“This funding will enable the County Council to proceed with much needed restoration, maintenance and improvement works.

“€650,000 has been allocated to the Burton Hall Road scheme which will greatly benefit the traffic flow in Sandyford Business Estate. The Part 8 planning approval for this was passed by the County Council just this month.

“In addition €100,000 has been allocated to the Leopardstown Link Road, this will be of further benefit to the Sandyford Business Estate as well as residents living close by.

“Over €2 million has been allocated to road improvement across the County, there are many roads which will require attention and this funding will ensure the safety of these roads. €131,000 has also been allocated as part of the regional sign posting campaign.

“Nearly €1 million has been allocated for road restoration and winter maintenance projects.

“I look forward to these works beginning and ending as soon as possible so local residents can enjoy the benefits of this much needed funding.”

“I very much welcome the news that the County Council has purchased four new snow ploughs bringing their total stock up to nine. Eight of these snow ploughs will be stored in the East of the County which is the worst effected by the snow.

“In addition salt boxes have been provided in certain rural locations for use by residents to assist with keeping minor roads open. However, despite requests by myself and other Councillors, the Road Maintenance Section does not intend to provide salt boxes in housing estates for the following reasons :-

• It is not recommended to apply salt to concrete footpaths as it is corrosive and causes severe damage to them.

• This can lead to reinstatement costs and personal injury claims.

• Salt damages certain types of flooring.
• The Road Maintenance Section does not have the resources to keep these boxes filled up.

“It is the responsibility of Management Companies to clear the roadways in housing estates and developments such as Stepaside Park and Brehon’s Chair that have not yet been taken in charge by the Council. Residents of these areas should contact their Management Company to make sure they are suitably prepared for a return of the conditions experienced last winter.

“We experienced two very bad periods of winter weather last year and it is vital that the Council learns from these experiences, in the second period there was ample amount of salt but the five snow ploughs simply could not keep up with the heavy snow fall.”

Local Fine Gael Councillor Neale Richmond has welcomed the announcement that, as part of the Govt’s real-time passenger information plans, the National Transport Authority, together with both public and private bus companies will have in excess of 500 real-time bus signs operational this year.

“I am delighted that the Minister has announced that over 500 real-time bus signs will be operational by Christmas, over 50 of these will be in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area subject to securing an ESB connection to the location.

“The locations were based on passenger numbers and targeted at the busiest stops. And while the Minister has said that there is very little scope for additional signs in 2011, there may be some scope for additions next year.

“We have been waiting over ten years for the roll out of this technology which is common place in cities across Europe.

“There will also be a live text service for all buses coming on stream in Autumn with a live website and app being developed to follow buses in real time shortly after that. ”

Appendix: List of RTPI Signs in Greater Dublin Area

For more information go to the website: www.dublinmountains.ie/transport/

Route:

The bus will depart Sandyford Luas and travel up to Glencullen, around the mountains, down to Tallaght (Sean Walsh Park, behind Tallaght stadium) and back again.

You can see the route map here: 

http://www.dublinmountains.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/route_map_web.bmp

Timetable:

The service runs three times a day from each start/finish point at weekends and on bank holidays only.

Departure times from Sandyford Luas stop are: 10am, 12:30pm, and 15:45pm

Departure times from Tallaght are: 11:15am, 14:30pm, 16:55pm
Fares:
Daily ticket (hop on, hop off): €5
Family ticket (2 adults, 2 children): €12
Tickets available on the bus. Unfortunately, only guide dogs are allowed.

“Road safety campaigners, the families of road death victims and huge numbers of road users all know of specific cases where sections of roads are dangerous, or even lethal.
“Fred Barry’s admission is worrying because it comes after Ireland’s biggest ever economic boom.
“But it’s disturbing that the head of the NRA, which has responsibility for so many roads, has not been able to solve the problem. If it knows where the blackspots are, why are they still there?
“Why are we still seeing new road surfaces wear away, leaving a slippery shiny surface underneath? Many roads have been damaged once again by two harsh cold spells and it is imperative that these are repaired as soon as possible to prevent serious accidents.
“And why is so much signage still inadequate?
“Fine Gael has long called for a safety audit of all non-national roads. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown should be required to conduct annual audits of its road network, with assistance from the NRA. At the same time, the NRA should conduct audits of all national roads built more than ten years ago.
“Fred Barry’s comments are welcome, and he is right to point out that a variety of organisations are involved. The NRA must take some of the blame for not taking action sooner. But the succession of Fianna Fáil Transport Ministers over the last 13 years must take the lion’s share.”