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Updated 10am, 13 November
RESIDENTS IN A South Dublin area are trying to reclaim a local park that has been blighted by antisocial behaviour in recent years.
Friends of St Cuthbert’s Park is a group of residents from Bawnogue and Deansrath that is supported by the South West Clondalkin Community Safety Forum.
Councillor Mark Ward is involved with the group and says local residents are trying to redevelop the park “for the better of everyone”.
Ward says some residents are afraid to go to St Cuthbert’s Park due to antisocial behaviour such as open drug dealing and cars being burnt out, including during the day.
“There are lads on scramblers (motorbikes) driving from one end of the park to the other dealing drugs.
There’s a huge problem with illegal dumping and sightings of rats. Cars are being driven over walls and set alight.
Ward says some people are “rightly” afraid to use the park in case they’re hit by one of the scramblers.
He says there was an increased garda presence in the area over Halloween which helped limit the antisocial behaviour, however more needs to be done.
In March, South Dublin County Council (SDCC) agreed to install CCTV cameras in the park but Ward says this has been delayed. The goal is to have the live feed streamed into the local garda station.
Ward says the cameras need to be installed as soon as possible in a bid to crack down on antisocial behaviour and crime.
“It’d be a beautiful park if it was maintained and it wasn’t being vandalised. It has the potential to be a really viable park in the community,” he tells TheJournal.ie.
Getting worse over the years
Lisa Kinsella Coleman, secretary of Friends of St Cuthbert’s Park, says problems in the area have worsened in recent years.
“I’m from the area and I think it has got progressively worse over the years.
It can be a scary thing for any person walking on their own through the park … There’s intimidation.
Kinsella Coleman agrees that illegal dumping is a “huge problem”, but says the council cleans the park “regularly enough”.
She says some people have broken down walls in the park to get cars in and burn them, adding: “The park really needs to be secured.”
Kinsella Coleman says a summer fête in the park was a big success and showed what kind of events can be held there. The Friends of St Cuthbert’s Park group is looking for more funding to arrange other initiatives.
“We’re trying to reclaim the park and bring it back into the heart of the local community like it should be,” she tells us.
Young people
Ward says a lack of services in the area have led to some young people engaging in antisocial behaviour, but notes that some of the problems are caused by people from other areas.
The vast majority of people in the area are law-abiding and just want to get on with their own lives. It’s a small element that’s bringing the whole place down.
“Especially when it’s dark at nighttime residents feel intimidated by young people hanging around.
“There are some very good lads, they’re just walking on the wrong side of the road at the moment. It wouldn’t take much to get them back,” Ward says of young people in the area.
Councillor Francis Timmons told us he has also raised these issues with SDCC and will continue to “work on solutions”. He says Crosscare are also “doing great work in the area, and there is a very active community centre”.
Intimidation and aggression towards council staff
A spokesperson for SDCC said the council is “very mindful of issues” in or near the park and “has been working with relevant stakeholders to try to develop a suite of proposals, both short and long-term, to help address the issues”.
The spokesperson told TheJournal.ie the council has met with elected representatives, local gardaí and the South West Clondalkin Safety Forum to discuss the situation.
“A high-level steering committee meeting of relevant stakeholders has been established, and the council has also been working to support Friends of St Cuthbert’s to enable recent social or community events to take place and compliments the group on their activities to date.”
The spokesperson said the design of the park “seems to attract ASB [antisocial behaviour] due to low level access, extensive hedgerows, a high mound, and the absence of surveillance/CCTV in the area”.
“A report has recently been received and options contained in the report are currently being assessed, including those for the provision of CCTV – for which €30,000 has been made available in the 2017 budget.
“In the interim, the council’s public realm unit continues to undertake comprehensive cleanups, including the removal of burnt out cars.”
The spokesperson added that council employees at times require assistance from gardaí as they have also been “subjected to a high level of intimidation and aggression in this area”.
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About time, 150 is a ridiculous amount. Now a full ban next please.
@Paul: and half of them empty, and not actually allowed to use bus lanes either, but no enforcement there either. Quays are a joke as well with empty taxis clogging up the new bus corridors.
@Gulliver Foyle:
I have always thought it is daft not allowing taxis to use bus lanes when they are not carrying a fare. Surely having taxi moving as fast and as freely as possible is a positive thing
@Nick Allen: actually, no, empty taxis moving freely confers little benefit on general public. Clearing taxis out of a lane so that buses carrying 100s of people can move fast and freely is a positive thing.
