The Malahide viaduct cycle way

quad_red

Hi Folks,

Given the Skerries to Lusk to Blake's cross R127 is such a pleasant road to cycle on ( :eek: ), I was wondering was there any movement at all on the proposal to have a cycle way going from Drogheda down to Malahide.

There are bits and bobs mentioned on here and on the internet but nothing recent.

Anyone know any more?

2014
http://www.dublincycling.ie/cycling/our-work-fingal-county-council-area

€1.76 MILLION FOR CYCLING IN FINGAL IN 2014

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has made provisional grants of €1.76 million to Fingal County Council (FCC) for cycling development in 2014. Some of the grants relate to a key objective of the SCI, namely the creation of a major cycleway, The Fingal Coast & Castle Way, (FC&CW) and are particularly welcome. Here are some details – which we stress, are subject to change as the NTA and FCC work through the programme.

Donabate to Malahide Cyclist/Pedestrian Track : €100,000 to complete feasibility study. This track is crucial to the long-term vision of the SCI for the creation of the FC&CW, which will stretch from the Meath border via coastal Skerries and Rush, crossing the Rogerstown Estuary at Balleally, connecting to Donabate village and thence across the Broadmeadow Estuary and onwards via the R106 to join up with the Sutton-to-Sandycove Cycleway (S2S). The track in question here, for which the €100,000 has been granted, would likely run along the Western side of the rail line from Malahide to the Corballis Road and from there would join up with the R106 to link to Newbridge House & Farm and Donabate village. Clearly, this means the completion of the cyclist/pedestrian bridge at Malahide viaduct. The 13 piers of this bridge are already sunk into the estuary bed.

mjsc1970

Last I heard last summer was that Fingal Co Co were still liaising with Irish Rail and surrounding land owners between entrance of Hearse Road Donabate and Broadmeadow Estuary.

Carawaystick

The DOT released more funding to allow Fingal CoCo get a planing application into ABP for the Broadmeadow crossing
http://irishcycle.com/2016/03/18/cycling-secures-large-chunk-of-e23-2m-funding-for-125-projects/

No News on the Rogerstown crossing, but there was a meeting in Donabate last week about turning Balleally dump into a park, I'd imagine access from Donabate was brought up for that. It's a goal in the co development plan but ....

Doctor Bob

The route was included in the NTA's GDA Cycle Network Plan, published in 2013: https://www.nationaltransport.ie/publications/transport-planning/gda-cycle-network-plan/ (See Part 4d for maps.)

p.51 of the Written Report (Section 1) describes it as follows:

East Coast Trail: Malahide - Donabate - Portrane - Rush - Skerries
At the southern end the coastal trail will connect from Malahide to Donabate across the Broadmeadow Estuary railway viaduct. From there northwards there is a quiet rural road along the coastline and beside Donabate Beach at the Martello Tower. A coastal footpath continues northward to Portrane Beach, around the headland at St. Ita's Hospital and this could be upgraded to cater for cyclists. This path continues along the shore at the back of Portrane Beach to the headland overlooking the Rogerstown Estuary channel separating it from Rush opposite.

This is a difficult section of the proposed East Coast Trail as it will entail a new bridge connection from the Donabate peninsula across Rogerstown Estuary to Rush. The shortest crossing point is full of sailing boat moorings, and a less direct route further west would require a bridge. There are environmental sensitivities at Rogerstown Estuary, and a low impact bridge crossing may be most appropriate. One possibility is a floating pontoon bridge. An example of this type of bridge is shown below from Barley Cove Beach on the Mizen Peninsula in West Cork. If such a structure is to be proposed here, it would need to be designed with the specific conservation objectives of Rogerstown in mind. For example, it is likely that clearance underneath would be required for birds to swim under the bridge. Alternatively the route may cross the estuary at the railway viaduct further west and the follow the northern shore to Rush.

I'm not sure I'd be holding my breath on the Rogerstown section in the short term.

There was a story last October in the Fingal Independent saying that FCC would fund the construction of the Broadmeadow section if the project was approved by An Bord Pleanala. I don't know when FCC is proposing to submit it to ABP (the NTA funded the completion of the study in 2014, as mentioned in the OP, and the preparation of the planning submission in 2016- seems like slow progress...).

http://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/major-road-projects-to-be-funded-over-next-three-years-including-20m-donabate-road-34121912.html