Route advice, Ranelagh to Leopardstown

quozl

Heya all,

I've moved jobs to the South County business park in leopardstown, and I'm going to cycle there from Ranelagh.

Any suggestions on what's the best route?

The two that I'm considering are via Clonskeagh (most direct) or via the N11 (as I think I should be able to go faster on the N11, even if it is a somewhat unpleasant road).

https://www.strava.com/routes/2501560 or https://www.strava.com/routes/2501580

Any opinions or is there a 3rd option that I should go for instead? Neither route looks that pleasant to be honest. Narrow roads, lots of traffic or dual carriage way. I won't be using any off road cycle lanes as I plan on going fairly quickly if that makes a difference to route choice, unless there are some new wonderful ones that I haven't heard about.

godtabh

quozl wrote: »

Heya all,

I've moved jobs to the South County business park in leopardstown, and I'm going to cycle there from Ranelagh.

Any suggestions on what's the best route?

The two that I'm considering are via Clonskeagh (most direct) or via the N11 (as I think I should be able to go faster on the N11, even if it is a somewhat unpleasant road).

https://www.strava.com/routes/2501560 or https://www.strava.com/routes/2501580

Any opinions or is there a 3rd option that I should go for instead? Neither route looks that pleasant to be honest. Narrow roads, lots of traffic or dual carriage way. I won't be using any off road cycle lanes as I plan on going fairly quickly if that makes a difference to route choice, unless there are some new wonderful ones that I haven't heard about.

I'd stick to Clonskeagh. Easy and more direct route with cycle lanes

Tigger

I'd say you would save 5 mins on lights at least on the n11 route
So it depends how fast you travel and if you stop at lights

Pembily

godtabh wrote: »

I'd stick to Clonskeagh. Easy and more direct route with cycle lanes

+1

I cycle from leopardstown towards ranelagh and stopped going via the N11 as there lots of buses and crap cycle lane. Also bith routes have similar amounts of traffic lights. Via Clonskeagh is nicer and some newly refurnished cycle lanes.

awec

Clonskeagh for sure.

The hardest part of the journey will be the leopardstown road roundabout at the very end to enter the business park. It is a complete nightmare during rush hour. They're doing roadworks at the minute to try and fix congestion.

You might feel totally comfortable cycling round the roundabout, but if not an alternative ending is this:



At the crossroads in Sandyford instead of taking a left as you have in strava you can go straight on up the new road.

Green route lets you avoid the roundabout. There is a cycle lane on that side of the leopardstown road that goes both directions if I remember right. You can go right into the business park on it. It's up on the footpath though, so you'd have to get into the footpath first (might have to cycle toward bewleys and then double back on yourself for about 100 yards).

The red route is another alternative takes you through central park and crosses you over the luas line. It is more distance, but you still avoid that roundabout. The blue line is a footpath area through a wooded area which you could go through if you were happy to get off the bike and walk for 1 minute

quozl

Thanks everybody, that's brilliant.

kenmc

The roundabout is usually fine. It's more or less gridlocked all the time, so it's easy to get through.
But yeah definitely clonskeagh, and you can either go up by the goat and then left, or cut up roebuck road and through mount merrion by deerpark down to Kilmacud Road Lower and then up into the sandyford industrial estate. If you're REALLY worried about the roundabout you can cut through Stillorgan Heath estate and a pathway behind the reservoir, out onto Brewery road, and then you've only to cross one exit of the roundabout.

CramCycle

+1 on Clonskeagh route, as someone who has went both, there is no real time difference, I would even go as far as to say the Clonskeagh route was faster, certainly felt quicker.

I do hate that roundabout although it does seem to be better. There were plans to make it a straight through road, so you would be crossing it but that could be awhile.

awec

I think the plan was to turn the roundabout into a junction?

They are adding a new entrance / exit for the business park at the same junction as the racecourse exit at the moment, but I'm not sure how much that will improve things.

CramCycle

awec wrote: »

I think the plan was to turn the roundabout into a junction?

They are adding a new entrance / exit for the business park at the same junction as the racecourse exit at the moment, but I'm not sure how much that will improve things.

My OH was a facilities manager in the park so she seen the plans awhile ago. They may have changed but the entrance for the park would be moved to the race course as you said but that road past the racecourse up to the M50 would be a main road with the rest joining on.

The side road that takes traffic off the roundabout was a huge improvement in my opinion, how more accidents do not happen at that roundabout is beyond with some of the wreckless stupidity on it at rush hour.

tomasrojo

awec wrote: »

Green route lets you avoid the roundabout. There is a cycle lane on that side of the leopardstown road that goes both directions if I remember right. You can go right into the business park on it. It's up on the footpath though

All correct. And certainly looks preferable to the roundabout, which I've used at off-peak times twice. Everyday use of roundabout would be too much exposure to potential hazard for me.

awec

CramCycle wrote: »

My OH was a facilities manager in the park so she seen the plans awhile ago. They may have changed but the entrance for the park would be moved to the race course as you said but that road past the racecourse up to the M50 would be a main road with the rest joining on.

The side road that takes traffic off the roundabout was a huge improvement in my opinion, how more accidents do not happen at that roundabout is beyond with some of the wreckless stupidity on it at rush hour.

