Councillors want Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to construct its section of the Sutton to Sandycove cycle route along Dublin bay by 2019.
The Sutton to Sandycove (S2S) campaign group said on Twitter this week thanked councillors for for attempting to push the project ahead.
It said that councillors, this week, agreed to the following motion: “That this Council supports the development and construction of the Sutton to Sandycove cycleway and commits to its completion in the lifetime of this Council, provided there is the fullest protection of the environment and the integrity of the seafront, total compliance with all EU Directives on environmental and wildlife protection, full compliance with the Aarhus convention particularly in relation to public consultation.”
Councillors Deirdre Kingston (Labour) and Barry Ward (FG) said that the route should stick to the coast and not be diverted inland.
However officials said that “there are significant environmental issues”, saying that the route may have go leave the coast at Booterstown.
The 22km S2S route is listed in the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network as a smaller section of the “East Coast Trail” strategic greenway, which is planned to stretch from Arklow to Drogheda. While the S2S campaign has been running since 2002, sections of the coastal trail outside of the Dublin Bay area have already progressed to planning – including a section from Malahide and Donabate.
The overall project has a long and mixed history. According to a report published by this site in 2011, the section of route covering most of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area, from Sandymount to Dun Laoghaire (Sean Moore Park to East Pier), has an estimated cost of €74.4 million. This is mainly due to the route being linked with expensive flood defences.
On the north side, phase 1, the Dollymount promenade and flood defences across from Bull Island was first stalled with An Bord Pleanala for a number of years and is now awaiting a revised construction date. Another section between the Docklands and Fairview Park had part 8 planning but objections from residents of East Wall convinced Dublin City councillors to drop the plans.
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No doubt they will be still talking about it in 2025 if they dont make a start on it soon. They could certainly start on the part between Bull Island and the Causeway ,just narrow the road like they promised and put it in. Then put in the Flood defences afterwards ,they are going to have to heighten the Sea Wall sometime or other by how much is another thing but this has nothing to do with Cycling. Along Sandymount they will have to bite the Bullet and narrow the road ,this will make it safer for all ,Car users as well as Cyclists and pedestrians as it will force the cars to slow down. All of this of course needs Political will by not giving in to the Motoring Lobby. At the moment in Sandymount they installed these Mini Roundabouts with Path extensions which makes them a dangerous pinch point. I normally go out a half metre to stop Motorists trapping me in the gap between the Roundabout and the path but this does not always work right,you have to be quick to avoid being trapped.