Cars will be restricted to one lane in each direction on part of Dublin’s Amiens Street under city council plans for a cycle route from Clontarf to Connolly Station.
City councillors have suspended granting permission for the 2.5km cycle path, which has an estimated cost of up to €7 million and was intended to form part of the 22km Sandycove to Sutton (S2S) cycleway.
The route, from the seafront on Clontarf Road to the junction of Talbot Street and Connolly Station, had been proposed as an off-road track running in both directions on the east side of the road only. This would allow it to connect directly with the existing two-way off-road Dublin Bay cycle path.
However, the council’s traffic department said a path fully segregated from traffic would not be feasible from Clontarf into the city centre because of the large number of side streets along the route.
Instead it plans cycle paths on both sides of the road. The paths would be “segregated cycle tracks where practicable”, the traffic department said, but in the vicinity of side roads and bus stops in particular, the paths would remain on road.
Traffic lanes
For most of the route this would not affect the number of general traffic lanes. However, on Amiens Street, at the section of the route closest to the city centre, the number of lanes available to cars would be cut.
Heading north on Amiens Street, the two lanes of general traffic from the junction of Talbot Street to Buckingham Street would become one bus lane and one general traffic lane. Southbound there would be one lane shared by buses and cars and one lane dedicated to cyclists running from just before the overhead rail bridge until the right turn for Talbot Street.
Independent councillor Nial Ring described the plan as "absolute madness". While the distance involved was short, the area was already a traffic bottleneck, he said.
“AA Roadwatch have congestion from the Five Lamps to Amiens Street as a regular feature in their traffic updates; with this proposal they would have to include back-up at North Strand, Fairview, Malahide Road, Howth Road, Clontarf Road and beyond to their broadcast,” Mr Ring said.
“I dread to think of evening southside-to-northside rush hour as traffic flows past Busáras in two lanes only to meet one at the Talbot Street junction.”
Council officials were showing an “anti-motorist” bias and failing to acknowledge that some people needed to use their cars. They were also ignoring the economic benefits of private car ownership through registration tax, road tax, NCT fees and excise duty.
“Most importantly, nobody has ever considered the effect of traffic congestion on the mental health of drivers, but increased road rage incidents indicate that driving is stressful enough without adding to journey times with this madcap lane reduction proposal.”
Fairview footbridge
The council had also planned to remove the Fairview footbridge as part of the scheme, but has agreed to leave it in place initially, with the addition of pedestrian crossings. The use of the bridge and crossings will be monitored for 18 months, and if there is a 75 per cent drop in usage, the bridge’s removal will be sought.
Councillors will reconsider the plans for the cycle route next month.