@Oisín O’Connor:
But those empty taxis take longer to get to a taxi rank and cover less distance and thus have fewer opportunities to be flagged down by someone looking for a taxi. If a taxi is ‘on duty’ it makes no sense to have it sitting in traffic
@Nick Allen: all those things are true, but they are strongly outweighed by the need to move thousands of bus passengers through the city. Taxis slow thousands down for the sake of the few taxi users. Taxi drivers will need to get a handle on what “common good” means.
@Gulliver Foyle: When did they change that law?
@Gulliver Foyle: unfortunately empty taxis are perfectly entitled to use bus lanes once they are available for hire/to be flagged down. Don’t agree with it myself but it’s written into the law
@Paul: You do realise who issued all these taxi plates and making millions in the process?
@Gulliver Foyle: Study the law before you comment.
@Gulliver Foyle: your comment is typical of an ill informed ignorant fool. Taxis are allowed to use bus lanes as long as they are hired, available for hire or en route to a pick up. “Thick paddy” are an embarrassment to intelligent debate.
@james s: Taxi cars were allowed to use Bus Lanes as a temporary measure back in 1997, which Drifted into a permanent arrangement since then
The law also states that Taxis must not use bus lanes if they are not operating as an SPSV – for example, driving home at the end of a shift, travelling on personal business, or transporting only goods and not passengers.Taxis are not allowed to use contra-flow bus lanes (in which traffic travels in the opposite direction to the traffic beside it) under any circumstances.Hackney’s and limousines are not permitted to use bus lanes.
@Dotty Dunleary: Cheers dotty. “Thick paddy”, indeed – Fred “make it up because we’re above the law” spanner.
@Gulliver Foyle: we can drive in a bus lane if we are 1 plying for hire2 if we are going to pick up a radio job and 3 if we have a fare on board. We can’t use them if we are not working.
@Gulliver Foyle: Quays are a joke …. wait till you see what this ban is going to do to the Quays and surrounding streets….. I’ll have me popcorn ready this is going to be good …
@Gulliver Foyle: what do you mean?
A spsv is not allowed use a psv lane, that’s ridiculous. The problem with college green has always been the heavy reliance on double decked buses..
@Gulliver Foyle: I pointed out the ill informed ignorance of your comment. I then educated you with facts. At no point did I suggest or ask for taxi drivers to be exempt from the law. It appears that you are indeed a “Thick Paddy”
Another half measure! They need a full ban on Taxi’s in that area!
@Dotty Dunleary: A full ban on taxis in that area only moves the traffic jams to somewhere else.. Merrion Street, Church Street, Mount Street Westland Row will all become a nightmare for everyone including busses. €7 fares will become €15 fares because taxis have to go around the World to suit the Luas..
@Dotty Dunleary: no need for a ban on taxis between 8pm and 6am for example.
@David Garland: Something has to give, and a Taxi is still a private car, a Luas carries 8,160 passengers per direction, per hour, based on 24 trams an hour, imagine that in terms of cars? The whole city would grind to a standstill!
To lessen private cars crossing the canal cordon then bring in Congestion charges during peak hours, reduce on-street parking to open up more and wider bus lanes.
If we want to get Dublin city centre moving then the private car needs to make way for mass public transit, and also with the removal of Taxi cars will reduce danger for pedal cyclists.
@Dotty Dunleary: Dotty Dot must use the Luas. No consideration for disabled or elderly who need to access the area by taxi.
@Paul Matthews: Luas is used by people in powerchairs which are heavy and cannot be folded, there’s very few wheelchair accessible Taxi’s going around, so why should a chair user have to wait 4 times as long as an able bodied person to get a Taxi when they can just catch a Luas to home or across the city?
Elderly people have free public transport outside peak hours, not many old folk who can afford extortionate Taxi fares, particularly on a state pension.
@Dotty Dunleary: Your way off the mark. And ill informed.
@Paul Matthews: Wow, what can I say, you put up such a well thought out and worded argument to the debate, you really got me there!
@Dotty Dunleary: why? Tens of millions of passenger journeys happen in taxis every year. Why should taxi users be put out???
@Dotty Dunleary: Sorry to bust your bubble but a taxi is not a private car. The paying public need to use them to get through town. Not everyone lives on the Luas line and not everyone uses a bus. Do you know how many people on business in Dublin need to get to the Airport from City Centre hotels during those peak hours? Its a complete farce to ban taxis from using the main route through the City Centre..
@David Garland: Removing taxis from a tourism hotspot is not exactly smart now.
@Dotty Dunleary: Taxis are not private cars. They are Public service vehicles the log books/vehicle registration papers have to be changed to reflect that for the road tax and insurance.
@Dotty Dunleary: i assume you work for Ms Graham or Mr Keegan.
