Cycle lanes to be installed in the middle of Dublin’s Amiens Street
Dublin City Council (DCC) is set to install a double cycle lane down the middle of Amiens Street, in a first for active travel design in Ireland.
The two-way bike lane, to be protected on either sides by planters, will take up the space currently occupied by a southbound traffic lane. The street’s three northbound lanes are unaffected by the change.
It is the first cycle route to be installed in Ireland between traffic lanes, as opposed to along the side of them, an approach the council said was “innovative” for this location.
This section of Amiens Street is suitable due to “traffic volumes, the absence of right turns along the route, and the significant width of the road”, reads a DCC briefing note on the scheme.
However, the council points out that this layout is not appropriate for most locations in the city.
The cycle track - which the council is calling an interim scheme - would provide a long-awaited connection between the Clontarf-City Centre route and the Liffey Cycle Route at George’s Quay.
Cyclists will join the cycle route from the existing Amiens Street cycling infrastructure via a signalised junction, which allows them to cross into the central reservation containing the new lanes.
Planters will be installed on either side of the route to protect cyclists from general traffic
Once on the infrastructure, it will take them down Beresford Place on the west side of the roadway, adjacent to the bus lane, before crossing Talbot Memorial Bridge and connecting up with the Liffey route.
The bridge’s existing footpath-level cycle track will also be removed, allowing the footpath to be widened.
During a recent council meeting, Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said he felt there were “some really good elements” to the new infrastructure, but the crossing point between the existing cycle lanes and the new one had him feeling “wary”.
In response, DCC engineer Claire French said the unusual layout is primarily about avoiding conflict between buses pulling into Connolly Station, cyclists and pedestrians.
The Talbot Memorial Bridge’s existing footpath-level cycle lane will be removed and replaced with an on-road double lane and protective planters
“It is something new,” she said. “We’re not putting big, permanent civil works in. If it doesn’t work, if cyclists don’t use it, we can take it out. I think it will work, but that’s why we’re going down the planter route.
“The northbound traffic lanes are staying the same, there’s no change. And then southbound are pretty much staying the same as well, we’re keeping the [traffic] lanes on the [Talbot Memorial] bridge.”
Independent councillor Nial Ring said the proposal was “a great bit of compromise” that kept everyone using the area happy.
“It’s great to see that for once, it isn’t just cyclists 100pc,” he said.
“Connolly Station is so important, and the amount of people using it. So, that’s very innovative. And it’s good to see that it isn’t just whatever the cyclists want, the cyclists get.”
Works to install the infrastructure - road markings, planter installation and minor junction modifications - are expected to take place in August and last for around six weeks.
A permanent cycling infrastructure solution for this location would involve “significant civil works”, said DCC, necessitating this temporary intervention for the time being while a long-term design is developed.