Approval given for €10m Dublin cycle path

A new 7km Dublin cycle path which the Government claims will be safer and mostly off-road has been given the green light, it emerged today.

The €10m plan signed off by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey will see long sections of raised laneways keeping cyclists free from traffic.

The route runs from Rathmines on the southside to the new Samuel Beckett bridge over the Liffey, through the IFSC and on to existing lanes in Fairview.

Mr Dempsey said it will open the city to commuters and leisure cyclists.

“It will show that cycling is available to all and can be safe for everyone,” he said.

Raised kerbs and methods for keeping cars from parking or driving on the route and the length of off-road lanes is being finalised, the department said.

Planners have been asked to redesign up to ten road junctions, three new crossings on the Grand and Royal canals and a railway crossing for cyclists and pedestrians.

It will provide bike users with dedicated lanes from the south inner city all the way to Bull Island.

The Department has asked officials to design the new routes in the interests of cyclist and pedestrian safety.

“This route fits the bill in so many respects,” the minister said.

“For commuters, it will offer an excellent route from both sides to the main employment areas in the city.

“For recreational cyclists and those interested in nature, it offers a route from the city to Bull Island – a Unesco Biosphere Reserve as a place of both national and international importance because of the diversity of its flora and fauna.”

The Rathmines-Fairview link follows plans for the Sutton-Sandycove cycle path.

The route will also be served by three collection points for the City Council’s bike hire scheme. It is hoped it will be open by the end of next year.

Mr Dempsey said the plan was part of the Smarter Travel policy to cut car use from 65% of all journeys in 2006 to 45% in 2020 and the national cycle plan to increase bike use from 2% of all journeys to 10% in the same period.