DLR abandons plans to route new cycleway through Deansgrange Cemetery

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has abandoned plans to develop a two-lane cycleway through Deansgrange Cemetery.

At this month’s council meeting, the local authority announced that it was shelving plans following a public consultation that attracted over 1,000 submissions – most of which objected to the project.

The council said “it had never been the executive’s intention to cause any harm to Deansgrange.”

The amended plans will now see the cycle lane run along the western side of Deansgrange Road outside of the cemetery with the removal of nearby car parking spaces.

Local campaign group, Deansgrange Respect our Grief were present at the meeting and its members were addressed by Leas Cathaoirleach, councillor Michael Clark.

The group had called for the council to drop the plans and last year held a candle-light protest at the cemetery.

Clark told the group that “you have spoken and we have listened”.

Cathaoirleach Mary Hanafin congratulated those who objected to the route through the cemetery.

Hanafin said she acknowledged the hurt the plan to go through Deansgrange Cemetery had caused, but she assured those in the public gallery that such hurt had never been intentional.

She said it was “a very long process which has had a good result”.

However, People Before Profit councillor Melisa Halpin raised concerns about the council’s new plans as they had not been apart of the original scheme.

Halpin says that the proposal should be subject to further public consultation.

She said that dropping the plans to route through the cemetery the local authority had “acknowledged the hurt and grief” of people concerned over “the sacred space” that was the cemetery.

Social Democrats councillor Dave Quinn also raised concerns about the new proposal.

He said that the removal of car parking spaces to make way for the cycleway would be an obstacle for people visiting the cemetery.

He said that while he was in favour of the scheme as a whole, a small site located near the entrance of the cemetery should be used as a car park.

Chief executive of the council Frank Curran said the Deansgrange Park to Park Safe Schools cycleway had been two-and-a-half years in planning and had been subject to public consultation already.

He said that that “public consultation is done and we should go ahead”.

Councillors agreed to the amended scheme via a vote

Hanafin the council’s active travel schemes had been very successful in providing a connected and safe network of walking and cycling routes to schools.

Two of the main routes, Mountains to Metals and Park to Park go through the Deansgrange area and the design for these routes was intended to provide a safe, continuous active travel route.