Update on Greenway

RPS Group have recently been appointed by City Council to carry out the options development, preliminary design and the statutory planning process for a 7.5km section of the River Dodder Greenway, from Sir John Rogerson’s Quay at Forbes Street to the boundary with South at Orwell Park. The overall route is referred to as the River Dodder Greenway – From the Sea to the Mountains in the initial feasibility study carried out by ROD/AECOM in 2012, which runs from the quays to the foot of the Dublin Mountains at Bohernabreena. The greenway forms Route S03 under the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan, which is classed as both Dublin Primary and Greenway under this plan.

This section of the route will run mostly along the banks of the River Dodder, from its mouth at Dock, through , Lansdowne, , Donnybrook, , Milltown, , Churchtown and , then joining with the section through South County Dublin which has recently been through planning. The route will cross into Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown in the vicinity of Clonskeagh, Milltown and Churchtown. It is intended that the route will utilise the various parks along the corridor, including , Dartry Park, Orwell Park, and the linear parks between Clonskeagh and Milltown.

The general principle of the scheme is to provide an attractive leisure and commuter cycle route that would be on par with other routes of its kind in Europe. To achieve this a holistic design approach has to be exercised, taking into account not only journey times and comfort of cyclists but also various other aspects including but not limited to, consideration of pedestrians and local walkers, impact on flora and fauna, benefiting local communities through enhancing existing and providing new amenities, increasing accessibility to and providing good connectivity between local businesses, village centres, and other cycle paths. The proposals will incorporate a number of rest places with bike parking facilities, linkages to cafes and restaurants, potential for Dublin Bike stations, and various heritage places of architectural or historical interest, which will be consistently sign posted, and easy to locate and access. It is the intention that the greenway will be branded, and a signing strategy will be developed as part of the design.

Currently we are developing the route options, and consulting with the relevant statutory bodies and key stakeholders including DCC and DLR departments, to determine the particular requirements for the scheme.

We also intend to consult with other interested parties including business groups, local community groups, and affected landowners, etc, to gather any comments or observations in relation to the scheme and to assist with identification of constraints that must be taken into consideration as part of the design of the greenway route.

It is envisaged that a preferred option will be identified in November, which can then be circulated for comment. It is also intended to hold a public consultation on the preferred option early in the New Year, with any feedback forming part of the development of the preliminary design. Once the preliminary design is complete, a further statutory public consultation will be held as part of the planning process, which is likely to be Summer/Autumn 2016.