NTA also says Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme is not compatible with BusConnects plan.A local group opposed to the Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme in Dublin has posted a video claiming that Puffin crossings would make a junction or possible roundabout less safe, but research shows that these crossings are safer. The video was posted two days ago on Facebook by Tallaght Community Council a volunteer group unconnected to official local government ahead of councillors on South Dublin County Council voting on the project at their June 2026 Council Meeting, which is to be held today, Monday, June 8th at 3:30pm.The person in the video spends a considerable amount of time claiming that planned measures in the project including wider footpaths and traffic calming, which are widely seen as making streets more accessible would make them less accessible. While Puffin crossings are uncommon in Ireland, this crossing type is widely used in the UK and is designed with more accessible features than the standard signalised pedestrian crossings in Ireland, known as Pelican crossings.Puffin crossings are a more intelligent type of signal-controlled pedestrian crossing. A key difference is the inclusion of sensors that detect when pedestrians are on the road and a system that adjusts the traffic light sequence in real time this is especially important for disabled or older people who may need more time to cross the road. The use of sensors in this way solves one of the main issues older and less mobile pedestrians have with the green man time running out as they slowly cross the road. For motorists, cyclists, and buses, there is also a benefit when sensors detect that all pedestrians have cleared the crossing or where people have crossed before the green man is shown; the pedestrian phase is cancelled. The video posted on Facebook includes the complaint that the far side pedestrian lights are removed on Puffin crossings. This is the case on Puffin crossings in the UK, but examples of photos and drawings of Puffin crossings by the national roads authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, include retaining the far-side lights.South Dublin County Councils Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme consultation page does not include a high level of detail on the type of crossings to be used.The consultation documents show that two options for the main junction that features in the video that of Greenhills Road and Main Street. One option would be a smaller junction, and the other would include a mini-roundabout, with both including signalised crossings. IMAGE: A draft outline of the two options proposed both include signalised crossings. A report by UK-based TRL, a transport research consultant, for the UK Department for Transport found statistically significant safety benefits after the conversion of crossings to Puffins. They found a significant safety benefit for both pedestrian and vehicle users.The report said: In conclusion, Puffin crossings, when installed and operating in general conformance to the current guidelines, have been shown provide significant safety benefits over Pelican crossings. After conversion to Puffin from Pelican crossings, injury accident frequency for the sample assessed reduced by an average of 17%, and the combined accident data for mid-block crossing and junction conversions showed a 19% reduction, both results are statistically significant at the 5% level.NTA says project departs from BusConnects plansThe National Transport Authority has also taken issue with the Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme a submission outlines that, while the body supports public realm improvements, the plans as published conflict with the BusConnects plan for the streets covered by the councils Part 8 plan.The NTA already has planning permission for the Tallaght / Clondalkin Core Bus Corridor, and it has the legal powers to build the project. There are significant differences between the two plans, including where each removes or retains car parking and where each includes a bus gate with the BusConnects plan including a bus gate at the junction of the Old Greenhills Road and Greenhills Road, while the South Dublin County Council plan includes a bus gate on Main Street between its junctions of Old Greenhills Road and Greenhills Road.IMAGE: The BusConnects bus gate location is shown in green, while the SDCC bus gate location is shown in red. In the submission on behalf of the NTA, David Clements, a senior land use and transport planner with the national body, said: the NTA is of the view that South Dublin County Council are bound by the Development Plan to support and facilitate BusConnects, including the permitted Tallaght / Clondalkin CBC and improvements to the service network. Any proposed development which departs from the permitted CBC Scheme and any project which would potentially adversely impact public transport services in Tallaght would therefore be regarded by the NTA as potentially misaligned with the County Development Plan.He said that the NTA liaised closely with the council in advance of the publication of the Part 8 scheme, but the authority is of the view that the plans are not fully compatible its BusConnects scheme and should not proceed in its current form.The issues raised include the planning report not mentioning BusConnects, the bus stop locations being incompatible, the bus gate being different, the likelihood of rat running via the Priory car park, if the junction narrowing was done in a way that fully accounted for buses, and the inclusion of throttle gates, a type of chicane traffic calming, because of their potential to delay buses.Clements said: The narrowing of the carriageway to one lane on Main Street via to facilitate placemaking and greening would compromise bus and cycle movements. Buses travelling in opposite directions would be required to give way to each other without traffic signals. This may cause conflict and delay. Furthermore, similar conflicts involving cyclists and buses could lead to significant safety issues. These issues are compounded by the placement of a loading bay immediately in advance of the westernmost throttle gate, which would impact on forward visibility at this point if in use by large goods vehicles.He said it is unclear whether the carriageway is vertically segregated from the footpaths, as no cross-sections have been published.On this point, Clements added: However, reference is made to flush kerbs and the use of footpath and carriageway material palettes of similar colour tones. In the absence of an assurance that bus traffic and other local motorised traffic would be physically segregated from the footpath by kerbs, the NTA has serious concerns from a road safety perspective, particularly with the throttle gate design where vehicles may inadvertently traverse the pedestrian area.