More than 50 sign poles have been removed from Dublin city since 2016 as part of a city council effort to remove street clutter and other items from the capital’s footpaths.
Next year the council will use GPS co-ordinates and photographs to identify and log all unused sign poles in the Dublin City Council area.
“In 2016, the Environment & Transportation Department received €5,000 to remove old unused sign poles. This resulted in the removal of approximately 50-60 redundant sign poles,” the council said in response to a Freedom of Information request.
“In accordance with the Dublin City Development Plan objectives and as part of the upcoming 2019 Sign Cleaning Contract, the Environment & Transportation Department, Traffic Division, has taken the initiative of incorporating a requirement to identify and log (using GPS co-ordinates & photos), all unused sign poles in the DCC area. This will identify the extent of the issue and also allow DCC to estimate the cost of removing redundant sign poles,” the council said.
“In mid-2019 approximately, funding will be sought and a plan put in place for a timed rollout.”
The Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 notes that there is “very high footfall and relatively limited pedestrian space in the core” of the city. It says it is very important to achieve a coherent, walkable city centre which allows for ease of movement to persons of all abilities.
The plan goes on to say that it is an policy of the city council to promote the development of high-quality streets and public spaces that are accessible and inclusive.
It adds that it is an objective of Dublin City Council “to carry out an audit of existing street furniture poles and signage in the public realm, with the aim of removing at least 20 per cent of such redundant elements, in order to reduce street clutter and to seek the multiple uses of poles for road and directional signage including butterfly bike locking”.
