Here is the submission that I have sent to the OPW about the Garda Security and Crime Operations Center, Military Road. See www.rivercamacgreenway.com for more. what might also be of interest is the action plan for London’s rivers from 2009: http://www.therrc.co.uk/lrap/lplan.pdf.I am a local resident in Inchicore and a cyclist. I also have children who attend school locally in Islandbridge.

My daily cycling commute takes me down the Inchicore Road Cycle lane and then onto the St. John’s Rd West as far as Heuston. At present, this requires me to share a bus lane with traffic which is coming off the chapelizod bypass at high speed. I have been involved in a number of near misses.

The Camac greenway, which passes through the site of the proposed development, allows cyclists to bypass this dangerous section of the road. The development, and proposed motor vehicle access prevents this.

This particular section of the Greenway is an important link for the communities of Kilmainham and Inchicore, linking them to Heuston Station and the city.

I am also interested in the physical amenity provided by the Camac River. This river is an important part of our industrial heritage. Forward looking cities in other jurisdictions have been improving and restoring previously culverted rivers and bringing them back into public use. The Greenway, which is include in the City Council Development plan, supports this.

The site at military road has been left vacant for quite a considerable period of time. My oldest daughter, born in 2009, was at the nearby Safari Crèche as an infant and the site was vacant at that time. The proposed development has a footprint of only 1/3 of the available site and so should be reconfigured to allow for the future development of the greenway, as well as potential future pedestrian/ambulance access from Heuston to the extended St. James’s Hospital/ Children’s Hospital Campus, as part of the traffic plan being developed by the council.

With regards

Oisín Ó hAlmhain