Braemor Road trees being chopped :(

jaykay74

Sad to see the trees being removed from Braemor Road in the name of progress.

"unsuitable for their current environment".
county council speak for "can't be bothered". :mad:

Dubl07

That's a shame. If they're narrowing the road why do they need to level the trees?

Tragedy

Narrowing the road is a great idea, let's make it even harder to safely overtake cyclists!

(And yes I am aware they'll be 'upgrading' the cycling facilities, but people will still cycle on the road).

Bodder1

Absolute disgrace that these beautiful trees are being removed. Oh yes let's have more concrete! Councillors and politicians who dreamt this up should hang their heads in shame or have their heads examined!! Idiots!

AND there is supposed to be no money in the country and they blow hundreds of thousands (or God knows how much) destroying a beautful road like this. UNBELIEVABLE!

ted1

It's typically of dlrcoco, they look at ways of spending money on roads etc as oppose to seem what is required.
I'm convinced that they have to much staff in roads and transport department and they all think up of hair brain ideas to keep themselves busy

Bodder1

ted1 wrote: »

It's typically of dlrcoco, they look at ways of spending money on roads etc as oppose to seem what is required.
I'm convinced that they have to much staff in roads and transport department and they all think up of hair brain ideas to keep themselves busy

Hair brain or no brains, it's a bananas idea, they have no appreciation of the benefits of these beautiful trees. The road wasn't perfect mainly because of the dodgy cycling lanes but the main reason they were dodgy was that they NEVER bothered to do any maintenance on them since they were 1st installed, many years ago. Otherwise it was a lovely driving road as you swept round the bend thro the avenue of trees. It was absolutely fine for pedestrians so I don't know what the DLRCOCO are on about! Breathtaking stuff! How did the people of the area let this happen? Rumour has it, it was all started by some woman with a petition and managed to dupe people into signing it!!??

patrickbrophy18

What they could do is move the cycle track to where the green patches are now given that they are felling trees. Next, create a buffer where the cycle track is for pedestrians with a grass verge separating the cyclists from the pedestrians. The purpose of this would be to allow cyclists to go around the bus stop without worrying about buses cutting them off. Moreover, they would be able to go smoothly around the left of the bus stop with out losing momentum. Finally, it would provide a conflict-free environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

Having said that, the reduction of carriageway width here to slow motorists down is further evidence that the DLRCOCO are anti-car,bus and truck. Improving facilities for pedestrians and cyclists at the expense of the remaining road users is the part I am against. If infrastructural improvements are to be carried out, it should be done to optimize all transportation modes. The council are failing to learn from previous jobs such as Blackthorn Road, Killiney Towers Roundabout and the removal of Mounttown Road Roundabout.

Reduction of carriageway width will undoubtedly have a negative impact on buses using this road (given that a bus stop is clearly visibly in the picture the OP provided). Buses also take cars off the road.

Mort5000

My eyes my be poor this morning, but I swear bullet point 5 says "replace trees" and not "remove trees".

Bodder1

Mort5000 wrote: »

My eyes my be poor this morning, but I swear bullet point 5 says "replace trees" and not "remove trees".

Yes they will plant some new trees but if you know this road then you will know that the trees being felled are decades old and very mature trees. Whatever trees they plant will take decades again to come to maturity and in the meantime we have concrete, concrete and more concrete!. I might also add that the number of trees to be replanted is likely to be fewer than the present number. This is pure wanton destruction and they are using valuable cash and resources to do it! It is disgraceful and unbelievable in equal measure.

Tragedy

Off road cycle lanes are a failure, instead of using the width of the road to facilitate a cycle track they're narrowing the road and building a no doubt exorbitant off road cycle track that
1)No-one will use
2)Will never be maintained

Progress!

Bodder1

Tragedy wrote: »

Off road cycle lanes are a failure, instead of using the width of the road to facilitate a cycle track they're narrowing the road and building a no doubt exorbitant off road cycle track that
1)No-one will use
2)Will never be maintained

Progress!

