— NTA misses four deadlines after taking over projects from council due to delays.
— Campaigners to hold cycling protest on the quays again this Sunday.
Dublin City Council said this week that the National Transport Authority (NTA) has yet to share a report on the Liffey Cycle Route — this is after the authority has missed at least four deadlines.
Pre-planning for the cycle route along Dublin’s quays started 7 years ago in 2011 with the Sunday Times reporting on it in November of that year.
The proposal was backed by city’s development plan at the time which promised that a “continuous cycleway” would be in place from Heuston station along the Liffey to dockland before 2017.
The NTA took over the planning of the project in August 2017 around the time when councillors were supposed to be on the verge of selecting between two route options.
Last year, Hugh Creegan, the NTA’s director of transport investment, said: “Unfortunately, and despite considerable efforts, the scheme has not progressed to the stage where a final scheme option has been selected and the project is in a position to move forward to implementation.”
Creegan added: “Given the length of time that has elapsed since the commencement of this project, the need to further evaluate some of the recently identified options, together with the emerging potential cost of the overall scheme, we consider that the NTA should now undertake a comprehensive review of the scheme and the various options for it delivery.”
But since the NTA took over, there have been a number of missed deadlines. At the end of August this year, an NTA spokesman said: “Work on proposals is at an advanced stage and we hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the coming weeks.”
Consultants for the NTA were contracted to review all the options that were previously looked at by the council and any alternatives, but it is unclear why the option established as the best within their contract has yet to be published. The NTA did not respond this week before the publication of this article.
This week, a spokesman for the city council said: “No report or draft report has been received from the NTA in relation to the Liffey Cycle Route.”
He added: “There are ongoing discussions with the NTA about the route, the last of which was several weeks ago.”
The Dublin Cycling Campaign said on Twitter: “Join us this Sunday 14th October for the #LiffeyCycle protest. These monthly demonstrations are highlighting the lack of progress on the Liffey Cycle Route. Meet: Grand Canal Dock. Time: 11am. Family-friendly. Tell your friends!”
Has there been any indication from back-channels as to when the report might be released?
I don’t know if my disappointment for the additional year’s delay is going to be surpassed by whatever crap plan the NTA eventually turn up with.
@alan
I’m sure that the extended delays are because they are hard at work on a genius plan that everyone will be happy with. There is no chance that we will end up with a fudge that will either deliver a half-assed version of what was originally envisaged or kill the project altogether. No chance at all.