The proposed route of a greenway through Milltown in South Dublin along the river Dodder has been changed by Dublin City Council (DCC) but may be an interim “rapid-build” measure, Minister for Environment and Transport Eamon Ryan has said.
The revised route is set to run on the northern side of the river, as opposed to the southern side, and will not encroach on Milltown Golf Club. It is one of the last outstanding pieces of the 24km Dodder Greenway project, with construction due to start later this year.
The long-awaited €22 million cycling and walking greenway passes through the largest population catchment area in the city. It is due to be part of an eventual connected network of 310km across the city with the objective of improving access and sustainable mobility while reducing transport-related carbon emissions.
A proposal to enable the development of the route on the south side of the Dodder was outlined last year, running it through property owned by the golf club, through its practice ground beside the river near the Dropping Well pub.
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Last year the Green Party leader said it would enable a stretch from Donnybrook to Dartry Park to be completed with minimal disruption to traffic, but this was opposed by the club, which previously had submitted a plan for an alternative route.
Mr Ryan had said a compulsory purchase order of the golf club land was possible and was likely to succeed in his view, but he favoured the local authority instead taking this section of the greenway and managing it.
He urged the club to try this option for three years, which would involve a pathway 3m-4m wide along the perimeter of the practice area, which could continue to operate.
The new option on the north side of the river would provide “an interim end-to-end, safer cycling route along the Dodder but will not be the final iteration”, he said this week.
[ Dodder greenway construction plans divide pedestrians and cyclistsOpens in new window ]
Council officials were still considering how to enhance the southern part of the river, he said, while a portion of the greenway might go through Milltown Golf Club as the route would be “more direct and less hilly”.
Council staff had meet club officials and understood if 75 per cent of members approved, it could go there. “I hope it will get that level of support,” Mr Ryan said. That side of the river would take time to be developed as it was more environmentally sensitive and would require a strategic environmental assessment.
DCC has put the revised route – from Dodder Walk, along Milltown Road to Dundrum Road – out for public consultation. It will incorporate a two-way segregated cycle facility to the west of Nine Arches Bridge.
It will include extensive changes to junctions at Dodder Walk, South Hill Road and Lower Churchtown Road. While it will run closer to road traffic than the previous proposal, it will include improved pedestrian facilities and planting of mature native trees.
Milltown Golf Club has indicated it is “fully supportive of the goals and objectives of the greenway and the published route for the section closest to the golf club”. It said it planned to communicate its support for the scheme by engaging with the consultation process.
Mr Ryan is to host a public meeting on the issue on Thursday, February 29th, at 7pm in The Dropping Well.
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