— Group highlights health and accessibility improvements greenway will bring.
A group of residents have come together under the banner of Cabinteely Community Greenway to support the proposed Cabinteely Greenway project after a recent information event turned heated.
The opposition to the urban greenway, which is mainly via Cabinteely Greenway and green areas between Cornelscourt and Cherrywood, includes opening up access points to the park into residential areas and fears around the loss of car parking.
The behaviour of some attendees opposing the project at a recent meeting was described on social media as “incredibly rude” including “interrupting and laughing” at a consultant from the engineering firm designing the greenway while she made a presentation on the project.
On its website, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council describes the Cabinteely Greenway as a new route which will “focus on safety and convenience, connecting” the communities in the area.
It said: “This route isn’t just for getting from point A to B – it can be a nature stroll or a safe, hassle-free school run with your kids. The new cycle paths will grant you an enjoyable bike ride, instead of the car journey and morning traffic.”
On the project page, the council said: “The route will include features designed to boost your well-being and enhance your connection with nature. These features and designs will be co-created with the local community.”
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said it is “committed to hearing everyone’s concerns, additional thoughts, questions or suggestions”.
Paul Murphy, a resident who is an acting spokesperson for the Cabinteely Community Greenway group, which has been formed by residents who support the project, said: “Our community group emerged through a common interest, we are a variety of people who came together in support of a facility that is meaningful to us and has massive benefits for all of our members and the wider community. We didn’t all know each other, but found each other through this common interest and I suppose our interest in the greenway was strong enough to pull us into this collaboration. We see the group as an opportunity to communicate effectively to the wider community in a positive forward looking manner.”
He said the new group is “not set up directly to counter’ the opposition provided by “a small but vocal subset in the area” who oppose the project.
As IrishCycle.com reported recently, groups opposing active travel and streetscape projects often claim to an overwhelming majority in an area, but often when such groups run or support election candidates centred on opposition to the project they gain little electoral success while councillors supporting the projects in a number of high-profile areas topped the poll at the recent local elections.
Murphy continued: “But we do see the opportunity to counter any negative communication and to express the benefits we can gain from having a greenway with safe access to a great number of facilities like cinema, shopping, dining, sports, schools and leisure… it’s important also to note the advantages that the greenway can provide to wheelchair users and other mobility impaired users are immeasurable, giving ease of access to those amenities that many of us take for granted.”
He said the new group supporting the project is made up of nearly by residents who are “a diverse bunch” in how they commute. He said: “Some in the group get their kids around by cycling and others bike for leisure. Some of our group don’t even own bikes.”
Asked if the group is modeling themselves on project-focused community groups such as those who supported the Deansgrange Cycle Route or the Dun Laoghaire Living Streets, he said: “On the question of whether we aim to model ourselves on other groups in the area, we are not experienced campaigners on the whole, we want to communicate positivity and concentrate on the advantages to the community. But we have sought advice from people with some experience so that we can reach the people that deserve to hear us. Groups in Deansgrange and Dun Laoghaire for the Cycleways and Living Streets projects have been very successful in their approach and maybe we can benefit from how they generated positive dialogue.”
He said that the council has “provided a superb opportunity for the area and the connectivity across the county will be dynamic in how it changes the way we move around and interact with each other. The health benefits are obvious and the environment is a natural beneficiary of this kind of travel. The current situation in the area is not welcoming to cyclists or pedestrians, cars move too quickly, roads are too wide, vehicles are parked in sightlines and road surfaces are not viable for cyclists to navigate. These new plans are a real opportunity to protect users of passive mobility and invite new people in a holistic manner.”
Murphy added: “Of course there will be people with different views — that’s healthy, as long as they are expressed with courtesy and respect for diversity. But as an informal group with a range of practical experience in active travel challenges including walking, cycling, support for disability etc. And who share a very positive perspective on this project, we just want to provide a collective voice for that viewpoint.”
The group said that it is actively seeking support, and that people can find Cabinteely Greenway at @CabinteelyG on X/Twitter.
Fair play Paul and Co. I attended the meeting, and to say that the treatment of the speakers by one of the RAs was toxic is putting it mildly. Bear in mind that the route goes through at least 4 RAs, and the one with the most vocal vitriol is arguably least affected. While the others spoke and voiced issues with certain aspects, they were respectful. The chair of the RA was as entitled and bombastic a speaker as I have heard in some years.
For some reason he seems to think because they did a survey that got 90 residents (out of 110 who responded) to say they don’t want a greenway that that trumps the remaining thousands that live within a kilometer of the route is ridiculous.
As always, those who want this to go ahead voice their positivity through online public consultation and sit back and wait for it to implement, while those who don’t want it to happen jump up and down like spoiled entitled fatcats – contacting councillors etc. The councillors and the council executive are wise to this behaviour at this stage, as is evident in the progressing of the Living Streets, Deansgrange scheme (eventually), so hopefully this will come through to fruition some time in 2027.