current status of dublin to galway greenway

Ryath · 06-10-2015 3:39pm

Did to Moate to Mullingar and carried on for a bit on the canal past Mullingar for a few k. They've put these up though in the last few days at least 6 sets between Athlone they're tighter than I thought they would be. Hard work for anyone with a trailer or on a hand-cycle.

Swamp3 · 06-10-2015 7:42pm

Ryath wrote: »

Did to Moate to Mullingar and carried on for a bit on the canal past Mullingar for a few k. They've put these up though in the last few days at least 6 sets between Athlone they're tighter than I thought they would be. Hard work for anyone with a trailer or on a hand-cycle.

I took the Mullingar to Moate section in on the way to work yesterday.
Great surface most of the way. It crosses a few roads near Mount Temple where you have to stop. Had to squeeze through those new wooden gates too.

I didn't meet anyone on the way...well it was 6 in the morning! My new lights worked a treat.

donaghs · 07-10-2015 11:28am

AS much as I like greenways, I guess the Athlone-Mullingar railway line is now gone forever?

loyatemu · 07-10-2015 12:13pm

donaghs wrote: »

AS much as I like greenways, I guess the Athlone-Mullingar railway line is now gone forever?

It's still there in the picture above - not likely to be reopened anytime soon though.

what_traffic · 07-10-2015 12:36pm

Swamp3 wrote: »

Had to squeeze through those new wooden gates too.

Who has installed the gates? The Council, NRA or the contractor. Cannot see the purpose of the one from photo in Ryath's post unless it is not fully finished?

flazio · 07-10-2015 1:56pm

The kissing gates are needed to keep motors and horses off the leisure facility.
Probably won't work if they keep the railway side wide open but still...

Ryath · 07-10-2015 2:40pm

what_traffic wrote: »

Who has installed the gates? The Council, NRA or the contractor. Cannot see the purpose of the one from photo in Ryath's post unless it is not fully finished?

They are mostly at level crossings though a few are at houses whose driveway crosses the greenway. I'd say they mostly just to slow down cyclists crossing junctions. They really don't need to as tight though to slow people down.

flazio wrote: »

The kissing gates are needed to keep motors and horses off the leisure facility.
Probably won't work if they keep the railway side wide open but still...

Am assuming are going to fence them closed at the sides or will they keep the rail section open, they are going to fill the tracks with gravel for walkers?

There's a lot of sh*t from cattle being moved along it near Streamstown and from at least one horse. I guess farmers are entitled to, it would have been a right of way? But horses would be banned.

I don't understand why they are fixed structures either surely they will need to let road sweepers on to them occasionally. There are a lot trees along it and parts are already heavily covered with fallen leaves. An ambulance would all so need to be able to get on, there are sections where you could be a few k from the nearest access point. The mayo greenway kissing gates can be opened fully. Best pic I can find.

what_traffic · 07-10-2015 4:12pm

Ryath wrote: »

I don't understand why they are fixed structures either surely they will need to let road sweepers on to them occasionally. There are a lot trees along it and parts are already heavily covered with fallen leaves. An ambulance would all so need to be able to get on, there are sections where you could be a few k from the nearest access point.

Was thinking the same regards maintenance when I saw your photo. Not having a fixed structure makes sense, as you have pointed out. Bike with panniers or trailers is not going to able to navigate them easily or at all?

12-10-2015 10:19am

So how much of the overall Dublin to Galway greenway is done?

I'd love to try some of this out.

mr spuckler · 14-10-2015 8:51pm

ronoc wrote: »

So how much of the overall Dublin to Galway greenway is done?

I'd love to try some of this out.

relative to the whole length i'd say less than a quarter. it's really just mullingar to athlone that's finished to a high standard. the stretch from the meath / westmeath county border as far as mullingar is also usable and is perfectly fine for a road bike. beyond that it's just a few km in dublin near the city and then separately out towards castleknock than have been done.

no word that i can find on when meath county council get going.
kildare apparently won't have their sh1t in gear to apply for funding before 2017.
athlone to galway stretch is subject to extensive consultation and discussion with farmers as there is no canal or railway line to follow. farmers are fighting back in a big way against CPOs. can assume this is a number of years away from completion.

Carawaystick · 15-10-2015 12:23pm

mr spuckler wrote: »

no word that i can find on when meath county council get going.
kildare apparently won't have their sh1t in gear to apply for funding before 2017.

I think I read (either on Meath or Kildare Coco website) that Kildare CoCo are doing Meath's bit.
It kind of makes sense to just have one CoCo, there's parts of the canal in one county you cant get to from roads in that county and vice versa

expectationlost · 19-10-2015 11:40am

so kenny opens a section wants a national strategy but doesn't mention the problems on the way to galway http://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/kenny-wants-national-strategy-for-walks-and-trails-1.2396611

alentejo · 20-10-2015 6:50pm

Cycled Mullingar-Athlone-Mullingar today. Slightly under 90Km (as stopped in Athlone proper).

