By Iain O’Connor.

The highway, which will be officially opened in conjunction with Bike Week which starts on the 18th of June, runs along the city side of the canal and will offer riding space to commuters and leisure cyclists.The highway is open in most places along the canal between Adamstown and the Grand Canal Dock area, although the section between Inchicore and Rathmines is still a mystery.

The council have reportedly surveyed the area but have yet to announce whether or not they will be upgrading the cycle lane.

Never the less, the cycle and walk route looks like it is going to be a great success with local cyclists already availing of the facility. “I kind of see it as being a bit like the M50 but for cyclists” local cyclist Harry Wilkinson told Town and Village, “I use the city bikes for getting around the city and coupled with the new bike track it is really easy to get around. It runs down almost to the door of my apartment so I couldn’t be happier with it.”

The Grand Canal cycle route includes its own sets of cycling specific traffic lights, although these are yet to be turned on, and its own junctions as to make it safer and faster for cyclists to get around the city and indeed to help leisure cyclists to enjoy the views of the waterway. The cycleway also has very few road crossings which makes it a much quicker option for cycling around the city.

Safety for cyclists and pedestrians is something that also springs to mind when considering the new cycle and walking route and with plans to extend the route between Rathmines and Fairview on the north side of Dublin cycling conditions in the city look set to get much better.

Details of bike week are available on bikeweek.ie