Anyone making a submission on the Sandymount to Blackrock Corridor consultation?

Brendan Burgess

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I cycle out from Sandymount to Blackrock and Dalkey a few times a week. It should be very pleasant cycling along the coast, but it's nerve racking sharing the road with frustrated drivers at busy times. I am often holding up cars and buses so I hop up on the footpath to let them by. Then if I have to get back on the road, the cars get annoyed. And the roundabouts are very dangerous. Some drivers seem to think that the rule is "Give way to a car already on the roundabout, but ignore bikes"

So it's great to see the National Transport Authority proposing a solution. Apparently, the cycle ways will be separated from the roads and the foot paths. ( Of course, some pedestrians will be fatally attracted to walking in the cycle ways.)

Best of all is that Merrion Gates will be closed permanently, and I will be able to cycle under the railway.

If I am driving, there will be an overpass from the Strand Road to the Merrion Road.

There will be a few objections, mainly from the people living near the overpass. But if you are a cyclist or a driver or a pedestrian, affected by this, you can make a submission here.

As the consultation document is long, I have extracted the main bits onto the attached.

Brendan
 

Attachments

  • Merrion Gates cycleway.pdf
    1.9 MB · Views: 5
This will be an excellent solution for all road (and rail) users.

But Brendan, you shouldn't see yourself as holding up cars and buses, you have as much right to use the road as they have, and you certainly shouldn't be hopping up onto the footpath.
 
I read about this a few weeks ago. Aren't they going to put a bridge through the church carpark on Merrion Road. The church were giving out because they'd just spent a fortune on getting the carpark repaved. And people are going to have some of their gardens taken away through CPO. Real estate in that part of Dublin isn't cheap, so they'll be expecting top dollar!

Can't see it getting the go ahead. It seems like an incredibly expensive plan.

Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
 
dereko1969 said:
you certainly shouldn't be hopping up onto the footpath.
Click to expand...

It's a very wide footpath and as most people are walking along the sea front, it's usually empty. If there are pedestrians on it, I don't get up on it.

I do cycle in a manner to assert my right to be on the road, but, in some places, where I am holding up traffic, and I can get up on an empty footpath, I do so.

Brendan
 
There is a significant congestion effect on car traffic on the Rock Road due to the level crossing closures which, due to Rail Safety measures, takes longer for each closure than would seem logical. With the DART moving to 10 minute frequency this impact will be significantly increased. This impact also effects the train as frequently the DART is held at Booterstown to allow for 2 DARTs to pass at the same time.
There is a goal to have an off-road/segregated cycle path from Sutton to Sandycove that this aligns with also. So it does benefit everyone, the impact on houses is minimal for the most part and the church will be compensated for their car park (which is a revenue generator for them outsourced to NCP I believe.)
So it will benefit a lot of people and the cost isn't too massive given the benefits.
 
I live in Blackrock. They have been talking about some sort of boardwalk to stretch from Sandycove to Sandymount for as long as I can remember. There is a walk through Blackrock Park that end at Booterstown, so I seldom walk through the park.
I often drive to Seapoint and walk to DunLaoghaire from there.
It would be absolutely wonderful if all the bits could be joined together. I have seen it done abroad, so why not here. It could accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.

https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/A-Rough-Guide-to-Lake-Garda-Things-to-do-in-Salo

A lovely lakeside promenade built on stilts here.
 
If people support this proposal they should turn up to it, it's nearly always the opponents of these projects that turn up and get most attention.
 
Folks,

Those of you interested or potentially affected by the proposals should do some research on what has been happening over the northside of the city, in the Clontarf/Sutton vacinity. Hopefully, important lessons can be learnt, rather than the same mistakes repeated (or permitted to go unchecked !).

Suffice to say no one is happy (residents, motorists, cyclists or pedestrians) from what I am hearing, well apart from perhaps the contractor.
 
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Out of interest, how is compensation calculated for property which is the subject of a compulsory purchase order ?
 
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