Another piece added to the puzzle: Dublin City’s longest off-road cycle route is now 10km long

Dublin City’s longest off-road cycle route is 10km long, stretching from just south of Sutton Cross in Fingal to East Wall Road near Dublin Port.

Dublin City Council confirmed yesterday that the northern section of the Sutton to Sandycove (S2S) extension, now branded as part of the wider East Coast Trail route, was opened fully. The traffic lights are now turned on and barriers have been removed.

The council posted on social media: “Earlier today, the Cycleway traffic signals were activated on the Alfie Byrne and East Wall Roads and all barriers removed along the cycleway as part of the #ActiveTravelNetwork, East Coast Trail Project and #ClimateAction.”

It’s a mix of quality built over the years, but people in Dublin City can now cycle segregated from cars for 10km. An important difference compared to a few years ago is that it is part of an emerging cycle network—not of the kind that is just on paper and is only planned to be built years from now, but a network that is starting to take shape and become usable.

While there is evidence in Dublin of segregated routes resulting in an increased number of bicycles on those routes and even a link to a higher modal share of cycling for the area around such routes, international evidence suggests that a more significant uptake in cycling starts with a network of cycle routes.

You can already cycle 14km on segregated routes southbound from Sutton to Portobello, and once the Clontarf to City Centre project is finished, people will be able to cycle from in both directions and also connect to different routes along the way.

These connecting routes will include the short section of the Tolka Greenway along Fairview Park from Fairview to East Wall Road, the Grand Canal Greenway into the Docklands, the cycle paths on the north and south quays in the Docklands and soon as far as O’Connell Bridge, a connection off the quays into Westland Row via Lombard Street.

On the northside, once the Royal Canal Greenway (also under construction) is opened fully, it will link from the Docklands and North Strand Road to Glasnevin, Phibsborough, and Drumcondra, and even as far as Ashtown on the yet-to-be upgraded towpath along the canal.

On the Fingal end of the S2S route, people can already take advantage of the light segregation to 900 metres to Main Street in Baldoyle and just under 3km to Howth Village. The fact that it is light segregation, in this case, includes gaps in the protective plastic bollards at bus stops and at junctions such as Sutton Cross.

Not everything is shown on the map above; it only shows sections of routes with two-way connections and it is an illustration of the growing network, not a comprehensive guide.

Of course, in addition to cycle paths and lightly segregated cycle routes, other streets, such as low-traffic streets, expand the network further. Some people will also accept short gaps in the network while staying on a main road or make their own way along back streets (for example, connecting the light-segregated Griffith Ave route with the Clontarf route at Fairview).

The Dublin City Centre Transport Plan also aims to fill in some of the gaps in the central network.