The development of a walking and cycling “greenway” linking Dublin city centre with the Dublin Mountains has been suspended by the National Transport Authority.

The Dodder Greenway was intended to give the capital city its own version of the hugely successful off-road Western Greenway that links Westport to Achill Island.

The proposal is based on the work of consulting engineers Roughan and O’Donovan, and envisages a 29km walkway and cycleway from Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in the city centre through Clonskeagh, Milltown, Rathfarnham, Tallaght and into the Dublin Mountains.

The project was to be developed by the NTA in conjunction with Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council. The latter local authority received €1.5 million in EU funding for the project earlier this year, which it was going to match from its own budget.

Luas works

But further work on the project, especially nearer the city centre, is being put on the long finger for at least a year in order to allow the NTA to prioritise the completion of the Luas cross-city project.

The Dublin City Council meeting tonight will be told the NTA is prioritising the Luas and other city-centre management schemes.

A number of green and sustainable transport schemes will lose out as a result. They include the Dodder Greenway, particularly the Clonskeagh to city centre leg, as well as phase four of the Royal Canal Cycleway in the north of the city.

Labour’s spokesman for Dublin Senator Kevin Humphreys said the decision showed the NTA had skewed priorities.

“The number of cyclists has increased threefold over the past 10 years. There are more people using Dublin Bikes than the Luas lines,” he said.

“This is yet another example where key infrastructure projects for the capital city are abandoned.

“Minister for Transport Shane Ross has said nothing on it. He needs to enter without delay the debate about these key cycling routes being robbed of funding. It is unacceptable there are further delays.”

The NTA has said the demands of the Luas project, and other city centre traffic management schemes, requires that council resources be refocused on these critical projects.

“As the various projects linked to Luas Cross City are progressed, resources will then be released to reactivate the other projects. Luas Cross City is due to be completed by the end of next year,” it said.