20-05-2025
Final BusConnects corridor approved linking Kimmage to Dublin city centre
However, half of the core bus corridors which have received planning permission are the subject of judicial review proceedings.
The approval of the corridor linking Kimmage to Dublin city centre is the last to receive planning permission, marking a significant milestone more than a decade after the project was first announced.
The Kimmage to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme is part of the National Transport Authority's BusConnects programme and was approved by An Bord Pleanála on May 12, with conditions.
The project aims to promote sustainable travel by improving infrastructure for walking, cycling, and public transport along a key route from Kimmage to Dublin city centre.
The corridor, one of the shortest in the BusConnects programme at just 3.7km, begins at Kimmage crossroads, where Terenure Road West, Fortfield Road, and Kimmage Road West meet.
It will travel along Kimmage Road Lower, through Harold's Cross Road, over the Grand Canal, and continues via Clanbrassil Street and New Street South, ending at the St Patrick's Street junction.
In addition, a parallel quiet cycle route will run from Ravensdale Park to Mount Argus, located west of Kimmage Road Lower, providing safer options for cyclists.
The main goal of the scheme is to deliver more efficient and integrated transport options, ensuring safer and more accessible infrastructure for buses, pedestrians, and cyclists alike.
The project attracted 80 public submissions from residents, businesses, local representatives, and advocacy groups, both supportive and critical.
Among the submissions was one from the Dublin Cycling Campaign, which broadly welcomed the scheme but raised several concerns about its cycling infrastructure.
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The group criticised what it described as 'low-quality intermittent cycle lanes' along Lower Kimmage Road and a 'circuitous' quiet route with narrow sections through Mount Argus.
It also warned that proposed changes, such as the replacement of existing advisory cycle lanes with car parking, could endanger cyclists by forcing them into traffic lanes.
The group also called for wider, consistently segregated cycle tracks in line with the National Cycle Manual and flagged the need for improved safety measures on the proposed quiet streets, including clearer visual cues and reduced carriageway widths to prioritise cyclists.
It welcomed the 30kmph speed limit proposed for parts of the corridor, but called for physical measures and speed cameras to ensure compliance.
Of the twelve corridors, five – including routes from Ballymun/Finglas, Liffey Valley, Ringsend, Tallaght/Clondalkin, and Lucan – now have full planning permission and are no longer open to legal challenge.
Construction on the first corridors had been expected to begin in autumn, but the NTA has said works on the Ballymun/Finglas and Liffey Valley routes may commence earlier, with each scheme expected to take about two years to complete.
