Dublin-Galway Greenway

Dublin-Galway Greenway

Bridge on the greenway
Length 276km[1]
Location Dublin-Galway, Ireland
Trailheads Sheriff Street, Dublin
Galway City
Use Hiking, Cycling
Elevation
Elevation gain/loss 0m gain approximately
Map of the EuroVelo 2 route.

The Dublin-Galway Greenway is a partially completed 'coast-to-coast' greenway and partial rail trail, in Ireland, funded by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, which will become the western section of EuroVelo EV2, a cycle route from Galway, Ireland, crossing Europe and ending in Moscow, Russia.[2][3][4]The 276 km route is planned to be completed by 2020.[3][1][5] It will be the third greenway in Ireland, after the Great Southern Trail and the Great Western Greenway.

Sections

The greenway connects existing pathways, redeveloped railtrails and newly created sections.

Royal Canal Way

Main article: Royal Canal Way

Sections of the route follow the Royal Canal Way which links Dublin to Longford along the Royal Canal.

Westmeath Way

Main article: Westmeath Way

The Westmeath way stretches 28 km[6] from the Meath-Westmeath border and will meet to the town of Ballinea, south-west of Mullingar.[7]

Mullingar - Athlone

The section from Mullingar to Athlone is a rail-trail over the disused Mullingar-Athlone rail line, (with refurbished former stations in Moate and Castletown Geoghegan).[8][9] A new bridge is planned for Athlone.[10][11][3][1][12][13] The Moate-Garrycastle section was officially opened by Taioseach Enda Kenny in October 2015.[14][15][8][16][17][18][19] In September 2015 the Westmeath Independent reported that the greenway could provide a "€15m boost" to the local economy.[20]

Plans, by a community development organsisation in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, are underway to connect the Greenway to the Offaly Cycleways at Kilbeggan with a greenway to Tullamore, County Offaly.[21] Work is planned to begin by summer 2016. [21]

Athlone - Galway

The planning of this route via Ballinasloe by the National Roads Authority was requested by Galway County Council in June 2014 and was in the planning stage in July 2015.[3][22][23][24][18][25][26] There has been opposition from multiple stakeholders.The Galway Cycling Campaign which is objecting to the proposal to place the route near to the N6 national primary road. Teachta Dála for Galway East, Ciarán Cannon stated in September 2015 that significant numbers of local landowners have also expressed concern about the preferred route.[27][28] In October 2015 Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe announced the withdrawal of funding for the section until the concerns of local landowners had been resolved.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Melia, Paul (27 June 2014). "Wheels in motion for 280km coast-to-coast cycle route". Irish Independent. Dublin. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Latest section of Dublin-Galway coast-to-coast Greenway opens - Varadkar". DTTAS.ie. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Local councillors had a chance to check on the progress of the Greenway cycleway project as works reached Moate last week.". Athlone Advertiser. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Kelly, Olivia (12 March 2015). "Plan unveiled for €10m-plus Royal Canal cycle path". Irish Times. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Galway to Dublin greenway could be finished in five years". IrishCycle.com. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Royal Canal Greenway map". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Walking on The Royal Canal". Waterways Ireland. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Midlands Greenway official opening on October 18". Westmeath Examiner. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Work underway at Moate Railway Station". Athlone Advertiser. 9 July 2015. p. 4. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015 – via pagesuite-professional.co.uk.
  10. ↑ Grace, Robert (10 December 2015). "Councillors welcome latest proposed design for Athlone's cycleway bridge". Athlone Advertiser. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Dublin – Galway Greenway". Westmeath County Council. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "€10m More For Cycleways". HospitalityIreland.com. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Daly, Maria (9 October 2014). "Council confirm plans for new towncentre bridge as part of cycleway". Athlone Advertiser. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  14. ↑ McDermott, Eoghan (18 October 2015). "Kenny wants national strategy for walks and trails". Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Taoiseach to officially open Greenway this Sunday". 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Taoiseach to perform official opening of Mullingar to Garrycastle cycleway". Shannonside FM. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Cusack, Adrian (26 August 2015). "Athone to Mullingar Greenway set to open within weeks". IrishCycle.com. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Countdown is on to opening of Athlone to Mullingar cycleway". Westmeath Independent. 18 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Welcome to Greenways Westmeath". Westmeath County Council. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Cusack, Adrian (2 September 2015). "local greenway could provide '€15m boost'". Westmeath Independent. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  21. 1 2 "Kilbeggan track could be 'midlands Greenway'". Westmeath Examiner. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  22. ↑ Nee, Martina (26 June 2014). "NRA to begin design of Ballinasloe to Galway greenway". Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  23. ↑ Coleman, Daniel (October 2014). Route Corridor Selection Report Galway – Dublin Greenway:Ballinasloe to Athlone (pdf) (Report). National Roads Authority. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  24. ↑ Ballinasloe to Athlone Corridor Overview (pdf) (Map). 1:25000. Cartography by Ordnance Survey Ireland, AECOM, Roughan & O'Donovan. R446 road: National Roads Authority. 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  25. ↑ Brett, Ivo (July 2015). "July Update - Galway Farmers want cyclists pushed onto the N6, Longford woos minister and looks to connect Royal Canal greenway to Mayo". DublinGalwayGreenway.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  26. ↑ Melia, Paul (27 June 2015). "1,000 landowners hold key to saving Dublin-Galway cycleway". Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  27. ↑ "Galway East TD says greenway route proposal is not viable". Galway Bay FM. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015.
  28. ↑ McNamara, Denise (6 September 2015). "Cyclists voice opposition to N6 greenway". Connacht Tribune. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  29. ↑ "Plans for section of cycle route put on hold following objections". RTÉ News. 30 October 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015.

External links

Coordinates: 53°31′16″N 7°19′57″W / 53.5212°N 7.332551°W / 53.5212; -7.332551 (Piper's Boreen, Dublin-Galway Greenway)

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