Department to spend €10m on 7km cycle route

THE DEPARTMENT of Transport is to spend €10 million next year on a new cycle route linking Rathmines to Fairview Park in Dublin, which will be largely off the road and segregated from traffic.

The 7km route will provide a safer environment for commuters accessing the main employment areas of the city, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said. However, it will result in the loss of on-street parking.

The money is being given to Dublin City Council to build the cycle lanes which will run along the Grand and Royal canals and through the city’s docklands crossing the river Liffey at the new Samuel Beckett Bridge.

The project is being fully financed by the Department of Transport, but the council has agreed to remove 130 of its paid parking spaces along the route.

The route will start at the Grand Canal where it intersects with Rathmines Road Lower. It uses Forbes Street to reach City Quay before crossing Samuel Beckett Bridge. On the northside, it runs along the Royal Canal to the junction of West Road before linking up with the existing cycle park which skirts Fairview Park.

The path will differ from most of the city’s cycle lanes in that it will be almost completely off the road. It will also be continuous, with up to 10 existing road junctions being redesigned to provide greater safety for cyclists, the department said.

The bulk of the route will run along the towpaths of the two canals, where there will be a distinct separation between the cycle and the pedestrian areas, possibly using a physical barrier such as a low wall. Over some parts of the route, existing traffic lanes may have to be used for the cycle path, reducing the space for motorists.

The detailed design of the lanes has yet to be finalised, but they will be of a higher specification than the existing orange coloured on-road cycle lanes, the department said. Unlike the existing lanes, the new lanes will be above the level of the roadway and there is likely to be a physical barrier to ensure cars cannot enter the cycle path, although the type of barrier has yet to be chosen. The lanes will be wide, up to 3.5m – wider than some traffic lanes on the route – to allow cyclists to travel in both directions.

The detailed design work is now under way and construction is due to begin next January and be completed by the end of next year. The department said that, in addition to commuter cyclists, the route will also appeal to tourists using Dublin City Council’s new bicycle rental scheme.

The 450 bicycles, branded as “dublinbikes” will be available for rent at 40 locations around the city from next Sunday. The bicycles are designed for short hops with the first half hour free of charge and an increasing scale of fees for each subsequent hour to encourage a frequent turnover.

Three of the bike stations are on the new cycle route at Charlemont Street, Wilton Terrace and Herbert Place, all along the Grand Canal on the southside.

The new route would make cycling safe for both commuters and leisure cyclists, Mr Dempsey said.

“This is huge commitment to cycling in these times of limited availability of funding. However, I am determined, within the available resources, to provide key infrastructure and other supports for both walking and cycling – the most sustainable forms of travel.”