Persistent anti-social activity in the lane connecting Craigford Avenue and the Malahide Road has led residents of Craigford Avenue and surrounding houses on the Malahide Road to call for its permanent closure by Dublin City Council.

This pedestrian thoroughfare has become a magnet for antisocial activity and illegal dumping on a weekly, if not daily basis, including public urination, illegal dumping, setting fires, graffiti and public drink and drug taking.

Broken glass, abandoned shopping trollies, burned rubbish, empty nitrous oxide canisters, household debris and cigarette butts strewn throughout the lane on any given week present a risk to health to residents living beside the lane as well as those passing through it.

Residents have previously reported criminal damage to their boundary walls from graffiti and fire setting, as well as loitering and rough sleeping in the laneway itself.

The lane is also used by cyclists, fast food delivery drivers and e-scooter users who travel through the lane and onto the adjoining pavement on Craigford Avenue, often at high speeds, putting residents at risk – particularly young children and older residents being helped into cars outside their homes.

The proposed closure of Craigford Avenue lane coincides with a number of lanes in Dublin city being permanently closed off to the public due to antisocial behaviour and illegal dumping – Harbour Court, D1 and Swan Alley, D8.

Any arguments in favour of keeping the lane open as a public thoroughfare for ease of access to the Malahide Road are undermined by its unsafe state – litter, debris and broken glass regularly strewn throughout the lane pose a serious risk to public health. The closure of this lane would add less than three minutes to the journey of any member of the public accessing the Malahide Road on foot, by instead travelling via Killester Avenue.

Furthermore, Bus Connects has been granted permission by An Bord Pleanala to remove the bus stop Killester Avenue (1220). Once this bus stop has been removed, there will be even less of a requirement of the general public to seek to cut through the lane to Craigford Avenue, further undermining any arguments in favour of keeping the lane open as a public thoroughfare for ease of access to and from the Malahide Road.

The residents of Craigford Avenue and surrounding houses on the Malahide Road strongly urge Dublin City Council to close this lane permanently for the safety and wellbeing of those who live nearby as well as that of the general public.