Precisely! You are spot-on. The last cycle lane was barely every used (I am a local regular cyclist and I know it) and as regards maintenance, well, here wasn't any! That was the whole problem!.
So now we are to trust these same guys (the DLRCOCO) with this whole new daft project? Wait til you see, if you like concrete then this project will probably turn out to be a masterpiece. But wait 10 years and after zero maintenance it will be a croc again.
Another example of the folly of this and the lack of forward thinking is that last year they removed several trees that were affecting the cycle lane which they promptly replaced with new trees. But guess what? These new trees are also being ripped up right now. What a joke!

Mort5000

Bodder1 wrote: »

Yes they will plant some new trees but if you know this road then you will know that the trees being felled are decades old and very mature trees. Whatever trees they plant will take decades again to come to maturity and in the meantime we have concrete, concrete and more concrete!. I might also add that the number of trees to be replanted is likely to be fewer than the present number. This is pure wanton destruction and they are using valuable cash and resources to do it! It is disgraceful and unbelievable in equal measure.

You don't have to have concrete. You can move out of the suburbs.
Are the trees causing damage to the drainage/sewer system or road surface?

Has someone asked the council why they're removing the trees?

Irish and Proud

ted1 wrote: »

It's typically of dlrcoco, they look at ways of spending money on roads etc as oppose to seem what is required.
I'm convinced that they have to much staff in roads and transport department and they all think up of hair brain ideas to keep themselves busy

+1

Yes indeed, how about some simple resurfacing (of existing roads and cycle lanes) and footpath renewal works as well as better lighting? Surely that would be money well spent in the times of recession. BTW, it's not only the Council that's responsible - it's also the National Transport Authority who devise many of these hair-brained road specs - see the National Cycle Manual for example - that shower have, as I understand it, been given in excess of €40m! :mad:

...looking at the latest on the Killiney Towers Roundabout debacle, are the NTA really about cycling or are they just plain anti car???

Larbre34

Irish and Proud wrote: »

are the NTA really about cycling or are they just plain anti car???

To answer your rhetorical question with an realistic answer, yes. But we all knew that and you'll need a new government to change it.

http://www.dlrcoco.ie/aboutus/councildepartments/transportation/findit/statusofmajorroadschemes/braemorroadenhancementscheme/

Have a read of this people, all is explained. Its a pity to see the trees go as its a lovely avenue but according to this they are nearing the end of their life, id rather see a planned replacement than a decaying mess which would get dangerous as the boughs rotted.

Tragedy

"It has one of the highest demands within the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County
Council area."
Anyone know what that is meant to mean? I can't imagine it means traffic (either vehicular or cyclist) as it's a lot quieter than any of the roads around it.

The ride quality is affected by the vertical transitions caused by the roots of the trees, cars parking upon the cycleway and the lack of maintenance ofthe red surfacing.

Actually, the ride quality is most affected by being constantly interrupted by driveways and side roads - not cars, roots or the surface (although it's three or four years since I cycled it regularly so it could have gotten worse?)

The cycle lanes are of inadequate width and are of bad condition due to cars mounting and
parking on the cycle track.

Lies. Even in sections where cars never mount the cycle path the surface condition is diabolical.

The whole safety section reads as if it was written by a child. It misuses statistics, draws causal links out of thin air and considers 1 death and 4 series accidents in 13 years on a road with over 12,000 vehicles using it every day as being 'significant'. Utter nonsense and bull**** written by a clueless bureaucrat somewhere.


I see that they are indeed proceeding with a mostly offroad cycle track. Hurrah to facing the exact same problems in 4-5 years as we face now, after a spend no doubt in excess of seven figures.

Wibbs

Tragedy wrote: »

The whole safety section reads as if it was written by a child. It misuses statistics, draws causal links out of thin air and considers 1 death and 4 series accidents in 13 years on a road with over 12,000 vehicles using it every day as being 'significant'. Utter nonsense and bull**** written by a clueless bureaucrat somewhere.

