Dodder Greenway plans revealed
06 June 2019 | 2 min read
The Emerging Preferred Route for the Dodder Greenway (the walking and cycling ‘greenway’ along the River Dodder corridor) was presented to Dublin City councillors and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown county councillors in May 2019. This was the culmination of the Route Options stage for the 7.5km section of the greenway from Orwell Park to the River Liffey, and forms part of the overall 24km route to the Bohernabreena reservoirs at Glenasmole in the Dublin mountains. It will serve as an important route for tourists, leisure users, pedestrians and cyclists.
RPS has provided vital planning and design services on behalf of both Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to ensure environmental sustainability and compliance with the National Cycle Manual and Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets standards. As part of the consultation process for the Route Options stage, RPS conducted public engagement through public displays, online consultation hubs, and extensive stakeholder liaison with various interest groups. Through this engagement we found that while there were certain constraints arising, there is overall broad support for the greenway scheme. A project ambition is to design a unique cycling and walking experience along the many interesting and exciting ecological, historical and aesthetic features of the riverside; e.g. the many 19th century corn mills and other industrial enterprises along the river.
Environmental connectivity
The greenway aims to offer an experience along the Dodder corridor that is safe, scenic, environmentally friendly and traffic free. Our project team are consulting with Dublin City Parks, DLRCC Parks and the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) regarding the impacts that the proposed greenway may have on the existing environment along the River Dodder. The Emerging Preferred Route that was presented to councillors to be brought forward to the preliminary design stage will be assessed and designed to ensure impacts are kept to a minimum. Through appropriate design measures, it is expected that the project will serve to enhance any sites present or in the proximity of the river corridor through improved access and interpretation, i.e. sites of archaeological, architectural or ecological importance may become features of the greenway.
Design plans and emerging preferred route
While there are challenging aspects to the proposed project; e.g. conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists, impact on existing habitats, and potential anti-social issues, the assessment of the Emerging Preferred Route has taken these considerations into account by aiming to balance these competing interests.
A number of design aspects will be developed further through the preliminary design stage including boardwalks along certain sections of river, segregated facilities for on-road sections, and new bridge crossings of the Dodder.
Dublin City Council as the lead authority hopes to start the planning process for the route later this year or early 2020.
