Great news, the part 8 planning application for the conversion of the first section of the Tralee to Fenit railway into a greenway was just passed unanimously by Tralee town council.
Hopefully the facility will be open for the use of the community and tourist alike in the near future and that the devlopement of the rest of the line will soon follow.
There is an interesting article in the Tralee Down The Years section of The Kerryman this week. The article which was taken from the newspaper this week in 1982 highlights how the cannal path could be an important amenity. While much has changed over the last 30 years, it is interesting to note that many of the issues at the time are still with us today, but i think you would find it hard to find a anyone who thinks that the conversion of the unused transportation route of the ship canal was a bad idea.
Hopefully in 30 years time our children will be looking back on similar clippings regarding the Tralee to Fenit Railway wondering what all the fuss was about.
The city of Copenhagen has recently opened the first [of a planed 26] cycle superhighways, these routes go from the city center out into the countryside and surrounding villages, sound familiar ?
The first route to open runs from Copenhagen to it’s western suburb of Albertslund 11 miles away, a route just a couple of miles longer that the old Tralee to Fenit Railway.
This Cycle Superhighway project has been doing the rounds of major international news outlets recently, lauding the Danish authorities for their work, here is an interesting article from the New York Times which is definitely worth a read.
What is interesting is that the motivation behind the project was to encourage more residents to do their daily commute by bicycle in order to ensure a more healthy and happy population.
“When we look at public hospitals, we look very much at how to reduce cost,” said a regional councilor, Lars Gaardhoj, who had just picked up his three small children in a cargo bike decorated with elephants. “It’s a common saying among doctors that the best patient is the patient you never see. Anything we can do to get less pollution and less traffic is going to mean healthier, maybe happier, people.”
Minister Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar being presented with the Media Pack for the Tralee To Fenit Greenway resently by Joe Cotter [St. Brendans Park Res. Assoc. / Friend of the Tralee to Fenit Greenway]
Tralee Town Council have put the plans for the redevelopment of the Rock Street to Mounthawk section of the old Tralee to Fenit railway out for public consultation.
The plans can be viewed at the town council offices, Princess Quay and should also be available online in the near future.
If you would like to see this project come to fruition, it is important that you make a submission stating this as well as lobbying you local councilors [who will ultimately make the final decision]. Likewise if you have any observations, objections or concerns to the plans you need to make these also.
The deadline for submissions is 12th of July.
Lets hope that the plans for the rest of the line follow soon.
UPDATE
Plans are now available on the Tralee Town Council website.
You can also compose your own submission and email it directly to Catherine.fealy@traleetc.ie
Another walk will take place on Sunday the 1st of April from Rock Street on to Mounthawlk. Hopefully you can come along and see the progress on the project, the line has been cleared at this stage and the rails removed.
The weather is looking better than on the previous walks so sun-block might be needed this time not wellies !
Tralee IT will be running a conference aimed at promoting cycle tourism in Kerry on Saturday 21st April.
Titled Developing Cycling Tourism in Kerry – The Challenges and Opportunities the conference will present ideas on how to develop cycling tourism which will be of interest to community tourism groups, tourism businesses and local authorities who will be eager to explore the potential of cycling as a tourism product for development in Kerry.
Cycling has increased as a leisure activity in Ireland and offers excellent potential for development. The seminar will include speakers involved in developing ‘From Start to Finish’ The Great Western Greenway in Mayo, generating €7.2m in the local economy in addition to a presentation from Southern Trail, a voluntary group who have developed a 53 mile long trail along the old Great Southern Railway. Representatives from various tourism development agencies will also outline the supports available to assist developments in this area. Steven Patterson, from ‘Sustrans‘, a pioneer of the ‘Safe Routes’ concept in the UK & Northern Ireland will also address the conference.
http://www.ittralee.ie/en/InformationAbout/NewsandEvents/EventsCalendar/ConferenceSchedule2012/
For further infonnation and bookings please contact:
Mary Rose Stafford, Centre Manager, Hospitality & Tourism Unit, Institute of Technology Tralee Co. Kerry. Tel 066-7191664.
Here are some photos of the ongoing line clearance, if you have any other photos please send them on and we will add them.
Kerry County Council have recommenced clearance works today, Friday, February 24th on a stretch of the Fenit Railway line from Rock Street to Bracker O’Regan Road, Mounthawk.
The works will involve the cutting back of the trees and undergrowth, back to the railway boundary, along with the removal of rubbish and debris. The work, which is being carried out by Kerry County Council staff is expected to continue until next Friday.
In some cases, the clearance works may see some residential properties along the route have their properties exposed. In these cases, Kerry County Council will be working with the owners to secure the property.
“There will be some properties where the clearance works will expose their property,” a Council spokesperson stated. “Where that happens, security fencing will be immediately erected to protect their property and we will be putting more permanent boundaries in place afterwards.
“We will be speaking to those residents during the next few days and those who have queries are asked to contact Kerry County Council’s Roads Department on 066 7183588 or email: roads@kerrycoco.ie
The clearance works will allow the Council to prepare detailed drawings and costings for works along the route relating to the proposed Tralee-Fenit walkway.
“We are currently finalising a number of issues and hope to be in a position to start the Part 8 Planning Process in relation to the Rock Street to Mounthawk section of the walkway in the next few weeks,” the spokesperson said.
Last week we posted a great super 8 video on the rail line from Adare to Fenit, it is worth mentioning that the majority of the Limerick section of the line [from Abbeyfeale to Rathkeale] has now been reopened as The Great Southern Trail (GST).
The realisation of this Greenway was only possible thanks to the local community, state agencies, Limerick County Council and above all the trojan work of the Great Southern Trail Action Group.
This has not been a short or a trouble-free journey, the Great Southern Trail Group was formed in 1991 and over the past 21 year this voluntary group has worked tirelessly to complete the 35 Km [22 mile] route that is now open. Although some parts of this route have been open for some years now it has only been in the last few month that work on 2 short sections that broke the path has been completed.
Last year the Great Southern Trail deservedly received an award from the European Greenways Association (EGWA) in recognition of the efforts made for the last 20 years by the volunteer enthusiasts of the GST who, with their tireless endeavour, have succeeded in making reality the conversion of a dissused railway line into a Greenway to be enjoyed by all.
Of course the Tralee and Fenit Railway and the North Kerry Railway share the same track bed for the first couple of miles out of Tralee, meaning that that the realisation of Tralee to Fenit project would also be another piece of the Great Southern Trial completed. It would be great to see these old friends, the North Kerry and Feint routes reunited!
If you are looking for a day out walking or cycleing the Great Southern Trail is highly recommended, and keep an eye out for the signage along the route which includes Tralee and Fenit !
