There could be a long-awaited early Christmas present in store for people who cycle in Dublin as a long-delayed report on the Liffey Cycle Route is set to be finalised.
“Work on the Liffey Cycle Scheme is at a very advanced stage and we hope to have it completed next month,” said Dermot O’Gara, a spokesman for the National Transport Authority (NTA), by email about a week ago.
While readers of IrishCycle.com will be sceptical of any new deadline for the route, this website understands that substantial progress should be made before Christmas.
Dublin City Council recently told IrishCycle.com that it had not seen the report and it had been several week since the NTA were in contact over the route, but it is now understood that the council and NTA have since discussed the route.
The pre-planning stage for the Liffey Cycle Route started 7 years ago in 2011 with the Sunday Times reporting on it in November of that year.
The proposal first appeared in the Dublin City development plan after councillors at the time voted for a “continuous cycleway” to be in place between Heuston Station and the Docklands before 2017.
The project has, however, run into a number of setbacks. It has faced strong opposition, the proposal of sub-standard detours, and politicians fearmongering over knock-on effects of possible traffic displacement. Meanwhile, the Dublin Cycling Campaign is continuing its monthly family-friendly protests along the quays in support of the route.
The NTA took charge 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.
The NTA hired consultants to look at all previous options looked at, any possible alternatives, or any combinations and issue a report on this. But the authority has missed at least four deadlines to release the report.
So…. soon…… But, when exactly? For the love of Odin, this is taking longer to build than Hadrian’s Wall.
And when we do get the details, will we all be disappointed by the continued lack of vision and political will?
I won’t be holding my breath for a ‘good’ route outcome!
Fingers crossed