A NEW BUS and cycle route from Clontarf to the City Centre has been officially opened after more than a decade in the works.
The Clontarf to City Centre project will provide segregated cycling facilities and bus priority infrastructure along a 2.7km route that extends from Clontarf Road at the junction with Alfie Byrne Road, to Amiens Street at the junction with Talbot Street.
The €68 million public infrastructure project also includes upgrades to six major junctions, 8km of upgraded pedestrian walkways and 6.8km of new and upgraded cycle lanes.
Some 6.5km of century-old water mains have also been replaced, while 5.4km of bus lanes have been upgraded.
The Clontarf to City Centre Project has officially been opened by Minister for Transport, Climate, Environment and Communications @EamonRyan and Minister for Public Expenditure @Paschald. #C2CC pic.twitter.com/TZKGoAH5Hx
— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) November 28, 2024
The project received a grant from the National Transport Authority back in 2012 and a Part 8 planning application was submitted in 2017.
Work began in 2019, but then the Covid pandemic struck and brought works to a halt.
Traffic diversions were also in place for over two years to facilitate the works.
The project will be officially opened later today, having missing several deadlines.
Speaking to The Journal, Green Party councillor for the North Inner City, Janet Horner, noted that the project is “not just the cycle lane” and pointed to “huge improvements to the look of Clontarf, through to Fairview and down into North Strand”.
“I totally accept that the works have been going on a long time, but the final product now is very welcome,” said Horner.
While she said that “nobody likes the construction phase of the projects”, Horner added that “managing them effectively is the name of the game, as opposed to whether or not to do construction”.
“Digging up the roads to relay water mains, for example, is always going to be disruptive, and it’s always going to be a lengthy process,” said Horner.
“When you’re in a city like Dublin, digging up roads is never just digging up roads, there is always something unexpected underneath.”
She added that the aim taken to this project, of “trying to bring a few different projects into one”, is a laudable one as it “limits the number of times we are going back and re-digging the same road”.
The project was originally scheduled to be completed by Q1 of this year, but that deadline was extended on several occasions.
“I was very frustrated, as a lot of other people were, that the timelines kept being extended as new issues kept coming up,” said Horner.
“But in general, I am happy to see that we are trying to consolidate our works into one project.
“That’s the counterpoint to the issues in Clontarf regarding how long it went on; the last thing you want to see is a project completed and then brought back to looking appalling again, instantly, when another public body goes and does their works in the same space.”
When asked if project delays and the two years of traffic diversions might make people resist further projects, Horner remarked that “everybody likes finished products, and no one likes the process”.
“That goes for Luas works, Bus Connects, major infrastructure and buildings in the city — construction phases are always challenging and always produce resistance.
“During the phase itself, nobody likes them, and everybody laments the disruption, including me.
“But if you want to keep moving forward, then you have to recognise that it is necessary to do construction phases.”
However, she said there is a need to look at “how we can minimise disruption caused by construction and streamline those processes as much as possible so we can deliver those kinds of projects quickly”.
“I do worry that the length of time of the construction has been used as an emblem of a kind of resistance to cycling infrastructure in the city, in general,” said Horner.
“But I don’t hear anybody saying, ‘look how long it took to build the Luas, we shouldn’t invest in public transport’.
“It’s as red herring an argument in this instance as that would be for why we should not invest in public transport.”
Meanwhile, Colm Ryder of the Dublin Cycling Campaign said that while it’s “been a long time coming, we’re delighted that the official open is taking place”.
When asked about project delays, Ryder noted that it “takes time before you actually get on the ground”, and that once this happened, the Covid pandemic hit.
He added: “Traffic diversions were absolutely necessary and it’s been difficult in lots of respects, because Covid came on board right in the middle of it, which didn’t help.
“Then you had construction inflation, but it has moved ahead, and the contractors have been brilliant.”
He too noted that it “isn’t just a bike project” and added that it is “going to make a huge difference in that part of the city and will encourage more people to cycle and walk”.
When asked if enough of an emphasis had been placed on the fact that it “isn’t just a bike project”, Ryder replied that that’s a “PR issue which applies to most infrastructure projects related to Bus Connect, because the bus routes are related to cycle routes”.
“Some people think it’s just a case of painting a line on the roadway and throwing in a cycle lane, but it’s a very complex infrastructure project for a city centre.”
Speaking at the launch, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said: “Just standing here for a minute or two, you can see immediately by the numbers using it that it’s the type of people focused infrastructure that people want.”
Meanwhile, Councillor Naoise O’ Muirí said the project is a “clear demonstration of Dublin City Council’s commitment to working with local communities and other stakeholders in delivering high-quality and world-leading public infrastructure”.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say