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Update and Notice of Public Meeting 3rd May

Our monthly meeting Wednesday next 3rd May 8.00 pm Parish Centre – all are welcome with your local problems, or better still – your ideas.
PHOENIX PARK – NOTE: 

For improved environment and recreation Chesterfield Avenue closed to vehicular traffic over summer weekends, from 8 p.m. Fridays – 8 p.m. Sundays and Bank Holidays – starting Friday 28th April – Sunday 24th September. 1st May is Bank Holiday.

Lots things to do/ Visitor Centre – Children (6-11 yrs.) Free Art workshop Sundays from 11.00 – 12.30, must be accompanied by adult;  
Adults – Free Lectures & walks Sundays in May 3.00 p.m. – booking necessary – 6770095;

Wednesday walks during May from Visitor Centre 11.00 – 12.30 – weather permitting.

Links to Phoenix Park on our web page http://www.navanroad.com contact us at 089 2010724/leave a message

Update 2nd April – notice of monthly meeting

Notice of Monthly meeting Wednesday 5th April 8.00 pm Parish Centre – ends approx. 9.30. www.navanroad.com
Report From Policing Forum 23rd March :-    
Illegal parking on footpaths raised by many – Gardaí to visit all areas/will impose parking enforcement ;

Bad behaviour at Keyhole (Kinvara Park) entrance to schools, endangering children daily – Gardaí will look at parking enforcement relating to all cars illegally parked.

Requests for speed deterrents Navan Road has gone to Traffic Advisory (TAG) which takes 5 stages. Flashing speed signs are in use within Fingal/D.15 to good effect;

Ashtown Grove – marked for road repairs – we have asked if this to be piecemeal or a proper repair – await confirmation.
 Opinions welcome – Bring your suggestions to our meeting on 5th April.

Update 24 February plus notice of meeting

Our meeting Wednesday 1st March 8.00 pm Parish Centre. We would love to have new people consider joining, and if you have professional experience to offer even better. Attendances at monthly meetings, occasional Committee meeting, and some DCC Council meetings . Also Navan Road/Pelletstown Police Forum, about 3/4 times a year. We were lobbying for this before Pelletstown lands were even re-zoned – some things take gigantic efforts, so determination helps! Result – Forum held alternately on Navan Road and a Pelletstown community centre.
Community Gardaí inform us via our Text Alert system – they will supply an information pack about Personal pendant alarms, such as Pendant; Watch; Fall alarm. Normal cost €250, free to all over 65. NOTE; There is a €66 annual monitoring fee. Information Packs be collected from Cabra Station, or ring 01 6667420, Community Gardaí 01 6667421 – leave a message on voicemail if not there – their work takes them out & about

Navan Road – Parking during School Runs

We are asked to remind parents of ongoing parking issues at the keyhole area in Kinvara Park, at school pick up times. Small children are in danger daily from badly parked/badly turning cars. PLEASE do not park in or block driveways, clearways, double yellow lines, or anywhere that might cause obstruction, at
-Keyhole Kinvara Park; 

– Villa Park

– on Navan Road, especially on marked clearway outside Church and Doctors’ Surgery

– in spaces for disabled drivers

The car park behind the church is designated for parent parking.

Constituency Commission – submission date 10th January

Tuesday 10th January is the deadline for submissions to the above commission. As you may be aware, the community council is of the opinion that the Navan Road area should revert to Dublin Central for the next General Election. The text of that submission is set out below. 

Anyone wishing to make their own submission can do so via email or post. 

Submissions can be emailed to constituency.commission@housing.gov.ie 

or by post to 
The Secretary 

Constituency Commission 

Room 1.65 

Custom House 

Dublin 1 

Further details are at http://www.constituency-commission.ie

“Dear Sir/Madam,

I wish to make the following submission to the current Constituency Commission on behalf of the Navan Road Community Council.
1. That Dublin Central reverts to a four-seater constituency.

