— Project is funded and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown hopes it will start this year.
— Dublin City and South Dublin sections also funded to be constructed this year.
— Dodder Rd Lower will link to 3km of existing routes and more once other projects are built.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is proposing that its section of the Dodder Road Lower will be made one-way for motorists to allow for the advancing of the Dodder Greenway in a more rapid build manner, as part of the wider push to build the route quicker which was announced last year.
The Dodder Road Lower section was last week given a funding allocation of €600,000, while one of the key missing sections in the South Dublin area is also funded with €3 million to go to construction this year, while the quick-build sections in Dublin City Council have been allocated €4.5 for construction this year.
South Dublin County Council has advanced most of its urban section of the route, while Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council are now taking a quicker-build approach to upgrading sections of the route in their areas. See below for more.
The greenway will, when finished, stretch around 19km from the River Liffey at the Docklands to beyond Tallaght.
Dodder Road Lower
Conor Geraghty, the senior engineer on the active travel team at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said that the project, in construction terms, was much like an extension last year to the Coastal Mobility Route on the Rock Road which was build using quick-build methods.
There are no points to access along this section except for an ESB subsection, he said. It is expected that public consultation will start in March 2024.
Cllr Anne Colgan (independent) asked what, as part of the project, is going to happen on Orwell Walk. Geraghty said a signalised crossings will be put in place to get people walking and cycling across the main road.
No other changes will happen on Orwell Walk as part of this project. Geraghty said that the permanent Dodder project will look at improving the current footbridge, which includes steps and bridges the Dodder between Orwell Walk into Dartry Park.
Jim O’Leary (FG) asked if it will start this year and any update on the other section of the route within the DLRCC area which the council is to upgrade. Geraghty said that this section is processing faster as it is all along the roadway on Dodder Road Lower and because the other current section that the council is progressing is an existing usable link.
Cllr Daniel Dunne (Green Party) asked for the green area beside the road to be protected.
Cllr Oisín O’Connor (Green Party) said that schemes where roads where roads are being made one-way often are contentious and asked if the information will be put out on traffic counts. He said he thinks that traffic volumes would be low enough for the project not to have a major impact but asked if was there data available on such.
He said that he presumes that the logic of the scheme is to protect the trees and hedgerows, and said that the only likely alternative was to rip out trees and bushes, which would be undesirable. Anybody looking to reject this plan for an alternative would effectively be looking for the destruction of that greenery.
Cllr Peter O’Brien (Labour), who is on the Dodder Greenway working group, looked for progress on the next section in the council’s area.
The images below are from a presentation given to councillors — higher quality images will be published soon as part of the public consultation.
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How the route will link towards the Docklands
Towards the city area, the next section runs along low-traffic streets in the Orwell Walk housing estate and via Dartry Park, but there is a bridge including a few steps on each side of it. It will take more major work to improve the accesability around this narrow bridge.
East of the park, Dublin City Council is proposing an on-road like as far as the Dundrum Road, north of the river. This project is billed as being built to “facilitate a continuous route along the Dodder corridor in advance of the Dodder Greenway project” and is now at its public consultation stage until March 15.
It is desired that the long-term route route continues from Dartry Park to the Dundrum Road via the south bank of the river.
From Patrick Doyle Road to the Dundrum Road and on to the Clonskeagh Road there is another section which is currently passable but which Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is to upgrade at least some of, especially in light of extra use once the route is linked up.
From the Clonskeagh Road to Donnybrook Road via Beaver Row, Dublin City Council is proposed to install a sub-standard shared walking and cycling path along the existing road. This will also include making a section of Beaver Row one-way for motorists.
The Beaver Row project just ends at the bus depot while the new shared greenway path starts after the north end of the Anglesea Bridge, which means there’s a short missing link where it’s messy to continue along the route and it’s unclear if anything will be advanced here ahead of BusConnects. The new short section of greenway which was opened last week runs from the Donnybrook Road into the existing path in Herbert Park.
Another quick-build Dublin City project is planned to link from the northeast end of the part at Herbert Park Lane to Ballsbridge Road via Anglesea Road along the side of the RDS.