I must say was very impressed with this piece of cycling infrastructure. Quality of finish is superb and the gates are fine. surprised at the numbers using it. Nice change to road cycling and no hills

There is a small section east of Athlone which does not have tarmac, however the line appears to go thru a bog, so I suspect they might wait a year or so before applying a final finish.

Had a nice high average speed of 27km ph for once.

Would recommend to any cyclist

galwaycyclist · 20-10-2015 11:47pm

expectationlost wrote: »

so kenny opens a section wants a national strategy but doesn't mention the problems on the way to galway http://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/kenny-wants-national-strategy-for-walks-and-trails-1.2396611

Hmm I would not assess anyone's "position" on the basis of what gets printed in the Irish Times. That said, calling for a strategy is in my view implicitly a criticism of the NRA and their approach to such routes. As soon as they get off canals and disused railways they walk into a brick wall. This is even though the NRA were tasked with developing a national cycle network by the previous govt. Instead of coming up with a strategy they have come up with a case study in how not to do such things.

schemingbohemia · 21-10-2015 11:13am

galwaycyclist wrote: »

Hmm I would not assess anyone's "position" on the basis of what gets printed in the Irish Times. That said, calling for a strategy is in my view implicitly a criticism of the NRA and their approach to such routes. As soon as they get off canals and disused railways they walk into a brick wall. This is even though the NRA were tasked with developing a national cycle network by the previous govt. Instead of coming up with a strategy they have come up with a case study in how not to do such things.

I'd love to hear your solution.......

galwaycyclist · 21-10-2015 11:42am

schemingbohemia wrote: »

I'd love to hear your solution.......

In Galway, we already have a model for intense cycling tourism on local country roads.

Its called the Aran Islands.

On Inishmore cycling is the method of choice for tourists exploring the island. They hire bikes near the quay when they get off the ferry and take off. They are using minor country roads shared with local motor traffic.

It works and has been working that way for years.

The key point is that these roads are used by low volumes of motor vehicles on local journeys. There is nobody taking short cuts in cars through Inishmore on their way between Galway and Oranmore/Gort/Limerick etc.

Are we to understand that there is no way that similar traffic conditions can be created on similar roads elsewhere in the county?

loyatemu · 21-10-2015 12:11pm

galwaycyclist wrote: »

In Galway, we already have a model for intense cycling tourism on local country roads.

Its called the Aran Islands.

On Inishmore cycling is the method of choice for tourists exploring the island. They hire bikes near the quay when they get off the ferry and take off. They are using minor country roads shared with local motor traffic.

It works and has been working that way for years.

The key point is that these roads are used by low volumes of motor vehicles on local journeys. There is nobody taking short cuts in cars through Inishmore on their way between Galway and Oranmore/Gort/Limerick etc.

Are we to understand that there is no way that similar traffic conditions can be created on similar roads elsewhere in the county?

The national cycling plan certainly envisages using "lightly trafficed local roads" for some of it's routes. However I'd expect loads of complaints from locals on the grounds of "safety".

schemingbohemia · 21-10-2015 12:23pm

galwaycyclist wrote: »

In Galway, we already have a model for intense cycling tourism on local country roads.

Its called the Aran Islands.

On Inishmore cycling is the method of choice for tourists exploring the island. They hire bikes near the quay when they get off the ferry and take off. They are using minor country roads shared with local motor traffic.

It works and has been working that way for years.

The key point is that these roads are used by low volumes of motor vehicles on local journeys. There is nobody taking short cuts in cars through Inishmore on their way between Galway and Oranmore/Gort/Limerick etc.

Are we to understand that there is no way that similar traffic conditions can be created on similar roads elsewhere in the county?

Just to remind you, the topic is Dublin to Galway greenway, specifically west of Athlone.

So your solution for a cross-country route that can be sold as a destination/trip attractor in its own right is for people to use the roads west of Athlone?

If that were the case wouldn't the country be over-run with touring cyclists already?

So you basically think Fáilte Ireland have got it wrong and that no off-road facility is required to attract cycling tourists and that they've got the marketing wrong and they're ignoring all their own market research?

I bow to your superior knowledge of tourism and the needs of families and cyclists.

galwaycyclist · 21-10-2015 3:30pm

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Just to remind you, the topic is Dublin to Galway greenway, specifically west of Athlone.

So your solution for a cross-country route that can be sold as a destination/trip attractor in its own right is for people to use the roads west of Athlone?

Yes that is how such routes are achieved elsewhere - particularly Germany - they use roads that are still open to local traffic but from which through traffic is excluded.

If that were the case wouldn't the country be over-run with touring cyclists already?

No because we chose not to manage our roads the same way as other European countries. We chose to let anyone drive anywhere anytime. if we had not done this we would now be overrun with touring cyclists.

