A ‘cyclists dismount’ sign and restrictive barrier built on the main pedestrian and cycle route around the €215 million Dunkettle Interchange road project to be “reviewed”.
Conn Donovan, the former chairperson of the Cork Cycling Campaign, said: “Over a year ago, the Dunkettle Road Construction Team agreed to provide a more inclusive design to access the shared path for walkers and cyclists.”
He said that the intention was to provide a 5 metre gap between the two gates, but he said: “As of yesterday, this has still not happened.”
He said the best solution would be well-spaced bollards.
He added: “Most people can cycle through these gates, but when I was monitoring the emails for the Cork Cycling Campaign, we would get a lot of emails from people with trikes, cargo bikes, and trailers saying they couldn’t get their bikes through these gates or not without difficulty.”
IrishCycle.com asked Transport Infrasture Ireland (TII) if it could comment on why the barrier has remained unchanged, which is clearly not inclusive or accessible.
A spokesperson for TII said: “The Dunkettle Project team and Cork County Council are investigating the functionality and usage of the current cycleway gates design within the Dunkettle Interchange. The cycleway gates are there to address safety concerns regarding the proximity of the cycleway to the motorway.”
The barrier is close to the motorway, but there are far more substantial barriers between it and the motorway.
The TII spokesperson said: “A more detailed review of the potential consequences of redesigning or removing the cycleway gates is required before any changes can be made to the existing layout. This review is currently underway and once it is complete any modifications or removal of the cycleway gates will be implemented.”
However, Donovan said that he was told by the project team last year that the barrier would be changed.
He said: “The last email I had from the Project Team in June 2023 stated that there was an intention to provide a 5 metre clearance between the barriers, to provide colour differentiation on the path, and to remove the dismount cyclists sign. This work was not completed, for reasons I am unaware of.”
“I suggested that bollards would be a suitable design solution last year, and if the design team is conducting a second/new review of the access controls, I would ask that bollards be considered again,” he said.
Donovan said: “The August 2022 Rural Cycleway Design guidance endorses the use of bollards (as an alternative to a staggered gate for access control in some instances). Bollards would also be in-keeping with the access control design solution applied by Cork County Council along the Bury’s Bridge to the Elm Tree Pedestrian and Cycle Path.”
Donovan said that the project team said he was the only one to raise the issue but that the campaign were hearing it directly from cyclists after the project opened. He said: “I wouldn’t expect that many emails have been sent to the Dunkettle Team about this as the active travel facility is rather isolated from safe cycling infrastructure currently.”
He said that it would remain isolated until Cork City Council’s Glanmire to City Phase 1 and 2 projects are delivered. But as it’s part of the Cork to Waterford Pathfinder scheme, it will likely see more users in the coming years, including people with adapted bikes, trikes, wide panniers, children, etc.
As irishcycle.com reported in 2022, all local authorities have been instructed by the Minister of Transport to remove barriers like these in public areas, for universal access.
You should see what Mayo CoCo did to the Great Western Greenway with the €250 million N5/N59 road project. They were conditioned by An Bord Pleanala to provide an underpass or bridge for greenway users to cross this brand new road. They duly constructed an underpass, and a combined cycleway and footpath connecting the South side of the underpass to the Greenway route. On the Northside, there is a 300 metre gap to the Greenway. Greenway users are now obliged to cross the N5 at an “uncontrolled crossing” on a roundabout at the N5/N59 interchange.
I will admit there is a Part 8 application in progress to make the final 300 metre connection to greenway, and reducing Speed limits on this road are under discussion, however there is no time frame for these works and this is now the second Summer that Greenway users have to use the roundabout.
You couldn’t make it up!