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Can a cycle path be retrofitted into Portobello Plaza if shared space fails? Yes, but heres why its unlikely to happen after a revamp
Comment & Analysis: Some readers are likely wondering why IrishCycle.com has covered the story of the planned extension of Portobello Plaza so much. One of the main reasons is that it seems incredible and so unbelievable that a council which has failed to progress cycle routes quickly is now cutting one of its few cycle paths short.The cycle path that councillors have now agreed to cut short is one of the cycle routes that is asked about regularly the success of the Grand Canal Cycle path has been so apparent that the CSO linked it with an increase in cycling in the area shown in the Census.What makes this even worse is that officials in the councils Park section, which are leading the plaza project, are acting against strong advice from not just cycling campaigners but also the National Transport Authority and a report commissioned by the plazas project team.One of the worst parts is that what the project team is saying does not add up.Councillors could have approved the extended plaza with the inclusion of a segregated cycle path as a condition. However, councillors failed to do this and instead relied on vague and somewhat contradictory commitments from Leslie Moore, the head of the Parks section of Dublin City Council.Ill explain below why his comments were vague and somewhat contradictory and why I seem to have heard something rather different than some councillors did.Before going into that, the first thing we should look at is the context of the area the area around the plaza has one of the largest volumes of cycling in the city. This video was taken at peak times, but its worth saying that this was taken while cycling levels were still down after Covid:The below map shows the NTA Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan with the plaza location circled. Note how its a network and not a single route, and how three sections of routes join at the plaza. Two other routes meet those routes very close by (ie on the other side of the bridge/junction).There was talk from councillors at recent meetings on the plaza that other routes, be it the BusConnects along South Richmond Street or the extension westwards of the Canal Route, would be replacements for using the plaza.But the plaza seems to be going to construction shortly while theres no firm date yet for the local BusConnects construction, and, before councillors mentioned in relation to the plaza, there was not a public whisper of the apparent plan to switch the main utility greenway route (shown in green) to the south bank of the Grand Canal west of the plaza.Even if the main east-west route is switched to the east bank of the canal, youd expect the secondary route to switch to the north bank as the route through the plaza will remain important for accessing Portobello and beyond, such as Heytesbury St and Bride Street, etc.The National Transport Authority, the Dublin Cycling Campaign and most public consultation submissions which touched on the issue were clear that the plaza will remain a cycle route for the foreseeable future and/or that shared space between people on foot and on bikes just wont work.An accessibility review commission by Moores department and written by Fionnuala Rogerson Architects included a summary of research on shared space. The key points were quoted in the last article on this issue.A submission from the NTA covered in detail in a previous article said: The Share with Care approach leads to a lower quality experience for both pedestrians and cyclists. NTA does not concur with the assumption that the numbers using the park will be small and will be mainly local users and leisure cyclists. Fairview Park is not a comparable example as it is long established and recognised as a public park and there is an alternative high-quality segregated cycle facility alongside the park.Moores response to councillors before they gave his Departments plan Part 8 planning permission was nothing short of bizarre.After NTA officials, campaigners, and the public had outlined the context of a plaza which already includes one of the citys main cycle routes is not the same as Fairview Park. Rather than explain why he thought they were wrong, Moore doubled down and compared the plaza to Dublin Ports new greenway.The two areas are in no way comparable, and a shared greenway surface is totally inadequate for the number of people cycling along the canal in central Dublin. The number of people cycling in the area is likely to grow as routes are extended and new ones are built so trying to mix pedestrians and people on bicycles just makes no sense here.So, could a cycle path be retrofitted? Anything is possible.This is the plan for the plaza:And the following is what could be retrofitted after the above is built.To leave enough space for people walking through the plaza beside the cycle path, a section of the planting areas (around where the 6 and 7 marks are shown) would need to be dug into. And some the seating would have to be removed or relocated.To install a decent cycle path, the stone paving (which mainly includes really expensive Leinster granite and the blue areas of some fancy areas of mixed stone which blend the old and new), would have to be cut into and removed. Keeping it the same material and colour as the rest of the plaza is a sure-fire way to increase conflicts between users.At the meeting where councillors approved the currently planned shared space redesign of the plaza, Moore said: Look, ultimately, if it doesnt work, it can be changed. There is a pavement there, it can be line-marked. Its very simple to reverse, to create a cycle track. But we believe its the wrong way to go to create a new park in Portobello.Heres the first problem with this: Line-marked cycle lanes painted along pedestrian spaces rarely work so much so that these are sometimes seen as worse than a shared space.Its why high-quality cycle paths are segregated not just from roads but also from pedestrian spaces. And its why cycle paths are best marked out with a different colour than footpaths or other pedestrian areas (with best practice being high-contrast like red surfacing).A classic example of old line-marked cycle lanes in Dublin would be Fairview Park, which was replaced by the Shared with Care approach. However, most commuters and utility cyclists will use the new cycle path along the road.And yet there are still complaints about cyclists using the Share with Care paths in Fairview, with some apparent confusion from people that the paths are even shared paths.Portobello Plaza, on the other hand, has nowhere for commuters and other utility cyclists to go for the foreseeable future other than long detours away. With no marked out route, it is likely that many users of the park might also not expect people to cycle there.So, when councillors say that they have received a commitment that if the shared space does not work, it can revert back to a dedicated cycle track, it should be taken with a bucket of salt.Even if all the officials involved in the project retire in a few years or otherwise move on from their current positions, how likely is it for any official to approve the digging up of a project with expensive Leinster granite anytime soon?Its relatively rare that after a project is built in Ireland that changes are made when issues arise. This should not be the case but it is.Councillors have complained for over a decade about the conflicts of having a cycle route via shared space on Grand Canal Plaza. Nothing of any significance has been done. If Portobello Plaza is built as planned, it is only logical to think it will lead to the same situation of conflict between users and that nothing significant will be changed.
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