South Beach Access
Councillor Lourda Scott has this week confirmed that Irish Rail will fix the existing railway bridge at the second arch by South Beach playground in Greystones where flooding frequently occurs.
Cllr Scott had contacted Irish Rail after the installation of the accessible boardwalk over the summer, when it became evident that completion of the boardwalk was not possible until the flooding was fixed.
'Flooding under this bridge has always been an issue,' she said. "After speaking with our local engineer it was confirmed that the solution lay with Irish Rail and until it was resolved the boardwalk at the southern end could not be finished. This means that people in wheelchairs can't access the boardwalk from the southern end , which is nearest to the carpark by the playground. Obviously this is not ideal and while many people have been enjoying this new amenity, it wasn't fully serving its purpose. I had previously worked with the access officer in Irish Rail on getting wheelchair access to Kilcoole beach. They were very willing to engage and the works done at Kilcoole have been excellent. So when the problem arose in Greystones I spoke to the Irish Rail access officer in December about a solution to the flooding. I followed up with their Infrastructure Manager in the early New Year to keep the issue prioritised. I was delighted today to get confirmation that works will be done to fix the bridge to prevent any more flooding by mid April. I will continue to ensure that the next steps are taken to ensure full access from the boardwalk from both entry points. I am very impressed Irish Rail and how proactive they were on getting back to me on this matter. .It also highlights the value of having an access officer in an organisation. Even though in this case access to Irish Rail facilities wasn't affected, I believe having a person dedicated to coordinating assistance to people with disabilities really helped me to keep this matter prioritised.
