Background
In June 2014, Dublin Port Company (DPC) commissioned ROD to develop a concept for a new road, pedestrian and cycle network. The scheme had two distinct objectives: (1) to enable Dublin Port to handle the significant increase in freight traffic predicted by 2040 and (2) to break down the physical barriers between the port and Dublin city, creating a connection with the local community.
The completion of the Dublin Port Transporation Network Enhancement Project in 2022 marked the achievement of the first objective. The focus then shifted to the delivery of the Tolka Estuary Greenway, a project designed to allow visitors to enjoy novel perspectives of the port, the city, the estuary and its flora and fauna while also providing pedestrians and cyclists with safe access to ferry terminals at the eastern end of the estate.
Summary
The Tolka Estuary Greenway Project is a landmark public realm project that allows visitors to safely enjoy the Tolka Estuary via a 2.2km cycle and pedestrian route along the northern coastline of Dublin Port. The greenway opens up access to never-before-seen views of Dublin Bay, including Clontarf, Bull Island and Howth Head, and will link the Galway to Dublin Cycleway to the wider world via the Dublin Port ferry terminals.
In April 2023, construction work on the greenway began, and in September 2024, the first phase, which stretches from the port’s boundary with East Point Business Park to the ferry check-in booths on Terminal Road, was opened to the public.
ROD managed and oversaw all stages in the delivery of the project, from developing the initial concept in conjunction with our subconsultants, REDscape, to overseeing its realisation with our subconsultants, Darmody Architecture.
Highlight
The scheme respected, conserved and enhanced the natural environment of Dublin’s greatest amenity, Dublin Bay, while opening it up to the local community and visitors. It was delivered in a fully sustainable manner; incorporated several innovative features to avoid adverse impacts on the environment; was achieved in a severely constrained, industrial port environment; and comprehensively addressed a myriad of health and safety and security risks at the construction and operation stages.
The greenway provides pedestrians and cyclists with safe access through a port that receives between 4,000 and 5,000 trucks daily.
Approach
We adopted a holistic approach to the project, assembling a multidisciplinary design team comprising engineers, ecologists, landscape architects, and Ireland’s leading ornithologist, Richard Nairn. We established that impacts on birdlife could be avoided through the provision of an 1100mm screen past the sensitive areas – in particular the two corners where, as the tide fills, the mudflats remain exposed for longest – and devised a scheme that avoided a lengthy ABP planning process.
Sustainability
The greenway is located on land once used as a city dump and recently populated by industrial yards. It brings pedestrians and cyclists on a route that no longer requires them to share the road with cars and lorries, while giving 4,000 port workers, many of whom use e-scooters, a safer cycling experience within the port campus.
Solution
ROD led a multidisciplinary design team through the development of the project, from concept, planning and detailed design through construction and handover. The design team comprised architects, landscape architects, interpretation consultants, heritage advisors, arborists, gardeners and public lighting designers.
We worked collaboratively with DPC and its various technical departments to provide a comprehensive design that addressed their myriad requirements, including maintenance, security, amenity, energy efficiency, and safety.
Sustainability was a cornerstone of the scheme design, with the preservation and enhancement of the existing environment for pedestrians, cyclists and nature a key requirement. The scheme incorporates energy-efficient lighting; low maintenance, native planting; additional ducting to future-proof construction needs; and provision of a 220kV high voltage energy connection to support the country’s power needs. It features various heritage materials, including crane grabs, granite blocks and mooring rope spools salvaged from the port, and uses them to highlight the port’s rich, maritime history.
The project required the repair of storm-damaged coastal defences, creation of a linear park, and provision of three “discovery points” along the route with interpretive panels outlining Dublin’s history as a port city.
Challenges
Dublin Bay is an EU-designated Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation and a UNESCO biosphere. Creating a world-class amenity without impacting the environmental sensitivities of the site was challenging and was only achieved through careful design, comprehensive assessment, and robust construction planning.
Health and safety (H&S) was a paramount consideration, given the volume and frequency of large commercial vehicle movements in the port. The challenge this represented was compounded by working adjacent to the largest Seveso sites in Ireland; alongside an exposed water’s edge; and around live high voltage (HV) cables and transmission gas mains.
DPC took a proactive approach to safety management, convening regular safety meetings with all contractors. Our designers and PSDP actively engaged with these meetings to ensure the H&S requirements were respected and adhered to throughout.
Services provided:
- Planning and assessment
- Engineering and multidisciplinary design
- Construction supervision
