Dublin City Council has said that it plans to build a 650 metre section of the interim Sandyford Clonskeagh to Charlemont Street Scheme through Ranelagh village.
The National Transport Authority rejected the previous longer interim plan based on concerns about value for money.
On the city council’s webpage for the project, the council has a notice as follows: “The Active Travel Programme Office is pleased to announce that construction on the Ranelagh Rd / Ranelagh interim scheme (from Mander’s Terrace to Woodstock Gardens) will start at Q4 2024.”
Mander’s Terrace is just north of the Luas overbridge in Ranelagh and Woodstock Gardens is just south of the village centre at Sandford Park School.
On the subpage for the interim project, the council said: “The permanent Sandyford Clonskeagh to Charlemont Street Pedestrian and Cyclist Improvement Scheme will take some time to plan and design and therefore, it is proposed to design and implement interim measures along the 650m of the Village section of the scheme from Woodstock Gardens to the Ranelagh Luas Bridge.”
It said that the “interim measures will improve accessibility and provide a safer environment for cycling”. The council claims that “The new facilities will cater for all ages and abilities, to meet existing and future demand” but the design includes buses pulling in across cycle lanes to reach the kerb, parking inside the cycle lane at one location and narrow cycle lanes on sections.
On the permanent project the council said in a report to councillors that: “The permanent scheme will deliver 3.1km of walking and cycling facilities, along Charlemont St., Ranelagh Road, Ranelagh, Sandford Road and Clonskeagh Road. A non-statutory public consultation was held in Q1 2023.”
“A total of 675 submissions were received via the online consultation hub by the closing date. Other submissions were made via email and at the Public Information Event on 7th February. A Public Consultation Report has been completed and will be published on the DCC website in Q4 2024,” the report said.
It added: “Detailed design is now underway on the permanent scheme on the section from Woodstock Gardens on Sandford Road to the City Council boundary at River Dodder on Clonskeagh Road. Engagement with local interests will continue regarding accommodation for commercial vehicle loading on the scheme.”
In other words the cycle lane will never be built in the actual town centre, but put on the long finger as usual?
Worth noting they allowed the clearly red painted and marked existing cycle lane to be parked on since they put it in from day one years ago.
Because there’s no enforcement. Without parking wardens and relying on an indifferent police force has meant that illegal and uncaring parking is culturally embedded at this stage.
On this one DCC are in contention for the longest lead time per km of cycle track anywhere in the world.
At this rate the Metro to Charlemont will be up and running before there’s a quality cycle-path to Charlemont.
Well this is May 2025, the cycling lane has now materialised along the road, and it is clearly a disaster! Cars turning right on Ranelagh road from Chelmsford Road and trying to turn left on Cullenswood road inevitably run straight on top of the new cycling path, pushing cyclists aside and creating an absolute safety hazard there! Whoever designed this has no cognitive capacities, this is an accident prone area, this has to be modified back to what it previously was!
If motorists are turning off side streets and then “run straight on top of the new cycling path”, it suggests to me that it is not the designer’s fault but the fault of motorists. There are laws against driving on cycle tracks.
This being an accident-prone area is exactly why people cycling need protection. If adjustments or finishes need to be made to make it clear that there’s a cycle track, then so be it.
There are a few issues, but as Cian rightly points out the primary one is driver behavior and the lack of attention/awareness. Since this past weekend the interim northbound cycle lane been paved with a red resin surface and is clearly segregated from motor vehicle traffic by a solid white line, but that doesn’t seem to be sufficient for drivers to cease treating the new lane as a dedicated left-turn on to Cullenswood Road. Perhaps when the cycle lane is segregated with a curb and/or bollards drivers will get the message, but anyone holding out hope for proper enforcement by the Gardai is deluding themselves.
Are there going to be bollards or a kerb? I had three vans parked on the red painted lane and a guy close-tailing me across the Chelmsford Rd intersection – still lethal for anyone on a bike going east as left turning traffic either cut you up or beep really loudly
Wait… the Council built new bike lanes with just magic paint??? What on Earth was the point of that? Was it a recognition that they did not want to disturb motorists from parking on the bike lane as they have done for decades without enforcement?
@All – Update – they are putting bollards in alright, but it’s piece by piece. Definitely better on the places they’ve redesigned where there are bollards but omg that left turn onto Cullenswood is rotten, as is the turn right from Cullenswood onto Ranelagh. I live in hope…