Proposed Front of School Works Muckross Park College

School Zone Proposal Information

Dublin City Council, with the support of the National Transport Authority, proposes to implement front-of-school works to improve the safety of students and vulnerable road users accessing and exiting Muckross Park College, Donnybrook.

What are School Zones?

School Zones are built, infrastructural upgrades designed to give priority to students at the school gate by freeing up footpaths and reducing vehicle drop-offs, pick-ups and engine idling. The aim is to increase safety at the front of school and prioritise active travel (walking, cycling, wheeling and scooting) to and from school.

School Zones are implemented around the world in order to:

• Increase student safety.
• Reduce vehicle drop-offs, pick-ups and idling outside the school gate.
• Reduce congestion and prioritise active travel (walking, cycling, wheeling and scooting) to and from school.
• Encourage slow, safe driving in the area of the school.
• Promote considerate parking.
• Reduce emissions and pollution, and improve air quality and noise quality, by reducing traffic at schools and vehicles with engines idling.

Where will these works take place?

These works will take place on Marlborough Rd.

At Muckross Park College, Donnybrook, the works will consist of:

Flexible Pencil bollards will be placed along the edge of the existing zebra crossing on Marlborough Rd. This is to prevent illegal parking on the footpaths and prioritise the safety of students. These are depicted as pink dots on the design drawing as shown below. An example existing black flexi-bollards are also shown.

A ‘School Zone’ road surface sign will be painted directly on the carriage way on Marlborough Rd. This is to advise motorists that they are in a School Zone and to drive accordingly.

Colourful road markings consisting of yellow and red circles will be painted directly on Marlborough Rd. These raise awareness of the presence of the school.

The existing kerb will be broken out and dished (flush with the road carriage way) at the entrance to Sandford Avenue to provide accessible crossing.

School Ahead signs with flashing amber signals will be installed on the northern and southern approach to the Muckross Park College entrance on Marlborough Rd, to to alert drivers that they are entering a school zone and to drive accordingly.

Why are we implementing this School Zone?

Traffic-related safety concerns have been reported and observed by the school, parents, neighbours, Dublin City Council’s School Warden Service, Parking Enforcement and School Mobility Officer. These concerns include:

These concerns include:

• A newly installed raised zebra crossing outside the school is actively used by students; however, there is currently no pedestrian crossing facility at the signal-controlled junction of Marlborough Road and Sandford Ave. Some poor driver behaviour was observed despite the presence of students.
• Inadequate Signage and Road Markings; Improvements are needed to clearly signal the presence of a school zone to drivers.
• The school entrance is wide and accommodates two vehicle gates and two pedestrian gates, resulting in significant interaction between pedestrians and vehicles at the main access point.
• Conflicts were observed between students exiting the school and staff vehicles leaving the campus. Additional conflicts were observed from vehicles entering the school grounds during peak student collection periods.
• Vehicles were observed idling and informally parking around the internal roundabout while waiting for students during collection times.
• Frequent U-turn manoeuvres were observed at the main school entrance, with some drivers entering the campus to use the internal roundabout as a turning area.
• The left-hand pedestrian entrance is connected to a damaged footpath and an indirect route through the campus and was observed to be largely unused by students. The majority of students were observed using the right-hand pedestrian gate, concentrating movements at a single access point.
• The surrounding residential road network operates as a two-way system with pay-and-display parking. Reduced carriageway width caused by parked vehicles may create conflicts between opposing traffic movements.
• Road safety is a concern for members of the school community, with 48.3% of survey respondents agreeing that road safety is a problem around the school.
• Survey respondents identified improvements to cycle routes (46.6%), reduced traffic speeds (31.5%), fewer cars at the school gate (29.8%), and improved footpaths (28.1%) as measures that would improve journeys to school.
• A significant proportion of students already travel actively to school. Survey results indicate that 43.3% of students walk to school, while a further 33.6% travel by public transport.
• Among students living within 2 km of the school, 84% walk to school. In total, 48.8% of surveyed students begin their journey within 2 km of the school, indicating strong potential for walking, wheeling and cycling.

Share your thoughts on the proposed school zone from 7 Aug to 24 Aug 2026

If you would like to share comments or thoughts on these works please contact us via:

· Online survey: Please fill out the survey on this platform by pressing the 'Take Survey' button.

· Email: sustainablemobility@dublincity.ie (with Muckross Park College in the subject bar)

· Postal Address: School Mobility Programme, City Centre Transports Projects, Block 2, Floor 7, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, Ireland, D08 RF3F

This period of non-statutory consultation closes at midnight on 24 Aug 2026.

What happens next?

We will review all the comments and observations and, where appropriate, make required changes to the design. Works will then be scheduled for installation.

For the School Zone front-of-school treatment to work effectively, parents who need to drive must be willing to change their drop off and pick up habits. Parents and guardians will be encouraged not to collect and drop off within the School Zone. They must park respectfully and legally outside of the School Zone by not blocking other entrances, mounting footpaths or double parking.

A hard copy poster of the design will be on view at the school gate.