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THE METALS
The Metals is the historic route that once brought stone from Dalkey Quarry to the great harbour works in Dún Laoghaire. Over 600,000 tonnes of stone was dragged by horse along a railway to make what was then and still is one of the largest harbours in the world. The Metals is a walk (or cycle path) down the industrial history of this part of Dublin and take you from the beauty of Dún Laoghaire harbour to the amazing views from Dalkey and Killiney Hill. This is a 6KM return walk or cycle from Dún Laoghaire.
The Metals was originally laid out in 1817 as a truck railroad, paved with cast iron rails, designed to bring horse-drawn trucks laden with granite from the quarry for the construction of the Harbour at Dún Laoghaire.
Initially it was intended that a single pier be constructed, but this was soon amended to provide two piers enclosing an area of about 100 hectares of water.
The main period of construction of the piers lasted almost twenty years until the completion of their full length in 1836. Stone was still required for more than twenty years after this, however, with the addition of further piers and wharfs and the construction of other facilities, not to mention the final completion of the ends of the two piers in the 1840s.
The Metals walkway as it stands today provides a link between Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey with 10 junctions at various locations along its length (approximately 3.5km). This walkway provides an attractive route for pedestrians and cyclists to a number of facilities that include:
At present this walkway is quite well used and it is hoped that any improvements will encourage increased use by pedestrians and cyclists.
A report on the proposals for the Metals was brought to the April meeting (2010) of the Dún Laoghaire Area Committee. Following this a non-statutory public consultation was undertaken. This consultation ran from Monday 19th April – Friday 14th May.
An advertisement was placed in the Southsider and the Dún Laoghaire Gazette. A display was set up in the concourse of the County Hall in Dún Laoghaire and copies of the proposals were made available in Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey libraries. Information was placed on the Councils website and an email address was provided for submissions. A leaflet was developed and distributed to over 5,000 houses (within a 750m radius of the Metals) inviting submission on the scheme.
In total 115 submissions were received.
There was overwhelming support for the scheme. Following the public consultation the scheme proceeded to detail design.
Upgrading of the Metals Walkway
The infrastructure upgrades carried out on the Metals route (broken down by junction) are as follows:
Park Road
Some sections of the Metals had very poor surfacing, which deterred people from cycling on it. As part of this project some sections were resurfaced to provide a quality-riding surface to encourage cyclists and those with biggies to use the route.
The section between: Summerhill Road and Adelaide Road, Adelaide Road and Eden Road and the section between Eden Road and Castlepark Road.
A number of other improvements have been made along the route including the removal of overgrown hedges, provision of addition litter bins and the provision of permanent cycle and pedestrian counters.
Initially it was intended that a single pier be constructed, but this was soon amended to provide two piers enclosing an area of about 100 hectares of water.
The main period of construction of the piers lasted almost twenty years until the completion of their full length in 1836. Stone was still required for more than twenty years after this, however, with the addition of further piers and wharfs and the construction of other facilities, not to mention the final completion of the ends of the two piers in the 1840s.
The Metals walkway as it stands today provides a link between Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey with 10 junctions at various locations along its length (approximately 3.5km). This walkway provides an attractive route for pedestrians and cyclists to a number of facilities that include:
- 3 Dart Stations
- Schools
- Recreational facilities such as Dún Laoghaire Harbour, Peoples Park, Killiney Hill Park and Dalkey Hill
- Shopping in Dún Laoghaire
At present this walkway is quite well used and it is hoped that any improvements will encourage increased use by pedestrians and cyclists.
A report on the proposals for the Metals was brought to the April meeting (2010) of the Dún Laoghaire Area Committee. Following this a non-statutory public consultation was undertaken. This consultation ran from Monday 19th April – Friday 14th May.
An advertisement was placed in the Southsider and the Dún Laoghaire Gazette. A display was set up in the concourse of the County Hall in Dún Laoghaire and copies of the proposals were made available in Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey libraries. Information was placed on the Councils website and an email address was provided for submissions. A leaflet was developed and distributed to over 5,000 houses (within a 750m radius of the Metals) inviting submission on the scheme.
In total 115 submissions were received.
There was overwhelming support for the scheme. Following the public consultation the scheme proceeded to detail design.
Upgrading of the Metals Walkway
The infrastructure upgrades carried out on the Metals route (broken down by junction) are as follows:
Park Road
- Upgrading of the existing traffic lights to toucan crossing standard.
- Upgrading of the existing traffic lights to toucan crossing standard (including replacement to redundant controllers and the installation of low voltage push button units and new LED signal heads)
- Provision of new tactile paving
- Reorientation of existing tactile paving that had been installed incorrectly Localised resurfacing of footways and sections of the walkway to remove trip hazard
- Upgrading of the existing traffic lights to toucan crossing standard (including replacement to redundant controllers and the installation of low voltage push button units and new LED signal heads)
- Provision of new tactile paving
- Reorientation of existing tactile paving that had been installed incorrectly Localised resurfacing of footways and sections of the walkway to remove trip hazard
- Installation of new toucan crossing (including the provision of traffic signal ducting, ESB ducting for power supply to new traffic light controller, tactilepaving, dished kerbs, traffic light retention sockets, mini pillar, traffic light controller base and bollards)
- Localised resurfacing of footways and sections of the walkway to remove trip hazard
- Upgrading of the existing traffic lights to toucan crossing standard (including replacement to redundant controllers and the installation of low voltage push button units and new LED signal heads)
- Provision of new tactile paving
- Reorientation of existing tactile paving that had been installed incorrectly Localised resurfacing of footways and sections of the walkway to remove trip hazard
- Installation of new toucan crossing (including the provision of traffic signal ducting, esb ducting for power supply to new traffic light controller, tactile paving, dished kerbs, traffic light retention sockets, installation of a mini pillar, installation of a traffic light controller base and bollards)
- Localised resurfacing of footways and sections of the walkway to remove trip hazard and to improve fall on walkway to remove ponding
- Installation of new toucan crossing (including the provision of traffic signal ducting, esb ducting for power supply to new traffic light controller, tactile paving, dished kerbs, traffic light retention sockets, installation of a mini pillar, installation of a traffic light controller base and bollards)
- Localised resurfacing of footways and sections of the walkway to remove trip hazard
- Additional public liability insurance cover was required due to the works being carried out over the DART bridge and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown were required to enter into a way-leave agreement with Irish Rail to provide traffic light ducting over the DART bridge.
Some sections of the Metals had very poor surfacing, which deterred people from cycling on it. As part of this project some sections were resurfaced to provide a quality-riding surface to encourage cyclists and those with biggies to use the route.
The section between: Summerhill Road and Adelaide Road, Adelaide Road and Eden Road and the section between Eden Road and Castlepark Road.
A number of other improvements have been made along the route including the removal of overgrown hedges, provision of addition litter bins and the provision of permanent cycle and pedestrian counters.