Royal Canal on a Road Bike

mloc123

Red Soup wrote: »

Any updates on this? Is it still closed? Planning on cycling Dublin to Mullingar at the start of April

Have not been over that way in a few weeks. Will check this weekend.

Gerry

It was closed off last Tuesday when I went for a royal canal commute and I see the under construction from the train every other day, it's nowhere near finished.

devonp

Louisa bridge to Confey still open, not sure about Confey heading east (dont walk the dog that far...)
from Intel to LB is only a short hop on the road

mloc123

mloc123 wrote: »

Have not been over that way in a few weeks. Will check this weekend.

Checked today, they have a base layer down but nowhere near being finished for the end of March date they advertised.

Mercian Pro

Mercian Pro wrote: »

All the more reason for cyclists to make submissions supporting it. It doesn't take much in Ireland for politicians to oppose something once there's a hint of local opposition. Cyclists in Fingal should let their Councillors (and would-be Councillors) know that they support this and other investments in cycling when they come looking for votes later in the year.

Last day for submissions is Friday next, 22nd March. The Fingal website is at https://consult.fingal.ie/en/consultation/royal-canal-urban-greenway-public-engagement

magicbastarder

from what i've heard from my folks, there's a lot of 'we like the idea but it should be the other side of the canal' sentiment.
which is stupid, the main benefit of having it on the 'non railway' side of the canal is accessibility. if you put it on the railway side, apart from the engineering issues with the slope of the land and the possible issues with the future electrification work on the railway line, you basically trap it between the canal and the rail line, so entering at castleknock station means you'd see the next exit at coolmine.

one of the main benefits of having it on the north side of the canal is that people will be able to use it in a far more casual manner.

tnegun

Can someone give me an idiots guide how to submit a submission supporting this?

KevRossi

tnegun wrote: »

Can someone give me an idiots guide how to submit a submission supporting this?

You can have a read here, some interesting points of view developing. https://irishcycle.com/2019/03/19/public-urged-to-support-royal-canal-greenway-proposals-as-opposition-mounts-in-dublin-15/?fbclid=IwAR2FMIPAXDtmLJeAogX4_VIA6olbzsiQs8RuandISohSGPgIoMwhH-PcFnw

Then go to this portal https://consult.fingal.ie/en/consultation/royal-canal-urban-greenway-public-engagement

Register here if not previously registered https://consult.fingal.ie/en/register_role

Finally Log in and write your piece here, it should take you to the section on the Canal Greenway https://consult.fingal.ie/en/user/login?destination=node/add/civiq-comments%3Fc%3D10458

You can write it in a Word doc or similar and copy and paste it in there if you wish, but make sure you register first.

Mercian Pro

magicbastarder wrote: »

from what i've heard from my folks, there's a lot of 'we like the idea but it should be the other side of the canal' sentiment.
which is stupid, the main benefit of having it on the 'non railway' side of the canal is accessibility. if you put it on the railway side, apart from the engineering issues with the slope of the land and the possible issues with the future electrification work on the railway line, you basically trap it between the canal and the rail line, so entering at castleknock station means you'd see the next exit at coolmine.

one of the main benefits of having it on the north side of the canal is that people will be able to use it in a far more casual manner.

Good point mb. Looking at the maps, planning applications and satellite images, the residents on the south side of Delwood Park have extended their original gardens from 11m to 25m by encroaching on CIE/OPW public land over the years. The reason they didn't extend further down to the canal bank is the steep slope. The new route will either have to go on the sloped wooded section or the 22 residents may end up returning parts of their extended gardens to public use. Probably a good reason for launching a determined campaign against the plans!

magicbastarder

i'm not 100% sure on this, but i think some of the people who have extended their gardens in the cul-de-sacs - the houses at the very end - have a 'garden lease' from the ESB (this is what was related to me, cannot verify the info is accurate) so if true, could not claim adverse possession.

Hurrache

magicbastarder wrote: »

from what i've heard from my folks, there's a lot of 'we like the idea but it should be the other side of the canal' sentiment.
which is stupid, the main benefit of having it on the 'non railway' side of the canal is accessibility. if you put it on the railway side, apart from the engineering issues with the slope of the land and the possible issues with the future electrification work on the railway line, you basically trap it between the canal and the rail line, so entering at castleknock station means you'd see the next exit at coolmine.

one of the main benefits of having it on the north side of the canal is that people will be able to use it in a far more casual manner.

There's a big thread about it in the Dublin 15 forum, it's facing a fair bit of opposition.

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm not 100% sure on this, but i think some of the people who have extended their gardens in the cul-de-sacs - the houses at the very end - have a 'garden lease' from the ESB (this is what was related to me, cannot verify the info is accurate) so if true, could not claim adverse possession.

There's some claims that it was Waterways Ireland that gave them a 99 year lease.

Mercian Pro

Hurrache wrote: »

There's some claims that it was Waterways Ireland that gave them a 99 year lease.

