Sir, – John Mulligan (September 15th) welcomes my proposal for a Dublin to Galway cycleway but goes on to question the need for planning or design works, which he described as “can-kicking” and “paralysis by analysis”.
As an alternative, he proposes that I immediately instruct my department to provide cycleways and walkways along all of our canals, disused railways and riverbanks within 12 months as it’s only a matter of “a scrape of a digger and rolled grit in most cases”.
Mr Mulligan is obviously well- intentioned. However, he overlooks the fact that much has already been achieved, as well as the complexity of developing new routes. First, the hugely successful Great Western Greenway in Mayo, which I had the pleasure to cycle last week, was built with financial support from my Department through Fáilte Ireland. It is currently being extended.
Minister of State Alan Kelly recently opened the Dublin Premium Cycleway which runs along the Grand Canal and has allocated funding for more pathways along the Royal Canal among other locations around the country as part of the National Cycle Network. This is not analysis. It’s action.
Second, it is not “just a case of a digger and some grit” in most cases. Some old railway alignments have been built on. Old bridges and causeways may not be safe.
There are big challenges along the canals especially where they are “deep sunk” and the path is narrow and perched high above the canal itself. Many areas are overgrown, wooded or flooded. It would not be wise to spend taxpayers’ money on pathways and cycleways along part of a route only to discover afterwards that there are obstacles on it. You need to know about them first and work out how to deal with them, and the cost of doing so. For this reason, a certain amount of engineering, planning, design and legal work is necessary. And, the actual construction works are not always cheap, particularly in urban areas, even if it is money well spent.
Nevertheless, we hope to achieve as much as we can, as soon as we can, within the resources available. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – There’s been a lot of favourable comment on the Greenway between Westport and Achill, but we must point out that while this is open for walkers it is primarily a cycle track with a hard surface which isn’t satisfactory for walkers.
Unfortunately the creators of the Greenway didn’t follow the practice in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and other European countries where there are separate tracks for walkers and cyclists which facilitates both activities and obviates the risks of minor accidents. Before we start developing other greenways this principle should be adopted. – Yours, etc,