NEWS IN BRIEF: Two deadlines to respond to public consultation on Fingal County Council cycling projects are this Thursday.
The projects are Harry Reynolds Road Cycle and Pedestrian Route, a walking and cycling route in Balbriggan, and the Fingal Coastal Way, which is planned to be a greenway linking Newbridge Demesne, Donabate, Rush, Loughshinny, Skerries and Balbriggan.
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You can make a submission and find documents at consult.fingal.ie/browse.
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I live in Skerries and although in theory I am not against a greenway in Fingal and have particularly enjoyed the Waterford greenway. I feel that the people planning the Fingal greenway are not taking into account how disruptive this project is going to be for the people who live in estates and roads along the planners preferred route. It is not the preferred route of the people that live along this route.
I have friends and family that live along the proposed route I can see how much this is going to effect the way they live and disrupt their lives.
This does not happen on the Waterford greenway as it’s an old railway track and that protects any personnel space that people living along the Route have.
It’s so unfair that no consideration has been given to the people living along the route the planners have chosen, from Donabate, Rush, Loughshinny. The south strand, Quay Street and Hoar Rock in Skerries. People come to Skerries for picnics and to enjoy the coast on the south strand which at the moment prohibits cycling for safety reasons a cycle track would destroy the south strand.
I believe no consideration has been given to car parking along the way as I know someone asked about car parking at one of the meetings and no one could answer that question. The Waterford greenway has car parks as I’ve used them.
Hampton Cove and the Bower in Balbriggan are going to totally change for the people living there with Hampton Coves access road becoming a Continual highway it is just an access road to the estate not a highway, this is an estate where children play, it Would also mean they loose there green space which is there for anyone to use but in a quiet way a green way doesn’t work like that. It is a constant movement of people and cyclists. The planners haven’t even got the name right. They have called Part of it Fancourt Heights and Fancourt Heights is not on the coast it is behind the Bower.
Do the people planning this realise how much this is going to alter the lives of the people that live along this route.
no one would want to stop anyone enjoying the coast along this route and as it is now they can still enjoy our lovely coast but in a quiet way and not as a major highway.
There was a demonstration in Balbriggan and the people representing the planners that night left before anyone could put their objections forward.
Loughshinny wasn’t even given a meeting to put their objections forward.
I would urge the planners to rethink their preferred route. The road above where I live the Barnageerah road is perfect for a cycle route so maybe there could be alterations made to the whole route.
Hi Joy and Tom,
You ask “Do the people planning this realise how much this is going to alter the lives of the people that live along this route”, but sorry to say that your idea that people area going to overrun by greenway users is sign that you (1) have fallen for scaremongering or (2) wilfully spreading such. I cannot possibly know which one of those is true, but I can say that you are misrepresenting the reality of greenways.
I agree with you on South Strand — cycling there should not be mixed with walking and instead use the roadway (that might be with traffic calming or reallocating the space for a cycle path).
Greenways in different parts of the country use residential streets and housing estates: https://irishcycle.com/2022/12/22/scaremongering-in-balbriggan-and-skerries-doesnt-stack-up-irish-greenways-do-go-via-residential-streets-and-housing-estates/