OPW and council at odds over Phoenix Park traffic

A row has broken out between the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Dublin City Council over traffic changes to the Phoenix Park which councillors say could lead to severe congestion in surrounding areas.

The OPW has accused the council of provoking "unwarranted fears" over plans to reduce the number of cars using the park to access the city.

The OPW intends to introduce a one-way system of entrances and exits to the park to reduce traffic volumes.

Major housing developments, near the park and farther afield, were contributing to about 10 million car journeys being made through the park each year, the OPW said. The volume and speed of cars had resulted in numerous accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists and deer.

However, councillors in the central area of the city claimed that the OPW was attempting to push the park's traffic problems on to the surrounding suburbs.

The Central Area Committee passed a motion last November stating that it would reject "any traffic management plan that would potentially force an additional 10 million cars on to the residential roads surrounding the Phoenix Park".

The council would not approve any changes to the traffic management of the park without consultation, it said.

The motion was put to the full council and approved in December. A letter was subsequently sent to the OPW conveying the substance of the motion. The OPW has now replied to the council.

In the letter, the OPW says it engaged consultants to undertake an independent traffic management study for the park. The study outlines the impact of proposed changes on the surrounding traffic and had found that they would have "relatively little effect on the surrounding road network".

The suggestion made by the council that 10 million cars would potentially be forced on to residential roads was "totally without foundation", it said.

"A suggestion of this nature only serves to inflame unwarranted fears, especially among the local community and therefore should be withdrawn."

A "do nothing" approach was not an option because the environment and amenities of the park were being degraded, it said.

The OPW's letter will be on the agenda for the council's monthly meeting on Monday.