1675. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has ever considered the ideas of the Dutch road planner, Hans Monderman, in the management of traffic in urban areas; if he will provide details of same; if he will consider a pilot scheme in line with same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38122/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I understand that Mr. Monderman promoted the concept of a 'Shared Space' approach to urban design, a type of approach which has gained increased momentum in Ireland in recent years.

The importance of street design in supporting and encouraging sustainable travel patterns in urban areas is recognised in the Smarter Travel policy under the theme of aligning spatial planning and transport. There is a growing appreciation that streets should not just be transport corridors, but rather should be places in which people want to live and spend time. To that end, my Department, together with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, launched a Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) in March 2013.

The Manual, which is available on my Department's website , sets out design guidance and standards for constructing new and reconfiguring existing urban roads and streets in Ireland. It aims to end the practice of designing streets as exclusively traffic corridors and instead focuses on their wider use to include for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. DMURS emphasises the role of streets as social spaces, where people come first and uses practical examples from Irish cities and towns to show how these issues can be designed for and managed successfully. The transformation envisaged is not to the total exclusion of the car but is rather about achieving a better balance in how our urban roads and streets are designed and used. In recent years, many local authorities in Ireland have been to the forefront of modern street design that supports sustainability objectives.