I want to ask the Minister for the Environment to bring forward as a matter of priority in the national road plan the construction of the south-east section of the motorway which would connect the end of the southern cross route at Sandyford to the Shankill by-pass and thus obviate expenditure of public moneys unnecessarily on major widening of existing local roads in the Leopardstown, Foxrock and Carrickmines area.
This is an issue of major concern in these areas and also the green route, as it is described in official circles, as well as various road widening proposals. The cross route will be a motorway and will form part of the western ring road around Dublin. It will link the Naas road, the Galway road, the Navan road and eventually the Belfast road and should be the major traffic route around Dublin, cutting out any need for motorists to attempt shortcuts through residential areas.
People in the Leopardstown, Foxrock and Carrickmines area are seriously concerned at the present proposals as they may affect the quiet enjoyment of their homes. The cross route as a motorway will come to a halt on the Leopardstown side of the Central Bank in Sandyford. It will then become a dual carriageway, based on a previously approved council plan, as far as the junction of Brewery Road with Leopardstown Road.
In a recent letter to Dublin County Council the Department of the Environment approved the southern cross route and the green route proposals, with some general modifications, one of which was the presumption that the dual carriageway would be continued down Leopardstown Road as far as White's Cross. We in the Fianna Fáil Party in the constituency of Dún Laoghaire are opposed to this as we believe it would completely destroy the residential character of the area. We are concerned that all these proposals together will result in an increase in through traffic in residential areas along roads which could not hope to accommodate such traffic. For example, traffic on the southern cross in the Sandyford vicinity, near where the cross route is intended to end, is projected at 68,000 vehicle movements per day. Where are all these vehicles going when they come off the southern cross? Many of them will continue down the proposed dual carriageway on Leopardstown Road, presumably on to side roads along the way, including the widened Ballyogan Road but where will they go after that? Can you picture traffic winding its way down Ballyogan Road on to Glenamuck Road and then down Cornelscourt Hill Road or Brennanstown Road or Brighton Road on to roads never intended or designed for large traffic volume or coming down Leopardstown Road with the prospect of turning off into Brewery Road down Leopardstown Avenue or on to Torquay Road, also roads not intended for such through traffic movements?
We believe the solution to this traffic distribution problem is for the Government to bring forward as a priority the south-east arm motorway which would connect directly from the Sandyford end of the southern cross route across open countryside to the proposed Shankill bypass. The south-eastern motorway is not currently listed in the Department of the Environment's list of major priority road plans. In my view, not all of this motorway is required. It is scheduled to run from Foster's Avenue down through Kilmacud to the link area at Sandyford. We in the constituency party do not consider this to be necessary.
The southern cross route has been altered. Under the original plan the route would have passed through mainly non-residential areas to meet the Dublin-Bray road at Loughlinstown. Unfortunately the route proposed by the Coalition is planned to go through high density residential areas to meet the Dublin-Bray road at White's Cross. I will outline very briefly to the House the proposed Coalition plan. Leopardstown Road would be upgraded to take traffic to and from Dún Laoghaire port. It would join a new major roundabout at the top of Brewery Road. Brewery Road would be a major treeless road carrying traffic from the south city and Dún Laoghaire from the Naas road, the Galway road, the north-west and even the north. All this traffic would pass through Leopardstown and surrounding areas. Traffic bottlenecks in the city would be transferred to the road system radiating from White's Cross. Westminster-Torquay Road would have through traffic from Bray and the south-east heading for industrial estates in Dublin south, west and north. The triangle of roads, Brewery, New Upper Leopardstown, Westminster-Torquay will, according to our submission, become one of the biggest traffic systems in Dublin. Traffic encroachment into this area will mean the possible loss of life and the possibility of serious injury to school-going children. I would point out that 700 young children live in the Leopardstown area alone. Other problems would be air pollution, traffic noise, lead, vibration and general visual intrusion which will harm our environment.
Fianna Fáil in the Dún Laoghaire constituency want the original plan restored and, in common with the Fianna Fáil councillors, I will be fighting to see that this is done. Otherwise the results of the latest plan will be catastrophic for the residents of Leopardstown, Foxrock and related areas. I hope I have made the House aware of how serious the issue is for this area. We will be fighting with the support of the Fianna Fáil councillors, the local residents' associations and the families in that area to have this latest plan rescinded in favour of the original one to prevent the infliction of such dire consequences on this community.