Nail on the head. This is a complete farce and they've wrecked the whole leafy feel of that road and for what? As for replacing trees? I'll believe it when I see it and as has been pointed out they'll be glorified sticks compared to the mature avenue of trees those fools have just destroyed. Then again we are talking about the DLRCOCO crowd here, so experience would tend to show brains and foresight appears almost a barrier to entry.

Tragedy

The stated reason for removing the trees was that cuttings due to overhead wires/lights had basically made them misshapen and ugly.
I love the whole stretch of road from Dodder Park to the end of the Braemor Road primarily because of the trees. I cycled it twice a day for years and always looked forward to it (albeit not the cycle path), but apparently we need perfectly symmetrical trees in DLR.

Wibbs

I'd call ballsology on that excuse of theirs T. One or two had bad haircuts. So? Didn't occur to any of these balloonheads that they could prune them into more aesthetically pleasing shapes? Though having met various high up council types down the years typing "aesthetically" on one of their missives without a spellchecker would likely lead to some hilarious results.

I'd reckon that this was simply some "plan" to "improve" the road by someone trying to make a name for themselves.

Tragedy

Wouldn't surprise me if a local councillor lives on the road. They installed traffic calming measures on part of the Knocklyon Road last year and after some digging I found out that a local councillor who lived on an estate just off it had been making noise about it for several years previously - and had obviously worked her 'magic' on the CoCo.

Bobby Buckley

In These difficult times our media are prone to look for the positives in our society and that may be a good thing to keep the morale up in our country but then one is always wary that one might be deluded . That there are groups or even public servants who exhibit the most malign intentions or are capable of the most crass actions. For years I drove ,walked ,cycled up Braemor road and the joy that one felt that some inspired public official planted a line of Hornbeams along that road.In April -May as these trees broke leaf with their delicate shade of green one thanked God that someone in the past had the vision to plant them there. That is a vision that has now been terminated for ever. Coming home from town on St. Pa tricks Day i am first of all bemused as I turn on Braemor road that I can see the telephone wires and then it implodes on me on what has happened , another act of Violence By Dun Laoghaire -Rathdown on our streetscape on our environment and on any kind of hope in our society. In the past i have met their officials and feel that one is meeting a group of cynics in charge of our environment and all one feels is that sense of being alone ,feeling naive that such people are in charge of anything . Even as I write this to you one feels that sense of dismay that DLR are now part of that group who knows best. In the previous Dail it was only The late Seamus Brennan who showed any sympathy to the environment in this area. The greens never responded .
Now the damage is done . The trees are gone and the vandals sheath their chainsaws and Braemor road is reduced to the tree impoverished streets similar to the crime ridden streets that we see on LOVE-HateTV programme. The council may say they will replant . How can they succeed? The trees have only been cynically cut down to half the bole ,which will mean all the roots are intact and no new tree will have any purchase in the ground.This is an appalling action and one feels that the local community should make a victim impact statement. I remember the people of Terenure twenty years ago saved their trees from road widening . One wonders where the local residents , their representatives were on this.

Larbre34

Bobby Buckley wrote: »

In These difficult times our media are prone to look for the positives in our society and that may be a good thing to keep the morale up in our country but then one is always wary that one might be deluded . That there are groups or even public servants who exhibit the most malign intentions or are capable of the most crass actions. For years I drove ,walked ,cycled up Braemor road and the joy that one felt that some inspired public official planted a line of Hornbeams along that road.In April -May as these trees broke leaf with their delicate shade of green one thanked God that someone in the past had the vision to plant them there. That is a vision that has now been terminated for ever. Coming home from town on St. Pa tricks Day i am first of all bemused as I turn on Braemor road that I can see the telephone wires and then it implodes on me on what has happened , another act of Violence By Dun Laoghaire -Rathdown on our streetscape on our environment and on any kind of hope in our society. In the past i have met their officials and feel that one is meeting a group of cynics in charge of our environment and all one feels is that sense of being alone ,feeling naive that such people are in charge of anything . Even as I write this to you one feels that sense of dismay that DLR are now part of that group who knows best. In the previous Dail it was only The late Seamus Brennan who showed any sympathy to the environment in this area. The greens never responded .
Now the damage is done . The trees are gone and the vandals sheath their chainsaws and Braemor road is reduced to the tree impoverished streets similar to the crime ridden streets that we see on LOVE-HateTV programme. The council may say they will replant . How can they succeed? The trees have only been cynically cut down to half the bole ,which will mean all the roots are intact and no new tree will have any purchase in the ground.This is an appalling action and one feels that the local community should make a victim impact statement. I remember the people of Terenure twenty years ago saved their trees from road widening . One wonders where the local residents , their representatives were on this.