2. That the electoral areas of Navan Road, Ashtown A and Ashtown B be returned from Dublin West to Dublin Central.
Following the last Constituency Commission it was decided to remove an area of Swords from Dublin West. In order to maintain Dublin West as a four seat constituency it was decided to carve up Dublin Central and transfer from Dublin Central to Dublin West Ashtown A, Ashtown B and a part of the electoral division of the Phoenix Park.

This was to the detriment of those remaining in the new Dublin Central and residents who were moved into other constituencies.

Dublin Central was redrawn as a three seat constituency. A three seat is not the ideal type of constituency as every effort was previously made by Commissions to minimise the number of these sized constituencies across the country.

The redrawn boundaries also meant that the socio-economic balance of the constituency was upset. There is a concentration of lower socio-economic groups in Dublin Central where the majority of CSO respondents indicated that they were in non-professional groups, mainly D, E, F and G. A proper socio-economic balance needs to be restored.

The changes have also disrupted the socio-economic profile in surrounding constituencies. The removal of areas with higher socio-economic groupings from Dublin Central led to them being added into other constituencies such as Dublin West, which already has a large group who identify themselves as being in the higher socio-economic groups. This will have shifted the balance in that constituency. 

New census information shows that a three seat Dublin Central will far exceed the limits allowed in the legislation governing the number of people (30,000) per TD. This will mean that boundary changes are required. Dublin Central should be returned to a four seat constituency.

The division of Dublin Central and the redistribution of the Navan Road area (Ashtown A, Ashtown B) into Dublin West also had other negative consequences. 

Firstly, it has resulted in our area being divided into two parts one of which is in Dublin Central and represented by Councillors in Dublin City Council. The other part is in Dublin West but represented by Councillors in Dublin City Council. 

In the 2016 General Election no sitting Dublin Central TD contested the election in Dublin West. This left us feeling disenfranchised as the elected TD’s for Dublin West are concentrated and invested in the residents in the original parts of that constituency.

Representing our residents often means liaising with local and national representatives. This has been made much more difficult now that part of our area is represented by TDs with no connection to the Local Authority in Dublin City Council. 

This situation was made worse when the local election boundaries were changed placing the Navan Road area into the Cabra/Finglas Ward which covers three General Election Constituencies.
 

“The Commission is not required to avoid the breaching of the boundaries between the local government counties of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin and between these and Dublin city. However, given that these county administrative boundaries are in place for over 18 years the Commission recommends adherence to these boundaries where this is feasible and practicable”

We would draw your attention to the findings of the previous Commission (see above) in relation to the removal of Swords from Dublin West.and would respectfully request that Ashtown A, Ashtown B and the part of the Phoenix Park be reinstated into a four seat Dublin Central Constituency.”

Update – 5th November 2016

Fingal area – Racecourse development.

We have been pursuing with Fingal for some time, the need for a pedestrian crossing at entrance to Racecourse development from where residents are crossing over the central median to get to bus stop, in great danger. Fingal have finally informed a very helpful Councillor, new to us – ‘that they will fund this, it has gone out to tender, to be commenced early next year ‘ . We hope when pedestrian lights operate, that this will slow traffic a little, coming down from D. 15 across the roundabout to the benefit of Ashtown residents, those from new area of Pelletstown, and walkers to and from Phoenix Park.

Leaf fall.

DCC have blue bags for collection of leaf fall – available Cabra Office (opposite Clarkes Bakery) which they will collect when full Ph. 01 2227400 cabraoffice@dublincity.ie – OR better still, keep these leaves in a large plastic bag to create leaf mould in a few short months for your garden.

Update 28th October – plus notice of Public Meeting

Monthly meeting Wednesday 2nd November 8.00 p.m. Parish Centre. We hope to see good attendance to discuss some important issues.
Bus Stop/Shelter out of City at Ashtown (Belleville side.)   