On 11 November 1986 I put down a parliamentary question to the Minister for the Environment. I asked him if he would provide traffic flow count details and projections in respect of the southern cross route and the green route at various junction points along both routes, when such projections were made and how they might compare if updated. The Minister responded as follows:
The construction of the southern cross route (including the green route) was recommended in the 1971 Dublin Transportation Study as part of the proposed Dublin Ring Road. I understand that the board traffic flow projections, prepared in 1971, are at present being refined and updated by the local authority in conjunction with the preparation of a motorway scheme/ compulsory purchase order for the route.
In raising the matter I should like to pay particular tribute to a Fianna Fáil councillor in the area who has been leading the campaign for the withdrawal of the Coalition plan in favour of the original Fianna Fáil proposal. The man I refer to is Councillor Edward MacDonald. Some time ago on radio Councillor MacDonald outlined in his articulate fashion his objections to the Coalition proposals for the southern cross route. He said that if the southern cross route passes through these areas great harm will be done to the environment. People who know the area will appreciate that Leopardstown Road takes traffic for residential areas off that thoroughfare. When the residents of Leopardstown, Foxrock. Carrickmines and other areas were buying their homes, they did not envisage that they would be involved in the proposals which are at present contemplated.
I am asking the Minister and the Government to revert to the original Fianna Fáil plan for a number of reasons: first, that the people concerned will have quiet enjoyment in their homes, second that the mothers and children in the area will have safe passage to and from the different schools and third, that the people will have peace, quiet and harmony in their day to day lives.
I will quote from a meeting of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown district committee of 10 September 1986, Item No. 11:
Southern Cross Route/Green Route
Question: Councillor E. McDonald.
To ask the Manager to clarify precisely what is the current position regarding the Southern Cross Route/ Green Route along the Leopardstown Road Line, particularly that section of Leopardstown Road from the Brewery Road junction down to White's Cross, noting in particular the following points:
(a) the Minister's letter to the Council some months ago,
(b) the discussion at Committee meetings regarding suggestions/proposals for widening Leopardstown Road.
(c) the Committee's agreement to seeking a meeting with the Minister to discuss the various proposals in the above matter and the bringing forward of the South-East motorway?
The following report was before the Meeting on 14th May 1986:
1. Southern Cross Route.
The Council has approved proposals for the Southern Cross Route from the Tallaght Road to Sandyford Road. These proposals provide for a two by two dual carriageway with interchanges at Balrothery, Scholarstown and Ballinteer with slip lanes at Sandyford Road. A motorway scheme under the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act, 1974, is being prepared and it is expected that the executive order will be made by the end of this year it is hoped that contract documents will be finalised by September 1989.
2. Green Route.
In addition to the Southern Cross Route proposals the Council also approved a scheme for the Green Route from Grange Road to Leopardstown Road. This scheme comprises an all purpose dual carriageway from Grange Road to the roundabout at Brewery Road and modest improvements to the Leopardstown Roads.
I do not want to cast doubt on the report, but there seemed to be serious implications there, and not only in response to Councillor McDonald raising the issue at that meeting. Maybe the Minister will take account of the various points and issues raised by me at the request of Councillor McDonald.
Another important feature is that here we have Councillor McDonald, a member of a local authority, bringing to the attention of a Member of our national Parliament a fundamental proposition which would change the lives of a large segment of the community in south County Dublin. This is true democracy at work: the local authority discussed the matter, it was then brought into Dáil Éireann and discussed here on behalf of that group.
The people in these areas are seriously concerned because they bought their houses believing they could quietly enjoy their homes, but they are now presented with the prospect of huge volumes of traffic in areas where such traffic was never envisaged. Those who know the area well realise that places like Torquay Road, Brighton Road, Westminster Road, Brewery Road and Carrickmines Road, will be adversely affected by the plan proposed by the Government. We find that unacceptable and we hope the Minister in her wisdom, or unwisdom as the case may be, will provide satisfactory answers to the queries I have raised.
Leopardstown Road is beautifully tree lined and relatively safe as regards road traffic, and it would be a great tragedy and an act of environmental vandalism if this road were interfered with and made into a dual carriageway. We think such development is unnecessary and is an intrusion into the lives of the people living in the area. We also think it is an intrusion of the environment.
I am greatful to you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this matter and bring it to the attention of the House. As I said, this is part of the democratic process where, on the ground, there are the local councillors who, like myself, know the problems in the area, articulate them at local authority level and then, I, as a Deputy representing the constituency of Dún Laoghaire, bring them to the attention of the House, and of the Government in particular.