As part of this, a new crossing will link across the Ballsbridge Road to the existing shared route which crosses Lansdowne Road and goes onto London Bridge Road. From London Bridge Road to Ringsend Bridge, Dublin City Council also proposes an upgrade to and linking up of existing paths. Beyond Ringsend Bridge is likely to take heavier construction to get into the Docklands.
The quick-build sections in the Dublin City area are funded but it’s unclear which sections will proceed first or if the council manages to proceed with them this year.
How the route will link towards Tallaght
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s section on the Dodder Road Lower will link to a recently opened two-way cycle path on the same road in the South Dublin County Council area. To be exact, because of the way the boundary is on the road, South Dublin County Council will have to mirror a short section of the one-way plan.
The proposed two-way path is around 400 metres long but this will link to over 3km of existing routes — including a 2km long existing two-way path on Dodder Road Lower and Dodder View Road and into the 1km long upgraded shared greenway path behind the Tesco Superstore at the Rathfarnham Shopping Centre.
South Dublin County Council then has a shot section of around 580 metres to be completed on-road on part of Butterfield Ave and Firhouse Road, as mentioned above this if funded for this year. Once that is finished, it will link onto a 4km upgraded off-road shared path which in turn links into the local cycle network which South Dublin County Council is building using mainly quick-build methods.
I have been waiting for this to drop with interest, I live very close and have used the Dodder to cycle down to the west link bridge for years and I use the fantastic new sections running the opposite direction with a child on the back into creche in Rathfarnham village daily.
I would be interested to see the traffic numbers as a not insubstantial amount of traffic uses lower Dodder road daily and I can’t see how there isn’t a knock on effect of routing that traffic up to mount carmel and back around to Orwell road, so it is definitely going to be contentious.
Presumably the reason they are avoiding running through Orwell and Dartry parks is the narrow section running along the Dodder between both of these parks (I think there is ample room in the parks to accommodate bike tracks without removing too much greenery), but the track between would only possible as a (dare I even say it) shared space.
I cycle through both regularly and its not much hassle but do have to reduce your speed and be mindful so it probably won’t work for higher volumes.
I’d guess the existing underpass from lower dodder beneath Orwell road to Orwell walk is too narrow and low to be on option of avoiding signalled crossing of Orwell road.
It would be nice to see some joined up thinking by adding proper cycle lanes from Orwell road up to Rathgar, currently there are none on a very wide road which is usually so narrow along the section by Rostrevor Terrace with parking allowed on both sides as to be often impassible for buses while other traffic is on coming.
From my own perspective the dodder green way has had more negatives that positives in this unfinished project by our famous four local authorities. However it could be argued that I am just a cynical human. But from growing up and using the dodder the changes having always been good we have lost so many birds bees butterfly’s insects and never mind the different species off fish that survived in this beautiful river and all these species also had a job to do but for nature not material vanity. I am all for lower emissions and do understand green ways but at what cause to destroy or protect nature wild meadows will work over time as long as the love and attention is put In but for creating artifical meadows from my own perspective will never work unless we start using seeds from our own native plants that are still around but slowly disappearing. One question I would like to ask the Four chief executive officers and each directors off all the different departments in all local four local authorities did anyone consider the knock effect yous would have on nature we have also lost native bees native tees from disease over importing these examples ie dying Ash now we are importing hedgerows to plant all over ireland
Which bit of greenary or nature do you think is affected by a lane of traffic being taken away?
Have to say if I’m recreationally cycling to Bohernabreena or along the Dodder and in no hurry, I’d still rather do it going through parks and woodland, rather than beside fast moving noisy traffic. Not sure I’d call that a Greenway. I hope they’re not going to stop cyclists using the old route entirely.
Presumably the reason they are avoiding running through Orwell and Dartry parks is the narrow section running along the Dodder between both of these parks (I think there is ample room in the parks to accommodate bike tracks without removing too much greenery), but the track between would only possible as a (dare I even say it) shared space.
I cycle through both regularly and have done for years following the Dodder down to Westlink bridge (a very enjoyable commute) its not much hassle but do have to reduce your speed and be mindful so it probably won’t work for higher volumes.
Pity they couldn’t join Dartry park with the Dropping Well path- there’s an old closed off bridge there and wouldn’t need to take much of the golf practice area.
The ‘greenway’ plans all seem more like commuter-ways, which is certainly needed, but would have been nicer to see routes that were a bit more rambling, through the parks etc.,