Liffey Valley shopping centre in West Dublin is currently in the middle of a €30 million infrastructural upgrade that will, among other things, see the installation of 20 new electric vehicle chargers and the future capacity for 300 more.
The investment is primarily in the shopping centre's transport connectivity and, as well as enhancing the car parking facilities, the improvements will also see the opening of a new bus station as well a substantial increase in the cycling and walking infrastructure in the area.
Liffey Valley shopping centre has expanded since it opened in 1998; however, the site's car parking has not kept pace with demand, something the investment in the site hopes to address. Rather than expanding the number of parking spaces available however, the project is aimed at enhancing the facilities currently in place while reducing overall demand.
Better - not more - car parking
The first round of enhancements will see the addition of those 20 new EV chargers close to the main shopping centre; the only chargers in Liffey Valley at present are located in a Tesco carpark, away from the main centre. As well as the 20 new chargers, the site will be future-proofed for the addition of 300 more, meaning that the underground wiring to facilitate a much greater number of chargers to meet future demand is being put in place.
Provided by CARA, the confirmed first batch of chargers will be AC units capable of charging two electric vehicles at a time with a total maximum output of 22kW.
The previous system of angled parking bays is being replaced by wider, straight-in spaces with real-time information displays on the number of spaces available in the pipeline. A new roundabout too is designed to improve the flow of traffic in and out of the centre.
Also marking an improvement to the car parks is the addition of 69 new mobility-impaired parking spaces, 75 spaces for Parent & Child parking and 140 covered and secure spaces for bicycles. On the latter, cycling forms a big part of Liffey Valley's plans to reduce demand for car parking spaces, something underlined by the rest of its infrastructural programme.
How to reduce parking demand?
One strand of Liffey Valley's plan to reduce demand for parking spaces is one that is likely to vex motorists: by introducing paid parking from the fourth quarter of 2022. The centre's car parks face an ongoing situation with non-shoppers using the centre's free parking to park their cars for long periods. The introduction of a €2.50 parking fee for the first hour of parking - with the subsequent two hours still being free - is something that Liffey Valley hopes will mitigate the situation. A discounted rate of €2.50 per day will apply for staff.
The biggest part of the demand reduction plan, however, will see a huge improvement in public transport connectivity with the building of a new six-bay BusConnects hub to bring passengers to and from the centre and to better facilitate connections with other services.
Cycling improvements
As for cycling, the improvements at Liffey Valley will involve a major upgrade to cycle lanes and routes in the vicinity of the shopping centre, with the installation of continuous routes along both sides of Fonthill Road for both cyclists and pedestrians; new segregated walking and cycling routes through Liffey Valley's car parks will better facilitate access to the N4 footbridge with several new crossing points on Fonthill Road also making access to the shopping centre safer for cyclists and those on foot.
The works are already well under way.