A High Court judgment which blocked a proposed six-month trial of a cycle route on Strand Road in Sandymount has been overturned by the Court of Appeal on Friday.
The project included making the road one-way for cars. The judgment was delivered after the Court of Appeal reserved judgment in February 2023.
The High Court ruling, which was appealed by Dublin City Council, had been in favour of Peter Carvill, of the Serpentine Avenue, Tritonville and Claremont Roads group, and the Independent Cllr. Mannix Flynn.
Issues raised included whether the council had the powers to run the trail as proposed, if the cycle route was to be a trial, and whether the council followed good procedure.
Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act was used by councils to implement traffic calming and walking, cycling and bus priority measures.
The Court of Appeal has concluded that the High Court judgment was wrong in ruling that planning permission was required.
The Court said that the High Court judge has erred in his ruling that there was nothing to support the idea that the trial would be temporary.
The justices found that full environmental EIA screening was not required, and the High Court judge erred.
The Court of Appeal also found that the scheme did not require planning permission.
The Court of Appeal criticised the lack of guidelines for Section 38 from the national government, although guidelines have been put in place since. The lack of a written decision for the council in making a written decision was also criticised.
The Court ruled that the case was not moot because the city council plans to proceed with the scheme in the future, so the outcome of the case was “concrete” and not abstract. The issue of costs is to be deferred until Friday May 2nd.
Sandymount Cycle Path Plan