@Fred Coloe: Simple numbers, a Luas tram carries 8,160 passengers per direction, per hour.. Work out how many Taxi cars would be required to do the same in Dublin city centre.
@David Garland: Private cars was as an addition, the small city streets don’t require 1000′s of single occupancy cars crossing the canals each morning at peak hours, that’s excluding taxi cars(just to make things extra clear for you).
Dublin airport is one of the biggest bus stations in the country, Aircoach, Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann as well as many other private operators will take you anywhere from Dublin city centre to Wexford for a fraction of the cost of a Taxi…
Granted any late night flight arrivals are better served by Taxi cars, however that doesn’t have an impact on peak city traffic anyways.
@Dotty Dunleary: People in Dublin on business, which there are many. Don’t want to be waiting on a bus in the rain. A lot of them come and go in a day and are still working in the back of a taxi on the way to the Airport. A taxi gets to the Airport twice as quick as the aircoach and it picks you up at your doorstep.
@Dotty Dunleary: Why?? Taxis are the only 24/7 door to door public transport service. We receive no support from the state. By my calculations we actually contribute over €120+ million per year to the economy of Dublin through the running costs of our vehicles. Furthermore taxis exist because of demand from the public. Again, by my calculations, over 60 million passengers travel in taxis in Dublin each year. That’s a conservative estimate too. Why do you want to attack/hurt your fellow citizens just because they drive/use taxis?? What do you work at I wonder?? Are brave enough to say??? Maybe your a DCC/NTA Idiot employee! I treat all people fairly and with respect. You and others don’t seem to understand those concepts.
how much would it cost to simply install a camera the identifies taxis and simply takes a picture and they are automatically issued with a fine?
@Shane Zerbe: Ha ha, it should cost a few hundred grand, but like all Public Projects in this country would take many years and cost billions
@Shane Zerbe: a lot more than you think. A D.O.B company would win the contract and the costs would magically triple.
@Shane Zerbe: I’m delighted.NOW the drunks and the tossers that use Taxis late at night will have to walk further to find a cab.This is great news indeed.
@Shane Zerbe: that would be to simple
Without a traffic corps fit for purpose then this will be about as effective as the current bans on private vehicles in college green between 7-10am & 4-7pm.
@Matt Donovan: Enforcement cameras, recording licence plates and issuing fines for law breaking Taxi drivers…
@Dotty Dunleary: Ask yourself why this isn’t already the case. You wouldn’t believe it but if you known a garda or anyone in the legal profession. The answer is laughable…
@Matt Donovan: I’d rather know why other countries can do this and the “tech hub” that is Ireland can’t…
@Dotty Dunleary: nothing to do with tech. It’s a legislative issue. Bar the current format of mobile cameras there is no legislation allowing the use of the format that exists in other country’s. You couldn’t make it up.
It would be interesting to understand how much extra taxi fares will be as presumably they will have to travel a greater distance to get to their destination, hence a more expensive taxi fare. This is probably why they are not out on strike blocking the roads
@Nick Allen: a couple of euro extra for (max) 150 hard pressed taxi passengers vs. thousands of bus commuters getting to work quicker. Max 150, because we don’t even know how many of those 150 have passengers. Also, at present, a taxi driver can drop his missus in to do the shopping right outside bank of Ireland if he feels like it. So not sure why they should be guaranteed any special status at the moment, at the expense of thousands of other Dubliners commute times.
@Oisín O’Connor:
‘Also, at present, a taxi driver can drop his missus in to do the shopping right outside bank of Ireland if he feels like it.’
No they can’t, they can only benefit from taxi lanes etc when they have a fare paying customer
@Nick Allen: zero enforcement.
@Nick Allen: or when plying for hire. Or when on the way to pick up a booked fare.
@Paddy Walsh:
I don’t think they can when they are looking for a fare. (I could be wrong). When they are en route to collect someone they should absolutely be using the bus lanes
@Paddy Walsh:
You are right, they are allowed to use the lane when looking for a fare
@Oisín O’Connor:
That doesn’t change the law though and mean they can do it
@Nick Allen: Where do you live? In Dublin the bus lanes are full of empty taxi cars!
Michael O’Leary bought a Taxi plate for his car, so his driver can zip along Bus lanes without issue!
@Dotty Dunleary:
I know!
@Oisín O’Connor: 150 taxis carrying up to 1200 people if all vehicles are 8 seaters or 600 if saloon cars. Point is taxis exist because there is no other door to door provider of transport. We pay millions to the NTA /Government every year to operate and tens of millions in operating costs, much of which also goes to the government.
