The official opening ceremony for the Stillorgan Road (UCD Access) Cycle Improvement Scheme was held at Nova UCD Entrance, Stillorgan Road, on Friday, 1st April 2022.
Ursula O’Higgins, Technical Director and Colin Prendeville, Senior Engineer at AtkinsRéalisRéalis attended the opening at the invitation of An Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Councillor Lettie McCarthy, and Professor Mark Rogers in his role as Acting President of UCD.
AtkinsRéalis, has been consulting engineers for this project, from its initial concept design and through construction including the role of Employers Representative during the construction stage. The project went through a public consultation process in 2018 where feedback and comments were received from members of the public, locals, business owners and concerned entities. The preliminary design included consideration of multiple options before the final layout was selected balancing the need for pedestrians and cyclists, traffic demand and overall site constraints that existed along this busy section of the R138 (formally N11).
The works included the upgrade and enhancement of existing signalised junctions at Fosters Avenue and The Rise. The junction of Fosters Avenue and the R138 has seen the introduction of a new toucan crossing on the south-eastern arm of the junction to aid pedestrians and cyclists wishing to cross safely. The project includes two upgraded bus stops which were developed in consultation with the NTA and bus operators. A new pedestrian and cycle access has been provided on the east of the UCD campus which provides direct access to the Nova UCD area within the university. A two-way cycle facility links the new access to the completed toucan crossing located at the junction of the R138 and Fosters Avenue on the west of the R138.
The project was delivered under challenging circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, works were required to accommodate existing high voltage ESB lines and a high-pressure gas pipelines that exist across the site where AtkinsRéalis in collaboration with DLRCC’s site representative and the successful Contractor Actavo Ireland Ltd were required to manage these utilities and successfully deliver the scheme under the advice of the respective utility providers.
The works were made possible with 100% funding from the National Transport Authority.
AtkinsRéalis has managed a number of cycle schemes for local authorities and is currently working on several schemes which remain under development including the Roebuck Road Cycle Route (Goatstown to UCD) for DLRCC, and the Sutton to Malahide Pedestrian and Cycle Scheme and the Harry Reynolds Road Pedestrian and Cycle Route for Fingal County Council.
