Providing certainty for #NorthInnerCity households on Bike Bunker scheme

The introduction of the Bike Bunker project was a very welcome one. Especially for residents and householders in the North Inner City, where outdoor space is at an absolute premium.

More often than not, householders who cycle and have bikes, have to store them in their front hall or even front room because of the lack of outdoor space within the curtilage of their homes. That’s why when Dublin City Council proposed such an on-street bunker storage scheme, I was all in favour of it. Indeed, I was happy to support many applications and requests from the North Inner City for the roll out of same in communities like Stoneybatter, for example.

However, over the last couple of months, I have continued to receive emails, calls and other contact from people either living in the area or who have just moved into the area seeking to avail of the Bike Bunker scheme. For those new residents, especially in Stoneybatter, the provision of the Bike Bunker scheme was added attraction to their moving here. That’s why I have been pursuing the delay in new applications, advancing existing requests with City Council officials.

Again, this week, at the monthly meeting of the Dublin Central Area Committee, I sought the North Inner City Area Manager to explain why applicants in Stoneybatter are now having to wait twelve months for consideration of their request and whether he felt this was acceptable.

In response to my questioning, the Senior Executive Engineer with the Active Travel Programme Office of Dublin City Council advised me that a review of the “Bike Bunker Project is underway by ARUP Consultants”. The purpose of the review, I was told, would be to “produce a comprehensive report on the Bike Bunker Scheme from its initial trial, including the existing scheme, providing strategic recommendations and possible future proposals”. While I appreciate and accept the need to review schemes such as the Bike Bunker, we cannot allow a situation where applicants are waiting up to and more than twelve months for an answer or confirmation as to whether this initiative will be continued, let alone, whether their application will be processed. This is not the way to do business nor is it the way to treat Dubliners.

So, what do I want to see happen? Firstly, I want confirmation of the timeframe for the completion of the review and when the recommendations will be presented. Secondly, a clear road-map for the implementation of these recommendations and thirdly, an expedited process to examine and make a decision on existing applications for the further roll-out of the Bike Bunker scheme. There are times when I feel Dublin City Council is its own worst enemy. The failure to communicate with Dubliners and Councillors alike results in the creation of vacuum and gets peoples’ backs up unnecessarily so.

As Chair of the Dublin Central Area Committee and a member of the Council’s Corporate Policy Group, I will be seeking to have this issue and the Bike Bunker team appear before the April meeting of the Committee, so that I and my Councillor colleagues can secure clear next steps in the effective delivery of what is an important initiative for Inner City families and households.