current status of dublin to galway greenway

mr spuckler · 08-09-2015 7:18pm #1

does anyone know ho close to complete the dublin to mullingar or mullingar to athlone stretches are? i'm cycling dublin to athlone next weekend and thought it might be a nice option if complete but i haven't found anything to confirm that it has opened...

tigerboon · 08-09-2015 8:38pm

mr spuckler wrote: »

does anyone know ho close to complete the dublin to mullingar or mullingar to athlone stretches are? i'm cycling dublin to athlone next weekend and thought it might be a nice option if complete but i haven't found anything to confirm that it has opened...

I think the Mullingar to Athlone bit is due to open this month

mr spuckler · 08-09-2015 10:06pm

i know it was due to open this month but heard since that the stretch around moate isn't surfaced yet and by that account looks a long way off. pity, would be a great option rather than the old N6 which is a fairly boring spin

kildarecommuter · 08-09-2015 10:56pm

Drove around parts of it last Sunday it's tarred from Mullingar to past Streamstown( near Horseleap)
The line runs parallel to the road for a distance after Castletown and there is access there
You could go from Mullingar to this point and then take road onto moate & athlone
There's a thread in Westmeath forum too!

bog_savage · 09-09-2015 10:17am

They doing the Rosemount to Moate section this week , ill have a look later and post pics here , even if its not finished you can get off at the end of the tarmac section and do last 3 miles to Moate by road .

mr spuckler · 09-09-2015 10:21am

thanks guys, both very helpful! now will have to figure out how to access it in mullingar! i don't know the town very well (am an athlone man) and coming from dublin so got a bit of planning to balance safety with not stretching the mileage too far!

mr spuckler · 09-09-2015 10:35am

on that, if either of you guys know exactly where i can access from mullingar or nearby please let me know, thanks

indeed, it looks like i'll be able to get on it sooner, just need to figure out exactly where this is!

http://www.galwaytodublincycleway.ie/#!meath-westmeath-to-mullingar/crbp

Qualitymark · 09-09-2015 10:57am

It's pretty awful in the parts of Connemara where I cycle - a mingy little bit near Clifden, nothing from Clifden out to Ballyconneely where tourists would love to trek.

Swamp3 · 09-09-2015 11:56am

You can access it from the canal on the west side of the town, or from the roundabout in zone C of the Mullingar Business Park.
It's the roundabout with the Outdoor Escape bike shop and Trend factory.

cuculainn · 09-09-2015 12:04pm

So will this route be tarred all the way? will it not be like the greenway in mayo where it is more suited to hybrid bikes than road bikes?

it would be great if it was all tarred

bog_savage · 09-09-2015 12:23pm

Currently tarred all the way from mullingar to moate. They are packing up here and moving to athlone side of moate. 4 lorries of tar parker waiting for the machine. I doubt they will complete moate to athlone before the weekend though

mr spuckler · 09-09-2015 12:25pm

bog_savage wrote: »

Currently tarred all the way from mullingar to moate. They are packing up here and moving to athlone side of moate. 4 lorries of tar parker waiting for the machine. I doubt they will complete moate to athlone before the weekend though

so done as far as the golf club? would be brilliant to be able to make it that far tbf

kildarecommuter · 09-09-2015 1:48pm

If your cycling from Dublin easiest place for you to access is by going on to Canal at Dublin Bridge and follow canal cycle path (all tarred around Mullingar ) around town until you come to the Athlone greenway access point.
It's not officially open yet so you'll probably find a half open chainlink/ barrier fence to go thru

bog_savage · 09-09-2015 2:42pm

mr spuckler wrote: »

so done as far as the golf club? would be brilliant to be able to make it that far tbf

Ah , actually sorry , had a look coming home and the last km to the station & golf club are not done yet , council is working around the station and the others are taring from other side of station to Athlone . Ill update if its finished before weekend . However the surface is good , rolled gravel , you could do last KM on a race bike if you take it easy . You could also get off at exit 2-3 miles before Moate

mr spuckler · 09-09-2015 3:00pm

bog_savage wrote: »

Ah , actually sorry , had a look coming home and the last km to the station & golf club are not done yet , council is working around the station and the others are taring from other side of station to Athlone . Ill update if its finished before weekend . However the surface is good , rolled gravel , you could do last KM on a race bike if you take it easy . You could also get off at exit 2-3 miles before Moate

thanks a million, really appreciate the update. the good news is that it's the following weekend (planning to cycle down the 18th or 19th, back the 20th) so fingers crossed the extra few days will mean that they can get it finished for me

looks like a hell of a surface though, really looking fwd to giving it a go

Donie75 · 09-09-2015 3:53pm

I can see this being a great early morning weekend winter spin on the road bike. It's probably going to be busy with walkers/runners/kids on trikes/etc. I'm in Athlone so this will be a great route but early in the morning will be better because it should be empty. 41km each way will be a nice spin.
It should also be great for dark midweek spins. Must dig out that 3200 lumen LED light I bought on Ebay and never used.

I must find a decent coffee shop near the end in Mullingar too.

mr spuckler · 09-09-2015 3:58pm

as long as it's just busy with people actively using it and not lads causing trouble it'll be a brilliant addition tbf.

from what i've been reading the last few times i've been down in athlone it might be a while making it across the shannon though!

