Dublin City Council cuts costs on zebra crossings with new ‘signage-only’ design

Dublin is rolling out a new, cost-effective, signage-only zebra crossing model to replace the previous design that cost up to €100,000 each

News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 17:02, 18 Aug 2026 View Image Zebra crossing on South William Street (Image: Dublin City Council)

New signage-only zebra crossings are being rolled out across Dublin as a cost-cutting measure, replacing older designs priced at up to €100,000 each.

Previous designs included flashing amber beacons and raised platforms that caused a significant spike in costs. Dublin Live previously reported an extra €1 million had been allocated for Dublin zebra crossings in 2026, but councillors felt there was a need to rethink the prior designs to ensure those funds could meaningfully tackle the need.

A successful trial of the new design was carried out last year by the Department of Transport in conjunction with the National Transport Authority. This flat design saw traditional flashing beacons replaced with a 600mm square sign and a fluorescent yellow border containing the image of a man crossing the road.

Secondary legislation has also been brought in that states all vehicles must stop and yield right of way to any pedestrian wasting to cross or crossing, whereas before they only had to yield to pedestrians on the crossing. These new crossings have been classified as ‘Type B’ crossings and are replacing the previous iteration under that category.

Building work has begun on 10 new zebra crossings due for completion in September. A further 10 crossings are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The new crossings were reported by The Journal and the first round includes:

The old ‘Type B’ were previously agreed as the standard crossing for the city, but the raised platform aspect meant costs often ballooned to up to €100,000 each. The reason for such high costs were due to the drainage implications of the raised platforms, which meant the council had to work with Irish Water to ensure they connect back to the nearest drainage.

This turned what was thought to be a “cheap alternative” for pedestrian prioritisation into something far more costly, according to Senior Transportation Officer Karen Hosie, speaking at last year’s November Mobility and Public Realm SPC meeting.

Dublin city has seen a significant increase in zebra crossings in recent years, with nine new crossings installed in 2025 alone.

“We realised over the duration of these works that the cost of the raised platform could vastly increase the cost of the crossing,” Ms Hosie stated last year. Now the council has done away with the raised platform and implemented other measures to ensure speed reduction in the lead up to the crossing.

This includes introducing the crossings in areas where the speed limit is no greater than 50km/h, two-way traffic volume does not exceed 500 vehicles per hour in areas without a middle pedestrian island, or 750 vehicles per hour with a middle pedestrian island. There also must be adequate lighting and just one traffic lane in each direction.

Dublin City Council also outlined the details of Type A and Type C crossings:

Speaking at the November Mobility SPC, Chairperson Councillor Janet Horner said it is important to get “bang for our buck” when it comes to zebra crossings and welcomed the plan to increase their numbers around the city.

“We have allocated money to ensure we can deliver at scale. I think sometimes drivers struggle with zebra crossings when they don’t expect them, the more we have the more likely they are to work,” the Green Party councillor said.

“Having one or two in isolation doesn’t work as well as having a density of them. If we can get to the stage in this city where we have normalised zebra crossings and they are prevalent enough that people expect them, then I think we will see significantly improved driving behaviour and safety.”

Dr Robbie Sinnott, Voice of Vision Impairment, stated that, from a disability proofing perspective, crossings without raised platforms are more appropriate and called the previous design “reckless” and “really bad for guide dogs.” “There’s no need for raised crossings, the traditional drop crossings are absolutely perfect, they have always worked,” he said at the Mobility SPC.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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