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Work to start early next year on the Kildare and Meath sections of the Dublin Galway Greenway

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In reponse to Deputy  Anthony Lawlor 's  question , Minister Pascal Donohue said that he expects  the preparatory work on the Kildare and Meath portions of the greenway will begin in the first half of next year.  Minister Donohue, went on to say that he expects that those new portions of the greenway to be open by the summer of 2017, which will then allow the first half of the greenway to fully open. During the same exchange, Deputy Denis Naughten challenged the minister on his position about the use of public lands for the greenway route west of the Shannon. Deputy Naugthen, who admits that he is probably  the only public representative to say publicly that he wants the greenway between Athlone and Galway to proceed, appears to be favouring a route that would  bring the cycleway from Athlone to Ballinasloe by means of a physical segregation along the existing N6 as far as Aughrim. Details of the Dail record can be accessed here: https://www.kildarestreet.com/deba

Coast to Coast Greenway could avoid Galway altogether after major opposition

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Disclaimer: This is a hypothetical article on alternatives to a coast to coast greenway that avoids Galway. It's summer 2018 and the hugely anticipated national coast to coast greenway opened recently. The successful tourist route is already breathing life into towns and villages right across the country. Thousands of tourists are using the greenway and businesses right along the route are seeing huge ecomonic opportunities. The greenway route is not only being used by tourists, but it also being used by local people for recreation and school children for commuting to and from school. Some people living in rural communities have commented that this is the first time that they have had a safe route for walking and cycling.  In late 2015, the Dublin Galway greenway hit major opposition and the route was modified to avoid Galway altogether. At that time Galway farmers mounted an IFA backed campaign to oppose the greenway through their communities. They were angered by t

RTE's CountryWide coverage of the Dublin Galway Greenway

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RTE CountryWide, which covers farming matters, provided coverage about the farmer's concern about the Dublin Galway greenway on their show (7th Nov 2015). Albert Smith from the group KeepIrelandOpen is joined by the Jerry Armstrong from the IFA in Galway.  The podcast below makes for interesting listening and uncovers the amount of suspicion and disrepect on all sides. Hopefully the decision by the minister to pause the Galway section but continue with the Kildare/Meath section will give space to rebuild the relationships that are needed to make this project successful. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Audio file is the property of RTE Country Wide and simply relinked here.

RTE Interview with Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Transport on the way forward for the Galway to Dublin greenway

For those who have an interest, we have reposted the RTE Interview with Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Transport, where he discusses his decision to pause the development of the Galway-Roscommon section of the new Galway to Dublin greenway. It is interesting to note the Ministers confidence that the cross country route will definitely be built and will be in public ownership. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Audio file is the property of RTE Morning Ireland and simply relinked here.

Detailed Report shows that Greenway had support as far as Ballinasloe

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This blog can reveal that the detailed report that resulted in pausing of the Dublin Galway Greenway in Galway showed large support for Greenway in Roscommon but opposition was high in East Galway. In the proposed section from Ballinasloe to Athlone, mostly in County Roscommon, the results of the landowners consultation was positive. In a sample of  arroud 32% of the landowners in the route corridor (136 landowners), 74.3% accept the route corridor, while 19.9% object to it and 5.9% are undecided. When State-owned lands are factored into the figures it seems that almost 90% of the emerging route has acceptance in this section. However, in Galway County and City, the acceptance of the route was much less favoured. Consultations  with a sample of around 20% of the landowners (194 landowners) along that route corridor record that c. 27% of landowners would accommodate a route for the cycleway on their lands, c. 63% would object to it with 8% undecided. The graphic below from the

What the papers are saying about the Dublin Galway Greenway impasse

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Today was a significant (and disappointing) day for the Dublin Galway greenway. The Minister has decided to pause the Galway/Roscommon section of the Dublin Galway Greenway and instead focus the funding on the Kildare/Meath section. The Irish Independent reported  that the "Plan for cycle route from Dublin to Galway halted by landowners' objections" Similarly, the Irish Time reported  that "Objections put brakes on cycleway from Dublin to Galway". More locally, the Galway press ( Connacht Tribune ) reported even though the project is stalled that "East Galway farmers remain concerned despite shelving of greenway" Meanwhile, on a more conciliatory approach, the Shannonside newsroom reports about Denis Naughten has tried to keep discussions open when reporting that the "Roscommon TD says delay in agreement on cycleway route lies on Galway side".

Galway to lose out on Greenway Funding due to Opposition

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Opposition by Galway farmers has forced the Minister of Transport and Tourism, Pascal O'Donoghue, to put plans on hold for the Dublin Galway greenway in East Galway. Reports today in several news sources have confirmed our previous reports that large scale opposition from landowners in Galway has forced the Minister to rethink the project, The minister has decided to allocate funding to other sections of the Dublin Galway greenway.  Kildare and Meath look set to benefit from this decision. Planning permission is in place for the Royal Canal greenway in Meath and Kildare. The plan is to connect the Royal Canal greenway in Westmeath all the way to Maynooth. Just last week, Westmeath County Council officially opened the Athlone Mullingar (old rail trail), Huge crowds are already using this excellent greenway. In other connected developments, Longford Council apparently have plans to extend the Royal Canal greenway all the way to the Shannon at Clondra and also are about to put

Crunch time for the Dublin Galway Greenway?

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According to reports in recent days in the Connacht Tribune , the Dublin Galway greenway project may be either terminally dead or seriously wounded. Apparently, a report into the recent consultation with landowners has been handed to the Minister. The report appears to say that 63% of galway farmers are opposed to the project in it's current plan. This is a major set back for the project and hopefully this is not the end of the ambitious plan. It comes at particularly time when optimism is high with the opening of the Mullingar to Athlone greenway . It is claimed that rural communities could benefit enormously from tourism traffic that otherwise bypasses these areas. Some communities are even seeing greenways as one way for rural communities to fight back against a backdrop of rural decline. While some politicians such as  Denis Naughten  are trying to keep the dialogue open with the Minister on alternative route options, it is hard to see how the project can proceed under s

Celebrating the Opening of the Athlone to Mullingar Greenway

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To celebrate the opening (Sunday 18th Oct) of the Athlone to Mullingar Greenway tomorrow, the latest section of the Dublin Galway Greenway, we are showcasing some amazing video footage of Moate station. Footage courtesy of Briain Smyth on Youtube. Enjoy And for a reminder of the before and after, here's a video of the "before". Well done to all the volunteers and to Westmeath council for such amazing work. Here's to a very successful greenway!!

Dublin City Council moves a step closer to the Royal Canal Premium Cycle Route

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Dublin City Council have moved a step closer to the construction of the Royal Canal Premium Cycle Route - Phase 2 by issuing a tender for a Ground Investigation Contract. The tender, that has appeared on mytenders.ie , is for the provision of  ground investigation work, ground investigation services and site-investigation services. This cycle route will complete the capital’s section of the proposed national cycle route from Dublin to Galway, which will be Ireland’s contribution to the EuroVelo Route 2 extending across Europe to Russia. In Dublin city a section of just 350m from Guild Street to Sheriff Street where the canal meets the Liffey, has been completed, and in Fingal a 2km section from Ashtown to the 12th lock in Castleknock opened last year. The new 7km path will bridge the gap between these two sections. The two-way path will start on the left bank of the canal at Sheriff Street lifting bridge and will stay on this side until just after Binns Bridge in Drumcondra,