Waterways Ireland wouldn't have existed when the gardens were extended. CIE and OPW were notorious for not challenging encroachment on disused railways and canal towpaths. I also heard a quote from a local that the Council had sold the land to the residents!

magicbastarder

i know one or two people on boards commute from D15 into the city centre - just wondering what the reasons for not using what is usable on the canal to get to the city centre?
i haven't seen him in a couple of months, but i've a friend who lives near the carpenter and works in the IFSC, and cycles via the park and the quays; if the canal was cyclable all the way he'd be able to get to work with 90%+ of his route being on the canal. just wondering why someone in his position wouldn't currently hit the canal at the humpback bridge and head in from there?

munsterbear

Maybe same reason plenty of cyclists prefer to chance the M50/M4 interchange with cars flying from one lane to another instead of using the cycle lane/bridge over M50 and then old Lucan Road which even bypasses two lights

Hurrache

magicbastarder wrote: »

i know one or two people on boards commute from D15 into the city centre - just wondering what the reasons for not using what is usable on the canal to get to the city centre?

My issue is a matter of timing, when I did commute a lot of the work from Ashtown onwards hadn't been completed or even started, so for me it was better to do it via the park and then onto the Grand Canal via Kilmainham.

If I still had my old office I'd be taking the canal as far as possible into the IFSC, but coincidentally my new location is in the opposite direction on the canal in Kildare, so if I was to cycle there the canal would still be the ideal route.

buffalo

magicbastarder wrote: »

i know one or two people on boards commute from D15 into the city centre - just wondering what the reasons for not using what is usable on the canal to get to the city centre?

I used to come in from D15 inside the M50. For me it was a matter of time - the canal is pleasant (and safe from motor vehicles), but not fast.

The commute was only 8km though, so even at the 20kph I'd do on the canal, it was less than 30mins cycling. Between kissing gates, blind corners and narrow paths on a shared facility, it was tough or stupid to go much faster than that a lot of the time.

If I was doing a 15km commute, I don't think I'd tolerate a 20kph restriction. Now it's 45min, whereas on the road I could probably do 30kph and keep the duration to 30min.

Everyone's trade-off of safety vs pleasantness vs time will be different of course.

Hurrache

I share buffalo's points re speed. My commute was a tad over 20km, and I would use it as a training session so I'd do it hard and fast where I could. So there's the trade off of speed. Having said that, once you get close to the city in the mornings there's no much opportunity for a bit of speed anymore anyway.

cjt156

Important Update:

There are butterflies on the Canal Bank between Deey Bridge and Maynooth.

That is all.

Gerry

Eh?

cjt156

Need I repeat? I think I made it abundantly clear...

Effects

cjt156 wrote: »

Need I repeat? I think I made it abundantly clear...

You didn't make yourself that clear. I'm sure they have flown away since you posted so nothing to worry about.

KevRossi

Did Ballynacarrigy to Maynooth today.

Excellent as far as Furey's Pub, working on the section from there to Kilmore Bridge still being worked on (1.75 KM).

Kilmore bridge to Blackwater Aqueduct is new and open, gravel/sand surface.

East of Enfield the drama begins.... There's a new sign saying 'Kilcock 10 Km' on the northside of the canal at Cloncurry Bridge, as well as a brand new, perfectly smooth surfaced road. After 2.5 Km, it abruptly stops here, no way of going forward, so you have to turn around and go back.

Ferran's Lock going east is closed, no warning about that on the main road, so from Enfield it's the N4 to Kilcock.

From Ferran's Lock, you can see work along this stretch here through the red gate that they have started. But there is nothing done from the other end.

According to the website both stretches will be finished in May June of this year.

https://www.waterwaysireland.org/royalcanalstatus

cdaly_

KevRossi wrote: »

East of Enfield the drama begins.... There's a new sign saying 'Kilcock 10 Km' on the northside of the canal at Cloncurry Bridge, as well as a brand new, perfectly smooth surfaced road. After 2.5 Km, it abruptly stops here, no way of going forward, so you have to turn around and go back.

Last time I rode that (last september) the towpath was on the south side of the canal from the last bridge all the way to Ferran's Lock.

Ferran's Lock going east is closed, no warning about that on the main road, so from Enfield it's the N4 to Kilcock.

From Ferran's Lock, you can see work along this stretch here through the red gate that they have started. But there is nothing done from the other end.

Then it goes north side of the canal at Ferran's Lock.

KevRossi

cdaly_ wrote: »

Last time I rode that (last september) the towpath was on the south side of the canal from the last bridge all the way to Ferran's Lock.

Then it goes north side of the canal at Ferran's Lock.

Towpath is still there and the old brown sign is up there as well on the south side.

This is definitely on the north side, I was surprised to see it too. I cycled the whole canal last year, there was no work done so I presumed it would be on the south where they own the land.

buffalo

This popped up on twitter earlier:

vargoo

By end of June it should all be green, Dublin to Longford?

mloc123

vargoo wrote: »

By end of June it should all be green, Dublin to Longford?

Not quite. From Leixlip (Confey) to Mullingar should be fully complete (maybe with 700m not completed at Intel/Carton)

magicbastarder

The work between castleknock and coolmine certainly won't have even started by June.

devonp

magicbastarder wrote: »

The work between castleknock and coolmine certainly won't have even started by June.

Ahhh leave it alone.... don't sanitise the Deep Sinking

Gerry

The route at the deep sinking seems to be planned for the other side of the canal. Would hope they'd leave it alone.