Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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46. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on shared spaces for cyclists and pedestrians; and his views on whether these represent the optimum in the public realm design. [62687/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The shared space approach to urban design is addressed in the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) which is available on my Department’s website and on www.dmurs.ie. The Manual 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 traffic corridors and instead focuses on the needs of 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. Among other things, the Manual acknowledges issues that can arise for impaired users, in particular visually impaired users, where shared spaces are involved and suggests some remedial measures in that regard. Supplementary material is currently being prepared for the Manual in support of this.

In addition to the above my Department published a Traffic Sign Advice Note in November 2021 on a ‘Shared Space Sign’ which is for use for such locations. This advice note is supplemental to the Traffic Signs Manual (TSM) and provides detailed advice on signage for shared space that accompanies DMURS.