ONE of the most contentious proposals in the new Dun Laoghaire Rathdown draft development plan is the proposal to complete what is officially known as the "Monkstown Ring Road".
The aim of this scheme is to reduce commuter "rat running" through some prestige residential areas and to provide a more direct link from Dundrum to Dun Laoghaire, in the interests of uniting the new county.
Much of this ring road is already in place, but its completion would require the demolition of a group of single storey houses called Yankee Terrace, dating from the turn of the century.
Otherwise, the draft plan includes no new major road proposals - apart from schemes already on the stocks, such as the long delayed Southern Cross and South Eastern motorways. Car ownership rates in the Dun Laoghaire area are high, with nearly one third of households having two or more cars - twice the figure for Dublin as a whole. But nearly a quarter of households have no car.
"We are trying to move towards a more sustainable approach," said Mr Richard Cremins, one of the planners who prepared the draft. "Thus, the plan talks about transportation, rather than just roads."
Even where road proposals are put forward, they usually incorporate cycle ways indicated by little red bike symbols on the development plan maps. (Pedestrian routes or rights of way are shown by little blue feet).
Guided by the "vision" of the Dublin Transportation Initiative's final report, the plan also identifies Luas "park and ride" sites in locations such as Balally, south of Dundrum, and Sandyford Industrial Estate.
It contains a specific objective to put new buildings underneath the dramatic cable stay bridge proposed by the Luas project team at Dundrum, to reinforce its role as a significant town centre.
The county council is still planning a new access road across the railway line between Seapoint and the West Pier to give access to an area known as the Gut.