress with a scheme.”
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