Donie75 · 09-09-2015 4:05pm

Yeah, the Athlone end is going to be tricky. I cant understand why they want to build a new bridge across the river for it. It looks hideous.
They should add a piece to the existing town road bridge.
I wonder will the new greenway be suitable for some midweek spins in the dark during winter? It could be a great car-free option to get out and do one or two 30-50km spins each week. Might be a bit odd in the pitch dark with just a light. Might need to use a helmet and handlebar light.
I suppose if MTBers can go up the Wicklow mountains at night it shouldn't be an issue.

mr spuckler · 09-09-2015 4:20pm

particularly when funding for these things is such a challenge, yet i've also read about a tunnel option to take cyclists in from garrycastle!

unless they think it's hugely expensive to retro-fit either the town bridge or the white bridge you'd definitely think they're better options, assuming you still have a way of separating cyclists from traffic.

that said if they can secure funding for a new bridge and design and build something really visually appealing it could become a focal point for the whole greenway. knowing our lot though there ain't a chance of that happening!

it also sounds like the extension west of athlone could be a very messy process so for now my only attention is on the dublin to athlone stretch!

bog_savage · 09-09-2015 4:36pm

I believe they are filling in the space between the tracks to make a walking track to keep walkers and cyclists separate. Will be some job. Just be aware there are a couple of high exposed areas where cross wind will be an issue .

Powerful lights whizzing up and down the track in the dark will look like trains again

bog_savage · 09-09-2015 6:25pm

Couple more pics . Lisnagree crossing between Streamstown and Rosemount

mr spuckler · 10-09-2015 12:25pm

I spoke to a very helpful guy in Westmeath county council this morning, he told me that the stretch to Athlone is at least 3/4 complete and he's to come back to me to let me know if they think it'll be finished by next weekend (19th). he did say it won't be open but didn't sound too bothered about that bit!

funnily enough from what he said it sounds like a lot of people are already using this for training because the surface is so good, i wonder did the planned grading of this change somewhere along the way? got the impression from him that it wasn't always planned to be such a good finish.

some helpful links from the coco website anyway

general info
http://www.westmeathcoco.ie/en/ourservices/tourismlibraryartsrecreation/greenway/royalcanalgreenwaywestmeath/

description, access points and google map
http://www.westmeathcoco.ie/en/ourservices/tourismlibraryartsrecreation/greenway/royalcanalgreenwayroutemap/

stecleary · 10-09-2015 1:49pm

Dublin to Galway greenway on a road bike would be beautiful, if it's nice tarmac all the way the other half might be getting a few overnight stays in Galway in the future

kildarecommuter · 10-09-2015 1:50pm

Stopped to have a look at it last Sunday at Castletown, at least 15 cyclists passed in the10 mins I was there !
If the contractors are not working there's cyclists on it

mr spuckler · 10-09-2015 1:53pm

from what the lad in the council was saying this morning, the cyclists are also sometimes there while the contractors are working on it too!

stecleary, agreed although it could be a long time before it's all done! and if the local county councils are the ones who decide on grade of finishes as it sounds is the case from westmeath then it could vary from county to county. tbf even if the surface was the same as the western greenway down by achill it would be more than good enough to belt along on a road bike.

Carawaystick · 10-09-2015 1:57pm

Is it a Westmeath Co Co push that has this done? There isn't much info about the Kildare/Meath sections of the Canal Towpath.

mr spuckler · 10-09-2015 2:10pm

Carawaystick wrote: »

Is it a Westmeath Co Co push that has this done? There isn't much info about the Kildare/Meath sections of the Canal Towpath.

probably a combination of the council being proactive, it being a relatively easy win in terms of disruption (with a long stretch being along the old athlone to mullingar railway line) and funding being made available also. tbf the funding piece only would have come about after firm proposals were submitted so it's possible that westmeath were ahead of the others from that point of view.

below suggests the dublin piece is complicated, i had also read an announcement about the opening of a 2.7km stretch near castleknock to great fanfare!
http://www.dublingalwaygreenway.com/2015/06/dublin-city-council-opens-public.html

below suggests bad news on the kildare front at least, again not sure was it just slowness on kildare council front or if the funding requirements are much greater than westmeath.
http://www.dublingalwaygreenway.com/2015/05/funding-for-kildare-greenway-not-likely.html

btw, Ivo Brett (dublingalwaygreenway.com) and Westmeath County Council definitely have the best information on the greenway. the official NRA site at http://www.galwaytodublincycleway.ie/ is poor at best.

kildarecommuter · 10-09-2015 2:45pm

Wonder would the fact that both canal and rail green ways both go through Mullingar the county town and the rail greenway connects to Athlone Westmeaths 2nd town, whereas in Meath Kildare or Longford they don't go near the main towns !

stecleary · 10-09-2015 3:16pm

mr spuckler wrote: »

stecleary, agreed although it could be a long time before it's all done! and if the local county councils are the ones who decide on grade of finishes as it sounds is the case from westmeath then it could vary from county to county. tbf even if the surface was the same as the western greenway down by achill it would be more than good enough to belt along on a road bike.

So you're say I NEED to buy a CX bike

mr spuckler · 10-09-2015 4:17pm

stecleary wrote: »

So you're say I NEED to buy a CX bike

if you're around 6' 2" and ok with 2nd hand then yes, yes you do

i can't say if that comment is independent of my own plans to sell similar :rolleyes:

stecleary · 10-09-2015 4:19pm

mr spuckler wrote: »

if you're around 6' 2" and ok with 2nd hand then yes, yes you do

i can't say if that comment is independent of my own plans to sell similar :rolleyes:

You'd get two of me in 6'2"

current status of dublin to galway greenway

Comments