Renewed calls for access to the Tramore Valley Park

Mon, 16 Dec, 2019 - 15:28

Sarah O’Dwyer

Members of the public are calling for the Half Moon Lane entrance to Tramore Valley Park to be opened to the public.

The Park, which itself was opened to the public earlier this year, has three designated entrances - one vehicular and two pedestrian. However, the pedestrian entrance at Half Moon Lane is not in use.

Access via the entrance in question is currently under review by Cork City Council, but locals are becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation.

The Tramore Valley Park is open to the public but there are renewed calls for more entrances to be made available. Pic: Damian Coleman.

Laura Finn lives just a couple of minutes walk from Half Moon Lane, she and her partner are both runners. “We walk our dog a lot, we're very active and always try to avoid using our cars when it isn't necessary,” Laura said.

“It's very frustrating that we can see the park from our house and yet don't have the opportunity to use it. We walk up to the park by Douglas swimming pool which is further but still closer than going down to Douglas to access Tramore Valley.

“It's over three times further for us to walk down to the entrance in Douglas than to walk to Half Moon Lane,” she added.

Laura and her partner often end up going further afield with their dog if they’ve decided to drive to the park.

“We also sometimes drive to the Regional Park with the dog. We wouldn't bother if we could walk to Tramore Valley, but since we're getting in the car anyway, it's worth the extra drive since it's such a nice, established park,” she said.

“At a time where climate action and active travel are so high on the agenda, it's nonsense that us local residents should be forced to drive to use this amenity instead of walk or cycle,” Laura added.

According to the Tramore Valley Park website, “it is recognised that there is a need and a demand for access to the Park via Half Moon Lane.

“The process of assessing a safe means of access and egress via Half Moon Lane has begun, which, when completed, will ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists availing of the park and will also take into consideration the safe movement of local vehicular traffic.”