In Fairviewness

at

Fairview Park, Dublin 3

Further to fears that trees which line the footpath along the front of Fairview Park in Dublin 3 could be felled to make way for a proposed new cycleway…

Cian Ginty, on Irish Cycle, writes:

The destruction of the trees is not required for the cycle route and a better, safer, and more attractive cycle route than the one planned can be built without knocking down the trees.

The competing interests are wide-ranging. They include councilors and others who don’t want to see traffic lanes reduced, and those who think traffic lanes should be taken out before trees are cut down.

Other interests include the National Transport Authority and one of its planned bus route upgrades (to so-called BRT standard). And there’s the council officials who want an “esplanade” — translation: a shared walking and cycle path with fancy paving running along a redefined edge of Fairview park.

Then there’s the planned cycle route. Despite planning on holding Velo City in 2019, an international cycling conference, with the tagline “cycling for the ages”, the council are set against proper, Dutch-like segregated cycle paths suitable for all ages and abilities.

There’s loads of space inside the tree line for separation of cycling and walking — and this is much the same for nearly all of the length of the park. Most of the current shared surface of the footpath / one-way cycle path between the trees and the roadway can be greened, with space left for bus stops and cycling and walking crossings.

Dublin needs a high-quality cycle route and this can be provided without cutting down the trees. The current plan from the council is too low grade and does not provide for “cycling for the ages”.

At public consultation for the project a two-way cycle path was also the main preference of individuals, businesses, councillors and cycling groups. It’s not only practical, it has support.

...The images below show an outline concept — note: this will work with or without changing the current roadway (for a BRT route or whatever). And also note that this is a concept, while it will fit, the measurements here aren’t supposed to directly relate to any one section (the widths vary).

Anyone?

Fairview trees could be saved with a two-way cycle path (Irish Cycle) 

Yesterday: Unfairview

 

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16 thoughts on “In Fairviewness

    1. realPolithicks

      So cut down the existing trees and then plant new ones, as opposed to making plans which incorporate the current trees. And you talk about a lack of critical thinking!

  1. Listrade

    I cycled this route daily for over 10 years. I’m going to hazard a guess at the reason they want rid of the trees (not justify): leaves.

    Every Autumn the whole path and cycleway would become and ice rink with a thick layer of wet leaves. They were never cleared and it meant it was easier to use the bus lane than the designated cycleway for a few weeks or so (which according to signage was also a cycleway, but bus drivers, taxis and impatient morning drivers tended to miss that sign).

    Anyway, that’s my guess. Rather than set some kind of budget to clear up the completely unpredictable, unforeseeable event that happens annually at the end of September, they’ll just cut down the trees.

    1. Increasing Displacement

      Could be they dont want to move some service also
      Or the fact that the council couldnt plan a piss up in a brewery

    2. Sheik Yahbouti

      You suggestion is so revlutionary. Hire someone to clean up the leaves which fall at an entirely predictable time each year? – what madness is this??? These people ignore what has been realised in every other European capital – human beings require the sight of greenery and (ideally) water, to sustain urban living and a modicum of sanity.

  2. bisted

    …who was it said when trees were threatened in another part of Dublin that the trees were ‘more sinned against than sinning…’

  3. Vote Rep #1

    I bet Noel Ring is against any decent proposal here. Idiot of a man. He described the upgrading of the cycle path along coast road as anti-car.

  4. The Dude

    Really clever of the officials to propose a really divisive route option, rather than the obvious and sensible one outlined above.

    This way, sections of the community can be put at each other’s throats – nothing gets done – and meanwhile the officials laugh off into the sunset on their fat pay while doing nothing.

    Perhaps they’re related to the lovely people responsible for the despotic ugly new Luas related boxes erected in College Green?

    What have we done in this town to be subjected to such shoddy, evil governance?

  5. Poordessie

    Experience tells me the trees will buckle the railing which is way to near the mature trees. I do hope this doesnt happen as it is otherwise a very common sense solution to a problem that civil servants love to create.

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