Royal Canal Greenway

Fingal County Council have appointed DBFL for the Planning and Design of a Pedestrian and Cycle Route which is to be constructed along the Royal Canal as it heads eastwards from the Kildare County Boundary to the Old Navan Road (near 12th Lock) in Castleknock.

The Royal Canal Links the River Shannon in County Longford to the River Liffey in Dublin City’s Docklands. On its way, it passes a number of towns, including Mullingar, Kilcock, Maynooth and Leixlip before entering Fingal where it passes through the built-up areas of Clonsilla, Coolmine, Castleknock and Blanchardstown on its way towards the north city.

DBFL are providing Transportation Engineering Services for an 8.1km shared pedestrian and cycle route on the Royal Canal Greenway. It will tie in with the completed section of the greenway at Talbot Bridge (Old Navan Road) in the east and the Kildare County Council section at the county boundary in the west. Upon completion of the greenway, the Royal Canal stretch will complete the Dublin section of a national coast-to-coast cycle route that leads to Galway and will ultimately cover approximately 270km (NCN Corridor 2). This route is also designated on the EuroVelo Cycle Route Network EV2 from Galway through Dublin to London, Berlin, Warsaw and Moscow.

Greenways are combined cycleways and walkways, primarily intended for recreational use. Greenway projects have been shown to rejuvenate communities and offer a high value experience for both tourists and the public. This route, while a greenway, will also function as a commuter cycling route, providing huge benefits for cyclists, pedestrians, and surrounding communities.

Fingal County Council’s overall objective is to deliver a safe combined pedestrian and cycle route, which meets the standards set out for a Greenway in the NTA’s “National Cycle Manual”.