Sir, – While many of us are saddened by the recent closure of the laneway linking Abbey Street to the Quays in Dublin, a more prevalent issue is the blocking up of laneways in the suburbs.
The Government will happily spend tens of millions building bypasses to cut 10-15 minutes off motorway travel, however blocking up a laneway often adds 10-15 minutes to a pedestrian route.
People will speculate that the bare cinder block and broken concrete laneways through the suburbs attract antisocial behaviour so they must be closed off, but we should ask at what cost: lost time, complexity of travel, car dependency, fewer people using our streets?
Local councils have the technology at their disposal to open up pedestrian connectivity through the suburbs and get people moving for a fraction of the cost of shaving a few minutes off a motorway journey!
Eight deaths in first month of high school football season all part of the demented game
To agree on an all-Ireland future, our past must not be concealed or forgotten
Will & Harper review: Will Ferrell reconnects with trans friend in this feel-good odyssey
Is now the time to buy a new home? Politicians may not provide the answers you need
Alongside the obvious benefits of better connectivity for residents, putting archways at entrances, naming the laneway after people of note and applying a lick of paint on those cinder blocks are just a few ideas that could help sway local opinions.
For inspiration, I’d recommend taking cues from the suburbs of Dubrovnik or Venice where the laneways are beautifully adorned and utilised to their full potential. – Yours, etc,
CATHAL MELINN,
Whitehall,
Dublin 9.