— Greenway route also includes gates narrower than wanted by disability advocates.
The Kerry Cycling Campaign and national group Cyclist.ie are asking members of the public to join with them by Friday to ask Kerry Council Council not to divert the Tralee-Fenit Greenway.
At the time of writing it is unclear what the legal situation is around the blockage of part of the former Tralee-Fenit railway route. The Irish Examiner reported: “The Fenit line closed in 1978 but remained in the ownership of CIE and was later transferred to the council.”
A private business seems to be operating on the railway which is reported to be still in State ownership and it is understood that the parties involved did not object to the original planning approval for the Tralee-Fenit greenway.
Kerry Council Council has told local media that the detour is not long and will not add greatly to the cost of the route.
Campaigners are asking people to email the council objections to the detour to ciu@kerrycoco.ie with the subject line ‘Tralee-Fenit Greenway (Bawnboy)‘ by this Friday September 4.
The greenway route also includes the route yielding to private driveways and chicanes gates which are narrower than recommended by groups like Wheels for Wellbeing, which advocates for access to cycling for people with disabilities and mobility issues.
The details of the detour can be found on the council’s website.
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If this was a road for cars none of this would happen.
I would love to see this greenway open without further delay. We need safe cycle paths for cyclists. I am a great supporter of cycle paths throughout our whole country
Another point, the private access would never get priority over a road also.
I object to the proposal to divert the greenway as from what I can see is proposed will in fact create a hairpin-bend on the route. In effect a blind end turn. This would interrupt users line of sight and create a personal safety threat should persons not have clear vision of what lies in front of them and indeed who might lie in wait for them.
No other section of the route has this issue to contend with. I expect a full design risk assessment by KCC will conclude that the proposed diversion will create an unacceptable risk for users safety and security. Approving this proposal to divert will cause a precedent that others might follow. If this route is compromised as proposed it may deter users and render the whole project a failure.
This problem has been caused by the failure of the responsible authorities to preserve the old permanent way in secure public ownership. Other countries like France, Spain and the UK have provided many off road greenways which are fabulous tourist attractions as well as being venues for safe healthy exercise for local people and visitors. We need a much more vigorous approach to providing greenways on old railway routes and canal towpaths. The businesses along the Westport – Achill Sound greenway have been reaping the benifits for years.