Royal Canal on a Road Bike

"Completion of the RCG between Maynooth and Dublin in conjunction with the relevant Councils should be a major priority for Waterways Ireland. Once this is completed, it will become a significant bike commuter route in both directions given the extent of housing, education and employment opportunities along its length. This should result in a major shift away from unsustainable forms of transport with consequential environmental benefits. Implementing a speed limit of 15km/h will seriously undermine the usefulness and attractiveness of this section for commuting cyclists in particular. I am not as familiar with the Grand Canal Greenway or Barrow Line but imagine my concerns are equally applicable there also.""

Agree with this but I suspect the nimbys especially along the Deep Sinking section will prevail. Just stall it long enough until the next recession and then the funds will dry up. As regards the proposed 15 km limit it's more aspirational than realistic. Who would enforce it? I tend to average 20 k if the path is clear but am very conscious of pedestrians and always slow down and give them a wide berth. An old fashioned bicycle bell works wonders especially when approaching from behind. However, I often see scooters in particular zooming along at over 30 k. No wonder pedestrians are pissed off. At that speed they can do some serious damage. You can't legislate common sense and courtesy.

Speed limit is a joke.

If there's a problem with "budget" on the deepsinking, it because they've completely over engineered it.

The minimum it needs to be is a simple level path.

Whereas now it involves, flyover, walls, fences, opening up alleyways, making a park, cantilevered walkways, lights. Left alone they'd squeeze another childrens hospital out of it.

Saw they’ve launched consultation for the next section, up from Des Kelly’s. Seem to reclaiming a section of the canal to extend the width of the path.

I decided to take advantage of the the good forecast for today and did the loop from the city to Ardclough on the Grand, and back through Celbridge and leixlip via the Royal today. The forecast turned out to be wrong with heavy mist throughout the trip making conditions fairly miserable.

The stretch from the 12th lock to Hazelhatch was really wet and muddy and I found it difficult to maintain enough speed to blast through the muck and eventually lost momentum and went down, otherwise the Grand was fine.

The return journey on the Royal was uneventful until I got to The Deepsinking with the middle and end section so bad they were dangerous.The middle and highest section, which has the heaviest concentration of exposed tree roots and rock, was lethal as the path was covered with leaves making it difficult to pick your way through the hazzards, the path seems to have become very narrow and was very slippery. I eventually lost my nerve and walked the worst part of the mid section. I remounted for the last section and very nearly got caught out by one of the three drainage channels on the canal side, these seem to have encroached further into the pathway, with one taking up at least half the width of the already narrow path.

Im a big fan of the Deepsinking and have cycled it dozens of times, and fallen (not into the canal!) several time so Im not a complete coward, but it was so dangerous today, and for the first time ever, I didnt enjoy it. I think there may be a need to post warning signs on the Deepsinking as sadly it seems to have become 'an accident waiting to happen'.

Despite the miserable weather, and poor cycling conditions, any trip on the canal is better than one just about anywhere else.

That's just them covering their ass really, isn't it?

I didnt notice the sign(s) on this trip, I also confess that I did see them in the past and treated them in much the same way as I have the "Cylcists Dismount" signs elsewhere on the canal, my assumption being that these were intended to rightly give priority to pedestrians and that if there were no pedestrians there was no harm done by cycling, provided I dismounted to give right of way whenever I met a pedestrian.

I think the Deep Sinking now warants a DANGER! warning, particuarly in winter.

I agree with you, however the approach from the public road to the Deep Sinking is OK its only when you get a couple of hundred meters into it that you realise how bad it is. If the signs are still there I think they need to mention the something like "Danger of falling" and or the symbol you often see on road signs showing a car (a bicycle would be good!) driving off the edge of an unprotected quay.

Agreed

It's hardly the Grand Canyon. The signage is a product of ambulance chasers and the legal system that encourages them.

It's not the Grand Canyon, but I did see someone come off a bike in front of me, and nearly fall down the steep bank.

And other posters here have recounted how they find it really dangerous.

It's subjective. I love that section myself. But I have friends who won't cycle it.

Unlike drivers, who never disobey a road sign, like say, for speed...oh, wait, never mind 🙄

Does anyone know what the status of the Deep Sinking is? On the Galway-Dublin cycleway website it says that planning and design is pencilled in for 2024 but I haven’t seen anything recently to suggest that it has been progressed.

Nimbyed..for now

They are trying to get a hotel and 8 story apartments included in the plan....