:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IX57GTOA6HFLL44WSS6JFPOCOQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/69b85b04-eb00-4472-bc4b-287da74d421a.png)
So what on earth was the rationale for this one? After months of discussion, petitions, thoughtful consideration by the Office of Public Works, appeasements and compromises, one man took all or none of that on board and decided, “nah”. Limerick TD and Fine Gael Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW Patrick O’Donovan all of a sudden became remarkably keen on one issue.
The gates and roads of the Phoenix Park, which had been closed bar the main artery of Chesterfield Avenue, would now be open to all traffic, he decreed. This will destroy the ambience of the park, which flourished during lockdown. It will make one of the country’s finest amenities more dangerous to children playing, cyclists and pedestrians. It will negatively impact wildlife, increase noise pollution and disimprove air quality.
The OPW had repeatedly recognised how beneficial reduced car traffic was. Two days before the announcement , it published this statement: “OPW recently announced that we will maintain the closure of the peripheral gates to the Phoenix Park in order to facilitate the significant increase in use of the park by walkers and cyclists of all ages in recent months. We are encouraging all visitors to the park to do their bit and to choose sustainable modes of travel to and from the park where possible.” A little different to flinging the gates open, right? What happened?
O’Donovan must have known this was such an about-turn that it would need to be pushed through fast. Don’t give anyone time to reverse it, query it or organise against it – just plough ahead. What promoted such urgency? The OPW released a statement on Thursday evening, completely contradicting its previous sentiments. The gates were to be opened, allowing commuter traffic and other cars to use the previously quiet periphery roads. Deal with it.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/R6XHZIYS5GAFRWNXNLLTXGLJBU.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/4KN4HMC7Q7ZDQMX2WARKOKN7DI.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DOPXN5A5JTBBDGQNAYDNOINBIQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GIUAI6QL3R7KEKQP4IJ7QLYRH4.jpg)
On Friday the OPW press office sent me a joint statement from them and the Minister when I queried the decision. It said: “Having weighed up the arguments of the complex issue of traffic in the Phoenix Park, Minister O’Donovan concluded that the correct course of action for now was to reopen the perimeter gates.” So we know that O’Donovan made the decision.
The statement continued: “This decision was based on an increase in the volume of traffic in the neighbouring areas surrounding the park, to which the gate closures have in part contributed. In fact, a further increase in traffic volume in the coming weeks and months with the escalation of the returning workforce within the city and the reopening of schools might be anticipated.”
Ridiculous reasoning
The idea of basing a decision about the entire environment of the park on some undefined traffic situation in neighbouring areas is ridiculous, never mind the illogical move to open the park to traffic now because there might be more traffic anticipated later. That makes no sense.
The statement went on: “Minister O’Donovan and the OPW are committed to accelerating the consultation process on the Phoenix Park Traffic Management Strategy, involving all stakeholders, to create a balanced approach to access to the park, for all users. This can only be achieved once all the traffic data/information has been analysed and all necessary consultation with all stakeholders has taken place, ultimately informing the appropriate solution to traffic management in the Phoenix Park.” This rationale is nonsensical and contradictory: we can’t make a big decision until we know everything, therefore we’ve made a big decision knowing nothing.
The Greens are aghast about the Phoenix Park decision, taking to Twitter and the airwaves. This is a test for them. The decision is the antithesis of what the Greens say they stand for, and what they promised their voters. It encompasses everything from public space, biodiversity, cyclists, reducing car usage, urban design and planning, air pollution – the kind of quality-of-life improvements that spurred people in Dublin to vote Green (out of the party’s 12 TDs, eight are in Dublin).
Roll over
A park may not feel like a party issue, but prioritising through-traffic over users of the park is an early litmus test for the Green Party in government. If they can’t keep cars out of a park, good luck with the “big” stuff. If the Greens roll over on this, if they do not immediately find a way to compel O’Donovan to reverse the decision, then both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have their measure, and know they can be pushed around.
I recently picked up an Irish magazine called Post-Work, “a collection of thoughts, images and ideas on life during a global pandemic”. On the final page was this passage: “I feel this shared experience is somewhat like watching a wave coming through the shore from a distance. It is hard to make out just how big the incoming wave will be and we don’t quite know when it will reach us, but the water has receded and revealed parts of the sea bed unseen before.
“There are things under the surface we hadn’t previously noticed. When the wave does break, I hope it doesn’t cover too quickly in a flurry of activity in the returning tide, the things we have so recently discovered.”
If only politicians such as O’Donovan, who holds the kind of power that genuinely affects people’s quality of life – the main voter sentiment in the recent election, let’s not forget – thought a little more deeply, beyond their own short-term shallows.