The Blackrock to Merrion BusConnects Core Bus Corridor (CBC) will provide segregated cycle tracks from Blackrock along the Rock Road to Merrion. After Merrion this Core Bus Corridor will continue into the city centre as Core Bus Corridor 14: UCD to Ballsbridge.

The proposals would:

• Build a segregated cycle route from Blackrock to St Vincent’s Hospital, which will remove some dangerous spots for cyclists like outside Blackrock College
• Build a section of the East Coast Trail/Sutton to Sandyvoce cycle route from Merrion Gates to Booterstown DART station

The Dublin Cycling Campaign has identified issues along the route.

The junction of Nutley Lane and Merrion Road should be improved for cyclists. Leaving the city buses and cyclists will share a lane, there is the space for dedicated cycle tracks here.

The two-way cycle track will require cyclists to cycle on the right instead of on the left. This is confusing for everyone and will lead to safety issues.

Some of the bus stop designs could be improved to reduce the number of conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and buses. More bus stops should be converted into bus stop bypasses, where the cycle track runs behind the bus shelter.

Some of the pre existing issues with the Blackrock bypass cycle route are not being fixed. One particular example is the left turn from the Rock Road down into the village at Rock Hill. Here cyclists are over-exposed to traffic turning left across a painted cycle lane. This project should be used as an opportunity to fix this issue.

The Dublin Cycling Campaign has identified other issues, which are included in our draft submission linked at the end.

We need you to make a submission to the NTA. People need to show their support if they want to see these cycling improvements built, otherwise nothing will improve for cyclists. A submission is a short piece on how the NTA should change their proposals.

Some advice for writing a useful submission:

• Be generally supportive
• Keep it short and personal
• Tell the NTA why this Core Bus Corridor affects you. Do you live nearby or cycle this route often? Mention that.
• Include some of the Dublin Cycling Campaign’s key issues

Our key issues:

• Support cycling improvements along the Rock Road but ask for higher quality
• The two-way cycle track along the Rock Road should have cyclists cycling on the left, not the right. That’s just confusing.
• Ask for more bus stop bypasses so that cyclists won’t be mixing with buses
• Ask for more segregation at junctions so cyclists don’t need to mix with heavy traffic
• The NTA should examine a coastal route for the S2S as part of the DART line coastal defenses

MAKE A SUBMISSION

We need many voices demanding better cycling facilities or BusConnects will never deliver any improvements. Please:

• Spread the word to your friends and family. Encourage them to make a submission too
• Contact your local councillors and TDs. Tell them you want to see these improvements

If you want to be kept up-to-date subscribe to our BusConnects email newsletter. We’ll email you updates on the corridors your interested in.

This is only one of 16 Core Bus Corridors. Learn about the others here.