Cycle lane upgrades underway in Swords

Fingal County Council brought together Councillors, contractors and staff for an onsite briefing in Swords at St. Cronan’s Road and Brackenstown Avenue as work gets underway on upgraded, protected cycle lanes.

These works include upgrading of the existing walking and cycling infrastructure in the area to improve safety, reduce traffic speed and create better connections to local schools and to Swords Manor Football Club, public transport and local amenities in the area. The works also include realignment and upgrading of junctions, road surface improvements, traffic calming, improvement of crossing points, segregation of cycle lanes using bollards and providing safer routes to school for St. Cronan’s National School.

Fingal’s Director of Environment, Climate Action and Active Travel, David Storey, says works like these are key to improving road safety and mobility. ‘Swords is a great example of a town that due to the growth of its population needs traffic calming and Active Travel infrastructure to support people who want to walk and cycle to school or work safely. These upgraded, protected cycle lanes offer protection for both the cyclist and the driver and this is particularly important around St. Cronan’s National School. This scheme and others like it are aligned with plans for Sustainable Swords which looks to the strategic regeneration and successful development of the town.’

Fingal County Council concluded a 5-week public consultation on these protected cycle lane upgrades for St Cronan’s Avenue and Brackenstown Road in late April. A report on submissions received from the public was published in May. The consultation report is available to view online at https://www.fingal.ie/activetravel/stcronansavenue .

Mayor of Fingal Councillor Seána Ó Rodaigh welcomed the works saying ‘The way that Fingal moves is changing. Active Travel is all about making local journeys most convenient on foot or by bike or scooter and to make choosing Active Travel easy it’s important we give everyone access to safe pedestrian and cycling routes so they can head to the shops and the park on their bike or link up with public transport for longer journeys. I’m looking forward to seeing lots of local residents taking advantage of these lanes once upgrades are complete.’

Works began on Monday, 23 May as GMC Utilities Group, installed a site works compound at Ardcian Park and works are due to be completed in Quarter 4 of 2022.

Works will be completed on a phased basis to minimise disruption to the local area and those travelling in the area should keep an eye on Fingal County Council’s Facebook and Twitter for updates relating to traffic calming measures as they occur.

If you would like to learn more about the details of these works please visit https://www.fingal.ie/activetravel/stcronansavenue .