You mean the bit they added so that traffic leaving the south county business park and taking a left toward the m50 don't have to join the roundabout? Yea that was a massive improvement, especially for people leaving the business park. There used to be queues going right back into the park at rush hour and would take cars ages to get out.

They are also changing the roundabout up by the M50 as far as I remember. They are going to add a road beside where the ESB is now down to sandyford business park which would also presumably reduce congestion down at that roundabout area.

CramCycle

awec wrote: »

You mean the bit they added so that traffic leaving the south county business park and taking a left toward the m50 don't have to join the roundabout? Yea that was a massive improvement, especially for people leaving the business park. There used to be queues going right back into the park at rush hour and would take cars ages to get out.

They are also changing the roundabout up by the M50 as far as I remember. They are going to add a road beside where the ESB is now down to sandyford business park which would also presumably reduce congestion down at that roundabout area.

I meant the Burton Hall road so that traffic from the industrial estate did not have to pop up to the roundabout to double back or traffic from Ballyogan direction did not have to go down to the roundabout to get into the industrial estate.

Haven't seen the road you are on about as it was only in production the last time I was there, but if it is what I think it makes sense, there is alot more traffic in the SCBP since MS moved in and expanded. It became a joke for a period where MS staff basically turned the road into a car park for awhile.

awec

CramCycle wrote: »

I meant the Burton Hall road so that traffic from the industrial estate did not have to pop up to the roundabout to double back or traffic from Ballyogan direction did not have to go down to the roundabout to get into the industrial estate.

Haven't seen the road you are on about as it was only in production the last time I was there, but if it is what I think it makes sense, there is alot more traffic in the SCBP since MS moved in and expanded. It became a joke for a period where MS staff basically turned the road into a car park for awhile.

They basically added a left filter lane out of the business park so traffic going to the m50 doesn't have to enter the roundabout at all.

Fian

kenmc wrote: »

The roundabout is usually fine. It's more or less gridlocked all the time, so it's easy to get through.
But yeah definitely clonskeagh, and you can either go up by the goat and then left, or cut up roebuck road and through mount merrion by deerpark down to Kilmacud Road Lower and then up into the sandyford industrial estate. If you're REALLY worried about the roundabout you can cut through Stillorgan Heath estate and a pathway behind the reservoir, out onto Brewery road, and then you've only to cross one exit of the roundabout.

Imo - straight past the goat, through the next two sets of lights, then take a left after you pass the st. benildus football pitch (before the St. olafs GAA pitches.) Follow that road until it brings you around to the roundabout (going left at the t junction to cross over the luas tracks.)

Dades

quozl, nothing to say you can't mix it up a bit after a while!

I alternate between the Ballsbridge/Rock Road and Donnybrook/N11 coming home from the city center. The N11 is slightly longer and a bit more of a slog but has a more rewarding finale.

awec

The other downside of the n11 btw is that the Leopardstown junction is a very busy one and turning right there is not straightforward on a bike.

DaithiMC

Fian wrote: »

Imo - straight past the goat, through the next two sets of lights, then take a left after you pass the st. benildus football pitch (before the St. olafs GAA pitches.) Follow that road until it brings you around to the roundabout (going left at the t junction to cross over the luas tracks.)

Yes, and after the second set of lights you can get onto the off-road cycle lane, its just been resurfaced and takes you up uninterrupted to that turn, it is called Benildus Avenue, and its a great surface all the way down to the Luas stops at Sandyford/Stillorgan.

My commute is up through Ranelagh and Clonskeagh and once past the Sandford road junction it is fine (Ranelagh is where you have multiple objects and beings coming at you fro several directions at various speeds - up to the petrol station before Eglinton Road), the cycle lane at least partitions the road and it is a hell of a lot safer than the N11, imo.

kenmc

DaithiMC wrote: »

Yes, and after the second set of lights you can get onto the off-road cycle lane, its just been resurfaced and takes you up uninterrupted to that turn, it is called Benildus Avenue, and its a great surface all the way down to the Luas stops at Sandyford/Stillorgan.

My commute is up through Ranelagh and Clonskeagh and once past the Sandford road junction it is fine (Ranelagh is where you have multiple objects and beings coming at you fro several directions at various speeds - up to the petrol station before Eglinton Road), the cycle lane at least partitions the road and it is a hell of a lot safer than the N11, imo.

that "cycle track" is full of peds and people getting out of their cars from the parking bays, I'd stay on the road for sure

DaithiMC

kenmc wrote: »

that "cycle track" is full of peds and people getting out of their cars from the parking bays, I'd stay on the road for sure

Its six of one, half a dozen of the other.... when I worked in Stillorgan Industrial Park and used that I was as much in danger of being doored by the cars parking there when on the road as I was in having to negotiate peds, etc. My preference is not to get doored.

del_boy13

kenmc wrote: »

that "cycle track" is full of peds and people getting out of their cars from the parking bays, I'd stay on the road for sure

I cycle that route most days and most peds keep out of the cycle lane and haven't seen anyone doored. I am cycling to sandyford for work might be different at other times of the day.

Alternative route that's longer and hillier is head towards rathgar and on to dundrum. Through dundrum village and up past the garda station. Not as bad traffic wise now the schools are closing up.

Wouldn't worry about the speed on the cycle paths there's always a couple of guys really motoring (carefully)