Earlier this year South Dublin County Council (SDCC) installed a temporary cycle lane on Wellington Lane from the Spawell to the Orwell Roundabout. They now plan to extend the scheme to include pedestrian and cyclist facilities at the Wellington Lane / Orwell Road and Wellington Road / Templeville Road roundabouts. Given the present and growing numbers of children cycling in the area we support temporary measures such as these which both help to encourage people, and particularly children with their parents, to cycle and walk while also helping to inform permanent and more appropriate infrastructural change.

In advance of the trial SDCC are carrying out survey. The survey is open till the 27 November 2020.

In relation to the temporary plans for the Wellington Lane / Orwell Road roundabout our view is that the crossings shown on the consultation leaflet are too far from the roundabout and not near the direct desire lines through the roundabout. The crossings should be moved closer to the roundabout where the traffic islands are located. This would also allow people to cross one lane of traffic at a time and wait on the median islands. The council should also consider removing some bollards at all roundabout entrance roads to allow people cycling to continue onto the roundabout itself.

The Orwell roundabout is large, so the long term solution would be to install a dutch-style roundabout with a segregated cycle lane.

The proposed zebra crossings at the Wellington Lane / Templeville Road roundabout are welcome as a temporary measure. However, given the volume and speed of traffic at this roundabout, the long-term solution would be to replace the roundabout with a signalised junction.