Month: March 2015

Full Steam Ahead for Waterford Greenway while North Kerry still awaits.

Posted on by traleefenit
This message received from The GST.
The best wishes of all lovers of the outdoors go Waterford  City & County Council who have obtained a licence from CIÉ to convert the very scenic old railway from Dungarvan to Waterford into the 50km Déise Greenway. The Council hope to have the entire project completed by the middle of 2016 (read full article in the link below). https://scontent-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10658698_1625774047652238_7211729681051107849_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9

This Greenway will then become part of the EuroVelo1 Atlantic Coastal Route ( www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos ) which is being developed along all the coastal States from Portugal to Norway. The  40km Limerick section of the Great Southern Trail [GST] is also part of EuroVelo1 as is the Tralee Environs portion of the GST. The completed Limerick portion of the GST at present ends in open country at the Kerry Border and this situation has pertained since late 2012.

Following an initial public consultation process in 2013 Kerry County Council made an unsuccessful application for State funding to  develop the 10km from the Limerick Border to Listowel in 2014.  Since then they are in the process of acquiring the railway route from CIÉ and hope to have developed the 10km from the Limerick Border to Listowel by late 2016 if funding can be obtained.
It can be argued that this generous timeframe compares very unfavourably with achievements elsewhere in Ireland as exemplified by the Waterford example.
It is the view of the GST Ltd., who have led the Limerick development, that there should be a Greenway link all the way from Limerick City to Tralee/Fenit with maximum use being made of the dismantled railway.

Priorities ?

Posted on by traleefenit

Kerry County Council have been in the news recently regarding two controversial projects both of which involve the development of cycleways and compulsory purchase orders.

These are the South Kerry greenway in which KCC plan to buy back the railway in South Kerry (which was sold off after it was abandoned decades ago) and the other is the N86 development which also involves buying land for a widened road and a cycleway, ironically parts of this land was also once part the Tralee to Dingle Railway alignment.

So essential your tax money is going to buy back the two abandoned railways, which once were in state ownership, but no longer due to either been sold off or lost due to neglect.

At the same time there are two other railways in Kerry which are still in public ownership and lying idle, (the Tralee – Fenit and Tralee – Limerick) and which could easily be converted to greenways (as per the objectives of the county development)

Wouldn’t would be great to see these routes developed, wouldn’t this be much cheaper and in so better value for the taxpayer !

But maybe an Irish solution to this Irish problem is that we all sit on the fence for a few more years by which time we will have to buy back this land too ?