Work is due to commence to ‘link up’ sections of cycle paths

Work is due to begin in the coming weeks on a scheme to “link up” various sections of cycle paths along the Firhouse Road.

The council are in the process of confirming a contractor for the Firhouse Active Travel Improvement Scheme, which will “improve pedestrian and cycle facilities and safety via three main junctions” along the Firhouse and Ballycullen roads and other secondary side road junctions in the Firhouse area.

This scheme forms part of South Dublin County Council’s Active Travel Schemes and is one of three improvement projects under the Oldbawn to Ballyboden Network.

The improvement works will look at linking up cycle paths along a 2.5km stretch of the Firhouse Road, Ballycullen Road and Castlefield Avenue, plus 1.5km of secondary routes around Firhouse to St Dominics National School, Scoil Maelruain, Scoil Treasa and from Scoil Carmel to Dodder Valley Park.

“As you know Firhouse Road has existing cycle paths, but when they come to junctions or road crossings, they do not provide a satisfactory safe route for cyclists to continue on,” Andrew O’Mullane, senior executive engineer and project manager for Active Travel at SDCC told councillors at the Rathfarnham/Templeogue/Firhouse/Bohernabreena Area committee meeting on Tuesday, January 13.

The three main junctions where work will be carried out are at Firhouse Road and Ballycullen Drive, Firhouse Road and Ballycullen Avenue and at Firhouse Road and Ballycullen Road near the M50 flyover.

These will become “protected junctions” for cyclists to cross, with “entrances with reduced traffic lane widths and tighter corner radii for shorter pedestrian crossing, segregated footpaths and cycle lanes”.

He said the scheme would improve links to schools across the Firhouse and Ballycullen areas and would also link up with other schemes such as the Dodder Valley Greenway and the D24 Neighbourhood Cycle Scheme “which is being built in Ballycullen”.

The council are in the process of completing the tender process for the works with Murphy International as main contractor, and construction of the scheme is “due to commence in Q1 2026” with completion by the end of the year.

Councillors had mixed reactions to the scheme, with some expressing concerns over the impact the works would have on commuter traffic along the Firhouse Road, and over increased congestion at the “protected” junctions.

Cllr Emma Murphy (FF) asked how Active Travel “is actually going to encourage students not to be dropped to school by cars” as she expressed concern over the accessibility for students once the cycle lanes were in place.

Cllr Alan Edge (Ind) said that the “availability of safe cycling infrastructure was welcome” but noted that Firhouse and Bohernabreena are “not served well enough” by public transport for residents to avail of cycling, adding that these types of works can have a “crippling effect on the local area and makes life miserable for huge numbers of people”.

Responding to councillors concerns, Mr O’Mullane noted that while there are always “disruptions” during construction of such schemes, once they are complete “they work well”.

He added that construction was due to take nine months to complete, and that while most of the construction would have to take place during the day because of the number of residential areas around the junctions, some work like resurfacing could be done at night to reduce traffic disruptions.

Addressing Cllr Murphy’s concerns, he said that parking outside schools would be “largely preserved except for immediately outside the front of the school where we want a larger area for pupils and parents to congregate” and that they would work with the contractor to delay as much of those works to school holidays as possible.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme