Would a floating pedestrian/cycling boardwalk 50 metres into the estuary be feasible? Could it protect Caves Marsh wildlife; provide a safe route to school and help to connect Swords and Malahide? This is one of the options we’ve asked the council to explore.
The Malahide Community Forum has identified Seabury to Pope John Paul II primary school as one of our four priority routes for Schoolchildren to have safe access to School. We did this as we feel that Barrack Bridge is a pinch point on the way to School for walking due to the footpath’s width, and we think it is unsafe for cycling. Our views were backed up by a survey of 500 residents, where 78% (& 90% of parents of school children) also believed it as dangerous. Please find below the following:
Enabling residents to safely walk or cycle to local amenities
We’re fortunate to live or work in Malahide – it’s a wonderful place. We want to make it even better, by enabling residents to safely walk or cycle to local amenities, including schools, clubs and shops.
To progress this, we set up an Active Travel Sub Committee in 2020 to examine how Government Policy on Active Travel* can best be applied for the benefit of everyone who lives and works in Malahide. Active Travel is defined in the Government Active Travel Policy as travelling with purpose using your own energy to get to work, shop or school. Generally, this means travelling by foot or bike.
We identified 4 priority routes that we want the council to provide/improve in order to enable kids to safely bike or walk to school:
Seapark Hill to Seamount Road (footpath) – Critical part of safe route to Malahide Community School (MCS)
Caves Marsh Boardwalk – Safe route from Seabury to Pope John Paul II (walk / bike route)
New bridge over the railway into the back of Malahide Community School – safe route connecting to Malahide Demesne via Ashwood Hall. (walk / bike route)
Swords Road (R106) – Waterside to Malahide Castle (to allow for children from Waterside to get to PJP2 safely & for people from Malahide to get to the Educate Together High School safely) (walk / bike route)
While progress to date has been slow (detailed in our monthly notes), we expect this to accelerate rapidly over the next few years, based on Active Travel initiatives announced last year (2020) and especially those announced on 11th Feb this this year (2021):
Malahide (Main St) to Swords (Brackenstown Rd) €100,000 (via R106 – Swords Road)(Appointment of consultants to look at scheme from malahide village / greenway to Swords by McAllisters)
FCC to hold a public consultation on Sutton To Malahide cycle route (March 2021)
FCC to progress the Swords to Seabury cycle route along the inner Broadmeadow estuary (EUR1,000,000 was allocated in Sep 2020)
NTA will provide FCC with updated cycle network plan for Fingal
We hope to have a deputation meeting with FCC to discuss our proposals (deferred since May 2020 due pandemic)
We will inform residents of and seek their input to proposed Active Travel routes
What are we asking for? We believe that cycle routes should concentrate on providing safe routes to schools, clubs, shops parks and other community facilities, physically separated from motor vehicles whenever possible. We believe that priority should be given to pedestrians with adequate pavement space and crossing facilities. We believe pedestrians need proper pavement space and sufficient crossing facilities, separate to other road users including bicycles with prioritisation where there is conflict with other road users.
What does safe walking and cycling infrastructure look like:
Segregated / protected from motor traffic where possible
Segregated pedestrian and cycle infrastructure where possible
Minimum width / Desired width of footpaths and cycle paths
Pedestrian priority on “Share with care paths” – e.g. as currently in Malahide Castle
Welcome to the Malahide Beach walk, which is the ninth in our series of looped walks. See all Malahide Looped Walks.
This 4k walk provides wonderful views of Lambay island which change every day with the light and the weather.
The walk starts at the Village Green in Malahide village centre, beautifully revamped in 2020. It immediately heads east along the coast walk behind the tennis club towards Malahide Beach.
Revamped Village Green – Start walk at the large open spaceView from start point of the walk at the Village Green
Walk past the tennis club along the coast path. Join the beach at the slipway opposite the entrance to the Old Golf Links. Continue East along the beach for about 300 metres to the ramp that leads from the grassy park to the beach. Walk around the small headland of dunes, remaining on dry sand (above the water line). Then relax and enjoy your stroll on the main part of the beach for approx 600 metres.
Sun rising over Lambay from Malahide BeachView to the East along Malahide beach
Return towards the village along the beach beneath the coastal pathway. The route shown on the map joins the green space near the public toilets and leads you back towards the village along a grassy pathway. The ground underneath is sandy, like a links golf course and seldom gets waterlogged (perfect in winter time when other grassy pathways are flooded).
View of Lambay – from the grassy area that runs parallel to the beach
Leave the grassy paths back at the slipway opposite The Old Golflinks, rejoining the Coastal path. Keep left at the triangular flower bed and walk past the tennis club on your right. Return to the Village Green via New Street.
Flower bed at Tennis Club – planted by Malahide Tidy Towns – Stay left on your return to the village
Please exercise care at all times near water. Check the weather and choose one of our other walks if conditions are not ideal.
Coast Path above Malahide Beach during an Easterly surge
This walk is not wheelchair accessible as part of it is on the beach.
Length: 4 km Surface: Mix of paved paths, beach and grassy paths (good drainage after rain) Footwear: Walking shoes / runners that you’re happy to use on a beach
Family friendly walking and cycling in Malahide Demesne (Share with care paths)
We all know that staying active, while maintaining social distance, is critical to our physical and mental health, especially during this challenging time.
To complement our series of Malahide Looped Walks, we’re publishing this series of “Malahide Family Friendly Bike Rides” mapped by our Active Travel sub-committee. By “Family Friendly”, we mean physically separated from traffic. These routes are suitable for all ages from 3 to 103 (Though route 3. Robswall park is a bit hilly).
Please remember – Paths within our parks and green spaces are “share with care”. When passing pedestrians from behind, let’s slow down, tinkle our bells from about 20 metres – smile and say hello..
About the Active Travel sub-committee of Malahide Community Forum:
The Active Travel Sub Committee was set up in 2020 with a goal of improving walking & cycling facilities in Malahide, with a particular focus on the provision of “Safe Routes to Schools”. By improving the infrastructure to make it safe, residents of Malahide will be able to travel to local schools, parks, clubs and shops in a safe & healthy way, incorporating exercise into their daily routine. Click here for more details.
Among the ideas we’re exploring (for post pandemic implementation) is bringing “Cycling Without Age” to Malahide Castle. This wonderful initiative is already in place in St. Annes Park Raheny (See: https://www.loveclontarf.ie/news/cycling-without-age-clontarf-/ ).
Clara Clark a Cycling Without Age pilot with passengers Charles Mollan , left, and John O’Keefe taking a spin in their local park in Blackrock Co. Dublin.
Photograph Moya Nolan
We’re exploring the addition of “Cycling Without Age” facilities to Malahide Castle when the pandemic ends
If you have an interest in improving active travel in your street / area in Malahide, get in touch with the community forum at the email below.
Please remember – Paths within our parks and green spaces are “share with care”. When passing pedestrians from behind, let’s slow down, tinkle our bells from about 20 metres – smile and say hello.
Family entering Robswall Park to walk, scoot and bike
Robswall Park (aka Paddy’s Hill) was opened to the public in 2007. The park connects the communities of Portmarnock and Malahide. Paddy’s Hill is the highest point in the park, with great views of Howth, Ireland’s eye and Lambay Island.
The Robswall Park bike ride is approx 2.5km long. In the map, we show it starting at the access point to Robswall Park from Jameson Orchard, which was opened in October 2019. This new path provides a crucial “active travel” route enabling schoolchildren from Robswall to more safely walk or bike to Malahide Community School, avoiding having to take the far longer route along the coast road and through the village.
You may enter Robswall park at any of 5 access points shown on the map, from Robswall estate (2 gates); Robswall playgound; Portmarnock (Limetree Avenue) or the Coast Road. Click into the map to see more details (to zoom in, see photos etc.).
Robswall Park Playground – with bike and car parking – located beside Gannon Park
Be aware – some of the paths in Robswall Park are hilly (they do lead to “Paddy’s Hill”) and can be challenging for young children, or for people using bikes without gears. Given the hilliness, please ensure that brakes are working well, that children know how to use their brakes, and do use them. Please cycle slowly and respect pedestrians’ right of way.
Paddy’s Hill, Robswall Park
Gate Lodge at Jameson Orchard
View from Jameson Orchard end of Robswall Park
View of Lambay Island
The hills are worth the effort, as the views are fabulous, changing each day with the weather and the light.
Notes: 1. You can bike from Robswall Park to Malahide Castle along “quiet streets (30kph zone)” of Jameson Orchard and Seamount Road – we’ve shown this as the amber line on the map. Be careful crossing The Hill and The Back Road which are busy with 50kph limits.
2. Robswall Park also provides a crucial “active travel” link between Malahide and Portmarnock. We’ve shown one of these routes in pink on the map – from Jameson Orchard to the Limetree Avenue gate in Portmarnock.
Route Details: Robswall Park Loop Length: 2.5 km Surface: Paved paths Difficulty: Challenging for young children (hilly) Segregation: Fully off-road
Route Details: Link from Malahide to Portmarnock (Jameson Orchard to Limetree Avenue) Length: 900 metres Surface: Paved paths Difficulty: Challenging for young children (hilly) Segregation: Fully off-road
The Active Travel Sub Committee of the Malahide Community Forum was set up in 2020 with a goal of improving walking & cycling facilities in Malahide, with a particular focus on the provision of “Safe Routes to Schools”. By improving the infrastructure to make it safe, residents of Malahide will be able to travel to local schools, parks, clubs and shops in a safe & healthy way.
The current walking and cycling infrastructure in the Malahide area is poor, which has led to many school children being driven to school, which in turn has led to gridlock at school drop-off and collection time.
We believe that this should change as:
There is a substantial latent demand to cycle to school (In a recent NTA survey of 10,000 Irish school children, only 507 cycled to school regularly, while if it were safe, 7,143 would cycle to school – see bar chart below)
Evidence shows that when routes are made safe, people cycle & walk
A reduction in car use is good for people, society & the planet
There is a €1 net benefit for individuals and society for each kilometre cycled rather than driven (€170m per annum)
20% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transport – cycling saved 28,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions which is the equivalent of 400,000 people flying from Dublin to London
Fingal County Council has set up a new Environment, Climate Action & Action Travel Department. We believe that by advocating for better facilities for Malahide & using our local knowledge we can improve the quality of life for our community.
Over the coming months we will be seeking the support of the community in our aim of achieving safe routes to school and if you have a particular interest in this area, why not get in touch with the community forum at the email below.
This 7.8km walk starts in the village at the Bridgefield Car Park (Marked A). Proceed out of the village along the Dublin Road and turn right down Hanlon’s Lane to the Back or inner Estuary where you turn left to walk along the estuary.
Canoeist on Back Estuary at dusk Swans on partially frozen Back (Inner) Estuary) – Jan 9th 2021
Walk west along the estuary (away from the village). Turn left at the Malahide Yacht Club and walk up Sea Road, past St. John Paul II school to the junction with the Yellow Walls road. Turn right at this junction and follow Old Yellow Walls road towards Seabury. Be careful crossing Barrack Bridge as the footpath is very narrow, making social distancing difficult.
Continue along Old Yellow Walls Road to the junction with Seabury Crescent where you turn left. You can access the Seabury green space shown in the map from any of the cul-de-sacs off Seabury Crescent. The map shows the first access point (from Seabury Drive, through Castle Cove – marked D). Walk along the path through the green that connects the Seabury and Killeen green spaces. Point E is the steps linking the green spaces.
Path connecting Seabury and Killeen Green spaces
Exit Killeen estate and turn left onto the Dublin Road. Turn left at “McAllisters’ Garage” and follow the Dublin Road back into the village.
This walk is not currently wheelchair accessible due to the steps between Seabury and Killeen (Point E on the map).
Length: 7.8 km Surface: Fully paved (with some steps) Footwear: Walking shoes / runners (no need for hiking boots) Wheelchair Friendly: No – due to steps between Seabury and Killeen
