Dublin City Council have applied to An Bord Pleanala for approval for an Environmental Impact Study for a vital section of the project at Dollymount. The section, which is less than 2 kms long, will joint two existing sections of promenade and cycleway between the Wooden bridge and the Causeway at the Bull Island Estuary.
Full details of the study can be found on the DCC website at http://www.dublincity.ie/WaterWasteEnvironment/Pages/WaterWasteandEnvironment.aspx. Members of the public can submit observations on the proposal to An Bord Pleanala within six weeks of the 29th June 09. It is to be hoped that those who support the project will take the opportunity to do so by writing to An Bord Pleanala.

Architect David Wright has put forward an imaginative scheme to form a more direct north south link from the Seafront at Clontarf to the Eastwall Road. The idea is to construct a pedestrian/cycle bridge across the inner estuary from Clontarf seafront to Easpoint. This would reduce the distance from the seafront to The East Link Bridge by 1.6 Km. It is probably the shortest possible route between the north and south city and has the advantage of maintaining more of the overall route along the seafront.

A map and more details of the proposal can be found on David Wright’s website http://www.davidwright.ie/s2s.html

About three years ago, another feasibility study (one had already been completed by the Dublin Regional Authority) was commissioned jointly by Dublin City Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council with the support of the Department of Environment.
The study and report was completed by Scott Wilson, Engineers early in 2010 but has not been published. No reasons were given. Following a motion put down by Councillors Barry Ward and Stephen Fitzpatrick at DLRCC’s Council meeting in February, some light has now been cast on the matter. A web-cast of the council meeting can be found at the following link.Council Meeting

(The web-cast is nearly 3 hours long so fast-forward to 02-06-30, which is the start of the relevant debate) It is difficult not to be frustrated that a project with such widespread support continues to be blocked!

In his inaugural address following his election on Monday 27th June 2011, the new Dublin City Mayor Councillor Andrew Montague said “The Sutton to Sandycove cycling route along our seafront, often called the S2S route, has been launched and re-launched many times. I will assemble a team and agree a plan to fill in the few remaining gaps on this route, to finish the job once and for all.”
This the best news we have had for a long time and it is most welcome after many recent disappointments. We are calling on all those who support the project to let everyone know through Facebook and also by mailing messages of encouragement to the office of the Lord Mayor at his web site

The full press release and text of the Lord Mayors inaugural address can be seen here

In a very welcome decision, An Bord Pleanala has approved the proposals to construct the only remaining missing section of the S2S project in north Dublin Bay in an order made on the 22nd December2011. The section, which is in Dollymount, opposite St Anne’s Park, runs from the Wooden Bridge to the Causeway and is approximately 2kms long. The approval is very important because the completion of this section will allow a continuous 9Kms of traffic-free promenade and cycleway all the way from Sutton to Alfie Byrne Road. This is almost half the entire route around Dublin Bay and leaves only about 6 kms to the completed on the south side of the city.
The National Parks and Wildlife section of the Department of Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht objected to the proposal on grounds of alleged loss of habitat and disturbance to birds, but, having weighed up all the evidence, the Board did not sustain those objections. While everyone accepts that there is unlikely to be money available to carry out the construction in the immediate future, the approval is still of critical importance as it will enable work to be commenced if and when the money does become available or the cost of the proposals are reduced.

We have uploaded a presentation , which was made by Tom Leahy of Dublin City Council at the Dublin Bay Taskforce in November 2008. While some elements of the proposals have changed in the intervening period, particularly in the inner city area, a lot of what is shown is still relevant. It provides a very good overview of the route and the issues that arise. It shows some details of the proposed section at the Bull Island in the North Bay which was recently approved by An Bord Pleanala.
The presentation includes references to coastal protection, which is a completely separate exercise by the Local Authorities. Given that both objectives will happen in the same strip of seafront however, it makes sense to incorporate the S2S into whatever is agreed as a solution to the requirements for coastal defence..
Dublin City Council is to be commended for its positive attitude to the project as displayed in this presentation and in the success in securing an approval from An Bord Pleanala for the section at the Bull Island. If only this enthusiasm can be extended to other authorities,,,,,,,,,

The National Transport Authority (NTA) and Dublin City Council (DCC) have announced proposals to complete the missing two kilometre section of the Sutton to Sandycove Promenade and Cycleway between the Wooden Bridge and the Causeway at the Bull Island Estuary. The works, when completed, will be of great significance for the S2S project because they will effectively join up the route of the walkway and cycleway from Sutton to Alfie Byrne Road in East Wall- a distance of over 10 kilometres. It will be the largest section of the overall 22 kilometre S2S route to be completed since the idea was first promoted in 2001 and is a huge boost to the project that will be welcomed by the thousands of people who have supported it over the years.

In terms of urban development, the proposals seek to achieve a number of objectives: improve the flood defences, improve the security of the water supply to the north city, improve facilities and road safety for pedestrians and cyclists. It is a practical proposal which combines several objectives in a project that is affordable and achievable. More information on the proposal is available here.
Full details of the proposals and the background studies related to it are available on the Dublin City Council website at: http://www.dublincity.ie/RoadsandTraffic/MajorTransportProjects/Pages/SuttontoSandycoveCyclewayandFootwayInterimWorksScheme.aspx

The process for approval of the proposals has already been started by DCC. Any member of the public (both for and against the proposals) who wishes to do so, may make a written submission before 4.30pm on Monday 18th February 2013 to:
The Executive Manager,
Planning Department,
Dublin City Council, Civic Offices,
Wood Quay,
Dublin 8.

Those who wish to support the project are strongly encouraged to make a submission, even if it is only one line to confirm support for it.

Please click here to view a selection of the comments received from people who have expressed their support for the proposal by mailing us at the following address: