Dublin Cycling Campaign has expressed its disappointment at the news that a legal challenge against the implementation of a trial cycle route on Strand Road in Sandymount has been upheld by the High Court.

The six-month trial of a two-way segregated cycle route was supposed to get underway in March of this year, but Sandymount resident Peter Carvill and Dublin City Councillor Mannix Flynn halted the trial before it could begin by taking a legal challenge to the High Court.

“We’re bitterly disappointed by this outcome,” said Kevin Baker, chairperson of Dublin Cycling Campaign, in his reaction to the judgement. “It is a lost opportunity to trial an amenity which would have enabled people of all ages and abilities to safely and comfortably cycle along the seafront on Strand Road.”

“We’ve seen a similar amenity in neighbouring Dún Laoghaire, the Coastal Mobility Route, become an overwhelming success over the past year. It has enabled more people to cycle and it has reinvigorated the coastal communities through which it passes, including Blackrock, Dún Laoghaire and Sandycove.”

“Strand Road is a vital missing link in a coastal cycle route around Dublin Bay. Dublin Cycling Campaign will continue to engage constructively with all stakeholders to find a safe and attractive cycling solution on Strand Road, which remains a hostile environment for anyone who wishes to cycle there.”

“We are also in a climate crisis, to which our transport emissions contribute significantly, so the onus is on the authorities to create an environment where sustainable, emissions-free transport modes like cycling become the norm, rather than the exception.”