— New outbound sections to be opened next month, followed by more in August.
— Delay reasoning listed ranges from facilitating Leaving Cert to providing extra ESB ducting.
Dublin City Council has confirmed that the completion of its bus and cycle route project along North Strand Road and Fairview is delayed until at least September, with some snag work likely after that.
“The project is scheduled for completion in Q1 2024”, said a Dublin City Council press release issued on March 28th 2022. Late last year, this was extended to Q2 2024. The completion date has now been extended into at least late Q3 2024.
The new delay was confirmed 10 days ago at a meeting of the project’s consultative forum, which is made up of councillors, and stakeholder groups. But the city council has not made the information public for unknown reasons. A number of requests for comment were made to the council but were not responded to.
This website has seen a presentation to the project’s consultative forum that outlines additional items added to the original project and other factors impacting the project’s timeline.
These include the new bus stops on North Strand Road, signalisation of junctions, extra priority raised tables, extra provisions by Uisce Éireann (Irish Water), over 500 metres of extra ESB ducting, changing the central island to accommodate new bus routes in and out of Clontarf Dart Station, changes at the central island at the Westwood Gym, increased extent of full-depth road construction in a variety of areas which is intended to lengthen the life of the roadway, and replacing cast iron gas mains.
Other factors include the CIE works at Connolly Station, where scaffolding blocked the progress of the Clontarf route, and not working at the time of Leaving Cert near secondary schools to avoid a noise impact on students. This includes mocks in March, practicals in April and May and the Leaving Cert in June.
One of the last large sections of the route planned to be finished is the outbound footpath and cycle track between Fairview Strand/Edges Corner and Malahide Road, which is currently planned to be finished by the end of September 2024.
The delay in this section is listed as being due to “significant ESB diversions” and the not working around Leaving Cert dates at Marino College. Some parts of this section are largely finished, but other parts are at various stages of completion, including an open trench in the area around Marino College.
The project, which was approved by councillors in 2017 with a margin of 42 to 10 votes, has been subject to a string of misinformation, including that it’s “just a cycle route” when it includes a full-scale street and road reconstruction and water main relaying on both sides of the street.
It has also been wrongly claimed that at least two named businesses had closed because of the project, including the premises where the business owner retired and a jeweller who had planned to sell his premises and had a job lined up elsewhere before the main construction works started. New businesses have since opened at both locations.
It has also been claimed widely online that the project has lasted longer than it would, even if it was finished under the new delayed finishing date.
According to information provided to the consultative forum, the section of the route inbound at Connolly Station, the only section not already open inbound except the extra bus stop, is also due to be finished in September 2024.
Part of the route from Talbot Street outbound — which is substantially finished — is due to be open for use next month, in June 2024.
The section along North Strand Road, from Five Lamps to East Wall Road/Annesley Bridge outbound, where new bus stops are being built, is planned to be finished by the end of August 2024. So, too, is the section of the route from Annesley Bridge and Fairview Strand/Edges Corner.
The council also said that road construction and resurfacing works on the carriageway will continue at various locations each weekend until the end of August 2024. Finally, the council said, snagging works will be required along the route throughout 2024.
Two things I’d like to see sorted out. Cycle paths next to the Fairview island bus stop need to made red in colour. Bus users are stepping out in front of bikes without looking. Traffic lights at junctions need to be more sensible. We have pedestrians crossing and bikes not, and we have bikes crossing and cars turning left.
That’s the part about bus islands pedestrians have right of way but only at the crossing point however there is no training or information been given to the General public about that issue