Deansgrange locals express joy as cemetery cycle route is dropped

News that a controversial cycleway through Deansgrange Cemetery in south Co Dublin will not go ahead, has been welcomed by locals.

Members of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council voted on Monday night to adopt an amended cycleway which drops the cemetery route in favour of taking space reserved for car parking in the western side of Deansgrange Road.

Susan Ryan of the Protect Deansgrange cemetery (resting place for our loved ones) group said she was “very happy to let you all know that the county council have withdrawn its proposal to put a cycle track through the cemetery, some councillors have expressed the upset caused to the bereaved families”.

“Our cemetery can stay as it is, peaceful and tranquil for us to visit our loved ones resting places. Thank you for all the support” she wrote on the group’s social media page. Ms Ryan is the administrator of the site.

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[ Deansgrange Cemetery cycle path: ‘It could reimagine a very depressing place’ ]

Another commentator said: “Well done to all involved. Great news. Totally the right decision” while another said: “Well done, people power does it again.”

The cycle and walking path through the cemetery had been proposed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council as part of an active travel and safe cycling route to local schools, until the cemetery section was withdrawn by council officials on Monday night.

[ Respect our grief: plans for Deansgrange ]

It had been proposed to lower the wall of the cemetery which fronts on to Deansgrange Road and install public lighting, to create community oversight within the sheltered confines of the cemetery. It had also been proposed to knock down a shed.

Instead, the council will now develop a two-lane cycleway along the western side of Deansgrange Road, removing some parking spaces to do so. On Monday night councillors voted to create a small car park on a site adjacent to the cemetery’s main gate.

The change in the plan came after sustained opposition from locals who argued the cycleway was an unwelcome and unworkable intrusion. While maintaining support for cycleways campaigners argued the cemetery was not a park but a sacred heritage space.

A public consultation on the proposal, for which the council required planning permission under Part 8 of the Planning and Development Act, drew 1,252 submissions, 246 of which were deemed invalid.

The cemetery route was formally dropped at Monday night’s monthly meeting of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council when the local authority management put forward an amended plan to route the two-track cycleway along the western side of Deansgrange, removing car parking spaces instead of using cemetery land.