On both sides of the city heading west, Dublin has greenways of a sort running along the Grand and Royal canals. We also have the Liffey and the Phoenix Park on this side of the city, but what if there was a way to link them up for cyclists and walkers without having to impact or interact with traffic?

There is an opportunity coming up as the Land Development Agency have their eyes on the engineering works at Inchicore. (See more on the project at this link ). The Khyber pass is a pedestrian bridge across the railway that allowed workers come in to the works from the Ranch.

The northern end of the Khyber pass is directly opposite Liffey Gaels “East Timor Park” on Sarsfield Road. This park is joined by a footbridge across the Chapelizod Bypass to the back of the War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge. A planning application has been made to build a walking and cycling bridge from this park, linking it with the the Phoenix Park.

The Khyber pass bridge crosses over the railway line, which itself crosses Sarsfield Road, and so some creative thinking would be needed to bring cyclists down to the level of the road and park. One idea would be to continue the bridge across the road into the park, with steps to allow pedestrians down to road level.

It looks like the current Khyber pass bridge is to be removed when the DART West project comes to Inchicore. An underpass might be a better idea, but would need to be quite open as this part of the city sometimes experiences behaviour seen by some as antisocial, and good visibility will be needed so that people feel safe.

There was always an entrance to the CIÉ works from Railway Avenue, at the bottom of Donoghue Street (near Slatts pub). It would be of advantage to the permeability of the site if this opening was maintained for walking and cycling, especially if it was linked with the Khyber pass,

There is currently a broad green corridor through the works from this gate, up to a car park near the railway. Assuming that this section is maintained as green space on any new LDA plans, the route could follow this and then ramp up or down to cross the railway near the current bridge.

With consultation, a quietway could be constructed along O’Donoghue Street – with a link to the canal at Jamestown court. This would allow cyclists and pedestrians to pass through the area, and join the canal with the Memorial Park (and onward to the Phoenix). Too see more information on Quietways there is some information from the UK at this link.

The Phoenix park is a haven for cycling in itself, but some improvement could be made at the north side of the park to link it with the canal, possible around the Phoenix Park Railway station. This would be a completely different project for Fingal County Council, but it would bring great dividends increasing permeability to the newly built areas and schools as well as places like the national sports campus in that part of the county.

Overall, this is the time for such a project, with the LDA works taking place, and the bridge crossing the river. This would be a great advantage to cyclists who could cycle in a loop from the docklands, along either of the canals, across the park, and back along the other canal, in either direction. It would also be great for local residents and dog walkers, getting them to parks without having to put up with motor traffic. I’d be happy to hear any of your comments on this idea below.