So you basically think Fáilte Ireland have got it wrong and that no off-road facility is required to attract cycling tourists and that they've got the marketing wrong and they're ignoring all their own market research?

I bow to your superior knowledge of tourism and the needs of families and cyclists.

Enormous straw man there - are we on the back foot? It is possible to build extensive cycling networks without resorting to a new-build cpo "motorway" type approach that is the model the NRA are currently pushing and which has predictably blown up in their faces.

This is recognised in the 2007 Failte Ireland Cycling Strategy which proposed an Irish Cycle Network using "the network of country lanes and roads throughout the country. These roads have been chosen where traffic levels are light and lanes have a line of green grass up the centre".

The National Cycle Policy Framework states that the proposed National Cycle
Network will mainly use a mix of minor roads, and some greenways.

There is nothing to prevent the use of both options in developing routes.

From the outside the current model of pushing compulsory purchase orders through family farms and "new-build" might be seen as pushing large quantities of state funds to civil engineering firms for questionable purpose.

Carawaystick · 22-10-2015 10:29pm

How many national or regional roads are on Árainn?
There's no way to get from Athlone to Galway without crossing some.

galwaycyclist · 23-10-2015 6:21am

Carawaystick wrote: »

How many national or regional roads are on Árainn?
There's no way to get from Athlone to Galway without crossing some.

This issue of crossings remains for the new build greenway that the NRA wants to push through family farms. They aren't proposing flyovers or tunnels at every regional road.

There are many roads in the country that are not regional or national roads and could be managed to the benefit of local communities and cycling tourism instead of for the benefit of people passing through in cars.

flazio · 24-10-2015 7:19pm

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Myself and the young lad went on the cycle track from Moate to Athlone and back. Long time since I've been on a bike but we enjoyed it. It's well done, I'd imagine the view would get boring after a few trips on it. The Tarmac surface was good, gravel bit was a bit tougher.
Would have liked km markers along the route just to know how we were getting along. Also maybe a little bench here and there to sit on for a drink or a packed lunch, especially if you have a child or are just very leisurely!
Thanks to the few "proper" cyclists who gave us a few tips as they passed us by

Picked this up from the thread on the Westmeath forum. I hope we are all getting along on this family amenity.

kildarecommuter · 30-10-2015 9:43am

RTE news this morning saying Minister has now withdrawn funding for Athlone-Galway section due to objections from Landowners and is instead funding the project in Cos Meath & Kildare.

mr spuckler · 30-10-2015 11:51am

kildarecommuter wrote: »

RTE news this morning saying Minister has now withdrawn funding for Athlone-Galway section due to objections from Landowners and is instead funding the project in Cos Meath & Kildare.

yes saw that earlier, i don't know though if planning is in place or what's needed? hopefully they get going on it fairly soon, my main concern is getting dublin to athlone finished as that's the only bit i'll use for the most part!

traprunner · 30-10-2015 12:17pm

http://www.newstalk.com/Work-on-RoscommonGalway-cycle-greenway-paused-amid-concerns-of-local-farmers

mr spuckler · 30-10-2015 1:13pm

mr spuckler wrote: »

yes saw that earlier, i don't know though if planning is in place or what's needed? hopefully they get going on it fairly soon, my main concern is getting dublin to athlone finished as that's the only bit i'll use for the most part!

and to answer my own question, it looks like planning is in place which is great news.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/plan-for-cycle-route-from-dublin-to-galway-halted-by-landowners-objections-34154096.html

Moflojo · 30-10-2015 2:44pm

Objections put brakes on cycleway from Dublin to Galway
Work on 145km section is paused by Minister after objections from farmers along route

Landowner objections have caused the postponement of development of the Galway-Athlone section of the Dublin-Galway Greenway.

This crap really grinds my gears. Either the landowners are being p***ks or the authorities f**ked up the planning and construction process. Either way, the greater good of Irish society is not being served.

From today's Irish Times:

Esroh · 30-10-2015 3:50pm

Has a map of the proposed route been published showing where the need for CPOs were needed.
The old main road from Athlone to Galway has ample room for bicycle infrastructure and villages like kilreekel and Craughwell could benifit. Why is it that everything must be off road as in completely seperated.
You can drive the old road now from Oranmore to Loughrea and count the number of cars you meet.

schemingbohemia · 30-10-2015 4:10pm

lots of info here
http://www.galwaytodublincycleway.ie/#!athlone-castle-to-galway-city/c1zst

cuculainn · 30-10-2015 4:24pm

Esroh wrote: »

Has a map of the proposed route been published showing where the need for CPOs were needed.
The old main road from Athlone to Galway has ample room for bicycle infrastructure and villages like kilreekel and Craughwell could benifit. Why is it that everything must be off road as in completely seperated.
You can drive the old road now from Oranmore to Loughrea and count the number of cars you meet.

A sh*t load of cars and trucks....I cycle it regularly unfortunately and that road is no tourist amenity!

current status of dublin to galway greenway

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