Dublin Bus have been replacing bus shelters along the Navan Road recently. The community council had requested them to set back this particular bus stop as it was dangerously close to the kerb, buses had to wait for passengers to alight and walk away before moving off. We got an extremely quick reply agreeing to our request – job safely done very quickly, and we have thanked Dublin Bus for this, and for the tidy, clean and FLAT surfaces they have left behind at each new Bus Shelter. This cannot be said about many footpaths throughout our area.

Dangerous/Uneven footpaths    

We have noted and sent to DCC a list of these, stretching from Ashtown to the Church gates along Navan Road, all listed as per the closest house number – sent some months ago, with a couple reminders since. The work is with road maintenance at present. If you have similar concerns you must list nearest house number for identification – contact DCC Cabra office at 01 2227400 or email to Cabraoffice@dublincity.ie 

Dublin City Development Plan 2017-22

The final debate, by our elected Councillors, took place at the end of September in City Hall. We attended, as the public are entitled to attend and listen to all such debates. One controversial result was to allow a higher rise within the City and outer areas, such as Navan Road. Uniquely for Dublin,  8 residential storeys is now redefined as ‘low rise’ in the Inner City. In the suburbs, up to 5 storeys will be permitted, within 2 storey areas, and within 1/2 km of a train or Luas line buildings may be up to 8 storeys. This decision was a compromise one and took place not in public but behind closed doors.

For more information see http://dublincitydevelopmentplan.ie

Update – 18 October 2016

Speeding Navan Road & cutting lights; At the recent Policing Forum we drew attention to our Community Sgt. and Gardaí of speeding & cutting lights on our section of Navan Road, suggesting various methods of control. It is not Gardaí who decide where safety notices/signs/lights etc. are placed – we are required to write to Traffic Advisory Body in DCC which we will be doing.
Ashtown Grove; we also requested of DCC officials present – that they mark out the parking areas on both sides of the shops to allow for proper organised parking and to consider time restrictions on part of the parking area so that our residents can park and use our local shops. At present there is a lot of all day commuter parking, making it very difficult for local shoppers. We will inform you of both outcomes.  

Suspicious cars; Gardaí at the Forum ask that anyone who feels there may be a suspicious car within their housing area, there is no point calling Cabra station, unless you have noted the registration number (only if it is safe to do so, and not in view of a driver).

Things to do in Phoenix Park and Visitor Centre www.phoenixpark.ie Phone: 01 6770095

Web; www.navanroad.com Phone; 089 2010724.

Dog Fouling

Sorry to put people off their lunches but as you can see in these pictures, last week we came across a lovely pile of dog dirt in  John Boscos schoolyard, of all places.  The white line you see is the line that the children queue up on to enter school in the mornings. We are appalled that Navan Road residents are letting their dogs run around the yard, we have witnessed some doing it late at night. There are railings around the Junior Boys’ School and it would appear that owners are letting their dogs squeeze under the railings to do whatever they like in that yard. 

This problem is becoming an epidemic in the area, both on footpaths and on green areas such as Ashington Park. The fact that some owners go deliberately to a yard or area where children will be playing defies belief. It is not difficult to take bags with you and pick up after your dog. There are even free bags available from Dublin City Council. 

This link contains information from Dublin City Council on attitudes to dog fouling. Dog dirt is a potential health hazard, especially to children. Please pick up after your dog. There are enough signs in the area advising you to do so and nobody should see this as acceptable behaviour. 

Upcoming Meeting and Church Gate collection

Our annual church gate collection will take place after all the masses in Navan Road church this coming weekend 1/2 October. Please support our only fundraising effort during the year. The funds go toward printing costs, insurance, and planning submissions and appeals on behalf of the community. 

Our next public meeting will take place next Wednesday 5th October at 8pm in the parish centre. Topics under discussion at the last meeting included traffic, speeding on the main road, planning matters and General Election constituency issues.  All are welcome.