The OFFICIAL OPENING of the Clontarf to City Centre Active Travel Project (C2CC) took place on November 28th, 2 years and 9 months after construction commenced.

The C2CC forms an important link in creating a network of properly protected cycle tracks in Dublin City. It directly links to –

• The Tolka Greenway
• The Sutton to Sandymount (S2S) corridor
• The new Dublin Port Greenway

The Royal Canal Greenway (RCG) leading to the Grand Canal Greenway (the nearly-complete Phase 2 of the RCG will serve both a huge residential area and important tourist links) … and it will in time connect to the Liffey Cycle Route from Heuston Station to the Port.

It’s commonly acknowledged that building a ‘network effect’ of cycle routes makes an immense difference in encouraging people to cycle rather than drive, compared to the small, isolated pieces of infrastructure we have seen built up to now. So the C2CC will hugely boost cycling numbers right across the northern city and inner suburbs.

The C2CC was built by Dublin City Council, with funding help from the National Transport Agency (NTA). It includes bus lanes for the full length, more pedestrian crossings, critical water infrastructure, and high-quality landscaping which makes a much higher-quality environment along North Strand and Fairview. Long-term improvements in sub-surface services for the local area were included in the project, like new water mains, drainage works and electrical cable upgrades. Better bus reliability and shorter journey times were also achieved.

Speaking at the event, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan cast his mind back 30 years to one of Dublin Cycling Campaign’s earliest actions, a protest ride from the city centre to Clontarf. Minister Ryan was there himself, as one of the Campaign’s founding members. It’s pretty obvious that the city needs to get quicker at delivering important infrastructure like this.

But in any case, this was an absolutely great day for Dublin. Part of the spine of our cycle network is complete! Expect reductions in traffic, air pollution, heart disease, road violence, diabetes and improvements in wellbeing!

See also the Council’s C2CC web page here.