As a resident and homeowner in Seven Mills, I wish to object to the Council's amendments, mainly Amendment 2,3, and 9, that appear to be aimed at further restricting car ownership and use.
While generally supportive of the intent to reduce car reliance and increase use of walking, cycling, and public transport, these amendments do not consider the short-medium term reality for residents and therefore risk not achieving their intended outcomes.
The public transport options and amenities as described in the 2019 SDZ are yet to be delivered and, in some key instances, are delayed. DART SW+ expansion has an estimated construction start date of 2030+ in the National Development Plan, representing a 4 year delay to initial expectations. The opening of Kishoge train station and the development of housing in both Clonburris and Adamstown has led to a successful uptake of the Hazelhatch to Grand Canal Dock line but the lack of investment in capacity has made commuter hours on the service miserable due to overcrowding. In addition to this, weekend and off peak services are limited, especially at weekends. These capacity issues combined with the delay to DART services mean that a main initiative to reduce car reliance and traffic are a long way from being a reality for residents.
There is also a lack of bus routes to service City Centre or Greater Dublin Area destinations. A recently closed NTA BusConnects consultations places a phased approach to bus route delivery to the area, tied to the full opening of the South Link Street which is due to be complete by 2029.
There is also a lack of local shopping facilities at present to reduce the need to travel outside of the estate for essentials. Walking or cycling to Clondalkin Village, Bawnogue, or Neilstown, is not a viable alternative for resident's looking to do a weekly shop. The coffee shop in the estate does not sell household staples and retail units remain vacant.
These above reasons demonstrate that Amendments 2 and 3, resulting in a reduction in vehicular access points, is not practicable for some time (at least 2029) and given the transport needs of residents these amendments could result in bottlenecks until such time as a critical mass of alternative transport modes are in operation.
The proposed Amendment number 9, the existing SDZ, and my lived experience as a resident also raises my concern that car owners are not supported by the scheme to make sustainable choices as they await public transport provision. The removal of guaranteed parking spaces makes EV charging impractical. Ongoing issues with EV charging in Parkleigh demonstrates this. Due to issues with the pre-installed EV charging stations, there are only a few charging stations switched on in non allocated visitor spots. This results in owners being unable to predict if they will get a space beside a charger when they need it. If the EV charging throughout the SDZ mirrors the provision in Parkleigh, it is also likely that it will be more expensive to charge given the chargers' connection to a commercial MPRN. A further lack of assigned parking outside their property could mean that EV owners will not be able to run a cable from their homes to their cars to avail of their home or night time electricity rates. This in practice could mean that Clonburris EV owners do not gain the full benefits of going electric compared to neighbours in older estates with driveways and or assigned parking.
In conclusion, the SDZ is already designed to incentivise a reduction in car ownership and yet this has not resulted in residents abandoning their cars. This is due to the lack of alternative transport options available. In the absence of public transport to facilitate them to reduce car reliance, they are faced with the reality that a car is a reasonable need for commuting, shopping, school travel, and recreation/socialising outside of the estate or immediate area. The extent of double and illegal parking throughout the estate is a visible manifestation of this. I strongly urge the Council to link amendments to the 2019 SDZ to the delivery of infrastructure such as DART SW+, greater BusConnects routes, and sustainable modes such as supporting EV charging.