Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

149. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in light of Dublin City Council’s new ‘Delivering for Dublin Agreement’ which contains a commitment to expand the Dublin Bikes network, if his department will consider expansion of the scheme to the interior of Phoenix Park; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27766/24]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Office of Public Works is happy to engage with Dublin City Council on its new ‘Delivering for Dublin Agreement’ which was recently published. The Phoenix Park is one of the largest recreational urban spaces in any European city, which is actively used by walkers and cyclists. The Office of Public Works was the first organisation in the greater Dublin area to introduce bicycles for hire through its cycling concessions, located at the Parkgate Street entrance to the Phoenix Park. The concessionaire offers a variety of bicycles including adult and kids’ bikes, tandem bikes, bikes with carriages, accessible and electric bikes. This service is available 7 days a week, throughout the year.

In terms of cycling and accessibility more generally, the OPW is committed to supporting active travels measures in the park and has undertaken considerable work on this front over the past number of years. The Phoenix Park Transport and Mobility Options study was published in 2021 and this included a number of recommendations including improving walking and cycling routes within the Phoenix Park and links into and out of the Park. Subsequent to the Transport and Mobility Study, the draft Parking Strategy looked specifically at approaches to parking within the Phoenix Park with a strong emphasis on pedestrians, cyclists and those with mobility issues who are reliant on their cars in order to access the park. Some of the key actions arising from the draft Parking Strategy are an increase in cycle parking provision, cycle hire and the introduction of accessible cycle parking, across the park.

There are a number of bike share services already in operation in Dublin such as Dublin Bikes, Bleeper and Moby among others. Dublin Bikes for example, already has stations nearby at Heuston Station, Seán Heuston Bridge and Parkgate Street. There are no plans currently to install further bike share infrastructure inside the Phoenix Park, given that there is currently an extensive range of bikes available for all abilities within the Park. It should also be noted that the Phoenix Park is an Archaeological Complex and there is no electricity lines across large parts of the park which makes installing certain types of infrastructure challenging. The users of the bike share schemes regularly tour the extensive bike network within the Phoenix Park and OPW is delighted to engage with DCC on their Dublin Bike Scheme.