@Fred Coloe: not sure if you’re serious or not. I could try a stab at magical maths too.
Let’s say half the 150 are empty. Of the remaining 75, a third are 8 seaters. Majority of taxi journeys are single occupancy, so to he generous let’s say half are, and the other half are full cars.
75 x 0 (the empty taxis)
37 x 1 (single occupancy)
13 x 8 (these magically full 8 seaters in rush hour)
25 x 4 (these magically full saloons in rush hour)
241 people, even allowing for all your full taxis. That’s ~ 3 full buses. As most people who commute in rush hour by bus will attest, the full bus is a reasonable assumption.
“Point is there is no door to door provider of public transport” – do you think buses the world over stop outside people’s home and place of work?
So, this morning the NTA launched a recruitment campaign to get people to drive taxis and in the afternoon they threatened the livelihoods of existing taxi drivers!?? It must be great to be a thick unaccountable public servant in a quango.
@Fred Coloe: Bang on Fred bunch of morons. They made millions flooding Dublin with taxi plates then done away with multiple taxi ranks and now they say we’ve to many taxi in the city the same day they issue a recruitment driver for guess what? More taxis. #clueless https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.thejournal.ie/taxi-driver-recruitment-campaign-3871171-Feb2018/&ved=0ahUKEwj284W1qcTZAhVCFMAKHQXrB14QxfQBCEEwAg&usg=AOvVaw24MJ1xqqn_BxW5XW01oZuy
Move everything is their answer put the traffic somewhere else rather than admit they f ucked up bringing super Luas there in first place. And if metro south to sandyford is given green light then luass is dug up and made redundant from charlemount station to brides Glen? So no lu ass for probably a few yrs lol comical
Taxi drivers would have to increase fares because of longer routes?
I suppose that would give them another reason to bring tourists from the airport into town via the M50 and Dundrum.
@Paul Kelly: There are dickh**ds in every industry.
As an example, 300+ Consultant Doctors we’re convicted of tax evasion in 2017.
The majority in every industry are decent hard working people.
@Fred Coloe: Cannot argue with that.
Would waiting until they view the effects of the 10 rerouted Dublin Bus routes, until banning taxis?
They need to put double yellow lines around the DCC offices and clamp the unaccountable brainless individuals making these half baked decisions.
Do people know who have issued all these taxi plates and made millions in the process?
What about Limosuine Cars.Are we been forgotten..Clients still need access to hotels.
@Ray Roche: of course you are ain’t nothing going to stop super Luas getting to O’Connell st. Sure they probably have the Dublin Paddy’s day parade in Cork from now on too. Everything out out out
What abiut LiMOSUINE Drivers Again we are Ignored by The NTA.Business Clients are Brought in a City tour as we are barred from Dawson st Bus lanes College green
@Ray Roche: there is exactly 0 hotels on the stretch of road in question. Take a different route if you need to get to the south side of the city between those 3 hours.
@Ray Roche: give it another shot Ray, 4th times a charm.
Limousine?
@Dan Morgan: True but the shortest/quickest route to the Shelbourne hotel from Connolly station, for example , is via college Green. This is not just about College Green though. This decision will impact north/south quays, Pearce st, georges st, Stephens green, Amiens st etc etc. That will affect everybody.
What has the problem with O’Connell bridge and the long tram got to do with college green? The trams have already passed college green at that point.
Only Taxi’s with 4 passengers should be allowed in bus Lane’s during peak times might encourage people to share Taxi’s during the rush hour
@Cormac McKay Dublin: You don’t seem to understand the service taxis provide. We are a door to door , 24/7 and fully flexible service. That’s why people use taxis in the tens of millions in Dublin every year. Indeed, recent NTA figures indicated that taxis are the second most popular form of public transport.
@Cormac McKay Dublin: and by that logic all Luas and buses should have no empty seats.
Do people realise who issued all these taxi plates and made millions in the process?
Overpaid luas drivers and a tram that goes nowhere to taxis who most of them are illegal to busses that don’t even use the bus lane nor the bicycles who cycle like mad men through red lights and on footpaths to junkies who jab there arms along the side walks.. If only Red Bull gives you wings because it’s sounds a lot safer right now..
LiMOSUINE Drivers need access to that area instead of Bringing Business Clients on a tour of Dublin Are we been forgotten About again by NTA.
50 vehicle movements an hour southbound on College Green during the morning peak…..that’ll completely unlock the city center alright….
Ab
Dublin is so backwards compared to most European cities where all vehicles are banned from entering city centres. The mess around Trinity is laughable at this point. Who in their right mind would even try to drive their car around there?
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