Politciations and local campaigners yesterday welcomed the opening of the 30km Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway, which had been opened in phases before now.
The greenway was built by Meath County Council from Navan in Co Meath to Kingscourt in Co Cavan. It serves the villages of Gibbstown, Wilkinstown, Castletown, Nobber and Kilmainhamwood.
The greenway follows the old Navan and Kingscourt Railway route, which was part of the Midland Great Western Railway network. Passenger services ended in 1947, while freight services were discontinued in 2001.
Local campaign group the Navan Cycling Initiative said: “It was great to attend the official opening of the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway at Kilmainhamwood. Not even thunder and lightning could stop us. Well done to all on getting it over the line, especially Cllr Eugene Cassidy, who first proposed it all those years ago.”
The opening of the greenway was attended by Jack Chambers, Minister for State at the Department of Transport, and local politicians, including three local Government ministers: Heather Humphreys, Minister for Social Protection; Helen McEntee, Minister for Justice; and Thomas Byrne, Minister for State for Sports and Physical Activity.
Minister Chambers said: “I’m delighted to officially open the Kingscourt to Boyne Valley greenway. It’s vital infrastructure delivered by the Government to promote active travel, road safety, and connectivity for the region.”
Minister Humphreys said: “A wonderful occasion in Kinmainhamwood as Jack Chambers and I officially opened the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway. This project from Navan to Kingscourt in Cavan received €2 million from my Department.”
Minister Byrne said: “The Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway is a true delight. If you haven’t been, you gotta go. 30km off road greenway, it is a paradise for walkers and bikers. Jack Chambers cut the ribbon on the project today and it was great to be there.”
In ways it’s great to see the line been utilised but as seen before when the malahide viaduct collapsed if the line was reinstated then drogheda dundalk and northern irish trains would have used this route instead of all been transferred to car and bus
@Martin, you might be confusing this with something else… The disused railway line — which was in no state to be used with the viaduct collapsed — ends in Kingscourt, Co Cavan and has no relevance whatsoever to a connection between Drogheda, Dundalk and Northern Ireland and Dublin. The Kingscourt branch never went further than Kingscourt.
The Drogheda to Navan line is a freight line that would not have been suitable for commuter and intercity services after the viaduct collapsed. And even if the trains got to Navan, the line between Navan and Dublin is still waiting to be reinstated for Dart services. There are no tracks there now, and there was none why the viaduct collapsed.
There’s no danger of the Navan to Dublin line being used as a greenway. The case for restoring the Navan to Dublin link is very strong especially given the population along the line and the distance from Dublin. There’s a large question as to why there’s still no progess on that project.
I’m delighted to hear of the new 30km safe cycling trail in Navan…
However, when are we going to learn of completed safe infrastructure provided for children to cycle to school. Infrastructure that inspires people to cycle to work, to shops, to friends, to cinemas ….
In Roscrea, for instance, the authorities saw it fit to construct a segregated two way track along a stretch of road punctuated by two roundabouts that is part of the ring road around the town.
Meanwhile housing estates can be observed spilling private cars out onto the roads in persuit of to a bag of sugar 1.5km away.
Ticking the EU boxes and spending EU money is not the only objective.
Some genuine joined up planning must also take place.