Sir, – I read with interest “Closure of Strand Road northbound traffic” (Letters, December 15th).
The author claims traffic congestion is not a problem on Strand Road and that traffic pollution there is somehow lessened due to its location on Dublin Bay. This is not true.
It is a dangerous claim to make, given that the stockpile of research about the significant adverse health impacts of traffic emissions continues to grow. Recent research has found neurological changes in the brains of children who lived in areas of high air pollution. In London, an inquest into the death of a nine-year-old girl concluded that since she had lived in close proximity to highly polluting roads, and given the evidence of her high exposure to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in excess of WHO guidelines, that traffic pollution should be listed as a cause of her death. This is the first time air pollution has been listed as a cause of death.
Dublin City Council is trialling and evaluating a project that will enable those who can to leave their car at home for short journeys, thereby reducing traffic pollution and its inherent health risks for everyone. This is not only commendable, but urgently necessary. – Yours, etc,
Dr VINCENT WALL,
Ringsend, Dublin 4.
Sir, – Having just read Conall Ó Móráin’s concise and logical comments on Dublin City Council’s proposed “experimental” approach to Sandymount, I am appalled at the stupidity and wasteful spend on this ludicrous proposal (Opinion, December 17th).
Does nobody listen to the people who use these roads daily and live in the affected areas?
We do not have the public transport to be so generous with our limited road space. It might seem fine in theory but in operation is totally impractical and dangerous for pedestrians in certain aspects.
Councils seem to have unchallenged powers. Let’s stop the destruction of Sandymount now. – Yours, etc,
MARY O’CONNOR,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Since the first car arrived in Ireland in 1898, we as a nation have unwittingly handed over vast swathes of our country to the insatiable demands of the automobile. Latest figures from the CSO show that two-thirds of commuters travel to work by car while only 3 per cent travel by bike. And with transport contributing one fifth of Ireland’s overall emissions, the EPA recently graded Ireland’s performance on reduction of emissions as “very poor”.
The combined impacts of climate change, Covid-19 and the increasing desire of people to create more welcoming and liveable communities has led to cities across Europe devoting more public space to enable walking and cycling, rather than promoting the hugely inefficient use of space taken up by transporting and storing cars.
Finally let’s not forget that the Irish public was never consulted regarding the mass construction of motorways, widespread parking on pavements or the 141 deaths on our roads last year.
The proposals by Dublin City Council to trial cycle routes in Sandymount may not be perfect in every respect, but they represent a real opportunity to trial a much-needed different approach to living in and getting around our capital city. – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN HURLEY,
Sandymount, Dublin 4.