Thank you Samuel Beckett.

On your last point, they were busy voting in favour of the works.

The stumps will be removed as part of the civil works.

Semi-mature replacement trees are part of the published scheme.


The loss of the mature trees is unfortunate, but they are becoming dangerous and personally Im glad my aging parents wont be breaking their necks on the uneven path slabs.

Bobby Buckley

Thank you for the response. I am sorry that your parents have now to live in a sudden environmentally impoverished area.

Bobby Buckley

The late Trees of Braemor Road March 17th 2013.
I was so upset over those Braemor Road trees
When I turned the bend and only saw wires
The trees were gone ,no more Springs again to please.

In my mind that avenue was destroyed by bullies
Who only wished to fulfil their own desires
A place for concrete, bike paths and all that sullies.

Instantly a sylvan suburb is cut to its knees
By he/she who plan and faraway conspires
Seeing only lines, designs and full fat fees.

In its bright bedrooms Braemor is strip teased
As the 15 bus looks on as it attires
Without the trees shade there could well now be orgies.

Not likely , most of the residents are in their sixties
And feel the need to take their ease, retire.
No tree karma, there could well be queues in the A&E’s.

The DLR has spoken, there are to be no great trees
Only pristine pavements with pristine tyres,
A few wired saplings trapped in the breeze.
They care for the environment. OH Please! Please! Please!.

Solair

Could they not have just undergrounded the ugly utility cables and thus avoided having to lop the trees in future?

It also would have gotten rid of a lot of poles which would have made more room for cycle paths etc.

Whole thing sounds idiotic!

By the looks of the above photo, they chose some pretty horribly utilitarian lamps too.

Bobby Buckley

Once the trees are cut all that infrastructural wiring become evident.:):)

fussyonion

*pops in to chuckle at the email address "whorgan" and pops back out again*

Bobby Buckley

!

somme mud

Juat heard about this today. Have been driving down thhis road all my life,and it has given much pleasure. Drove down it today and was sick to see what has been done . All my children who are cyclists say the cydle track is unsafe and use the road. However i dont understand how it was necessary to cut down mature trees. Trees approaching there life span arent we all. i examined what is left and the look particularly healthy to me . Its too late now but wouldnt it be a good idea to let Mr Horgan (e-mail address on the notice)know how people feel about this. In times of austerity is this a priority? Given residents of Dlcoco are the highest payers of household tax in the country should we not have some say in what is done in advance.

somme mud

Larbre34 wrote: »

Thank you Samuel Beckett.

On your last point, they were busy voting in favour of the works.

The stumps will be removed as part of the civil works.

Semi-mature replacement trees are part of the published scheme.


The loss of the mature trees is unfortunate, but they are becoming dangerous and personally Im glad my aging parents wont be breaking their necks on the uneven path slabs.

Have you asked your aged parent what they think of the loss of these beautiful trees?

older i get better i was

Shame trees are gone , usual council hammer to crack a nut reaction, expect an unsatisfactory finish to job, que start up of action group years of letters to and fro, just when you put your house up for sale to retire to wexford, it'll get sorted, by mistake!! Mr Keegan is an accident waiting to happen.

Mort5000

You're not doing too badly if you can spend almost 3 pages complaining about trees in your area.
Imagine something serious happened in the area....