Greenway linking Glanmire to Dunkettle to be ‘jewel in crown’ of plan

A NEW greenway linking Glanmire with the Dunkettle interchange will be the “jewel in the crown” of an almost €6m plan to transform the face of the town.

The Glanmire Road Improvements and Sustainable Transport Works plan was passed by Cork County Council this week, opening the door for a major 600-plus housing development to take place.

The large-scale project will involve a number of measures to improve the accessibility, sustainability, capacity and safety of the transport network in the Sallybrook, Glanmire and Riverstown areas.

A total of 16 projects will be undertaken.

The rubber stamping of the plan follows the securing of a €5.9 million grant from the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) for the Glanmire area.

Planning permission was granted earlier this year for 608 homes to be built by O’Flynn Construction at Ballinglanna under the Strategic Housing Development process by An Bord Pleanála.

The works by Cork County Council will involve upgrades in the townlands of Dunkettle, Glanmire, Ballinglanna, Poulacurry South, Poulacurry North, Ballincrossig, Riverstown and Lota More.

The new greenway will be installed from Riverstown to Coláiste an Phiarsigh to promote active travel in the area whilst connecting various locations.

A new pedestrian and cycling bridge north of the vehicular Glanmire bridge is also part of the project.

Councillor Padraig O’Sullivan (FF) said the plan could make life easier for local residents by tackling traffic problems.

“This is a massive plan for Glanmire and will transform the way it is laid out. Hopefully, it will go some length to remedying the traffic congestion at peak times for people,” he said.

“The jewel in the crown is the installation of a greenway through the town into the Dunkettle Interchange,” he added.

An amendment to the plan to avoid a road closure near a local national school on Brooklodge Grove has been inserted Cork County Council said: “This section of road will be one way eastbound and a combined pedestrian cycle greenway for a distance of 120m.

This change will provide an interim solution and the Council will continue investigating alternative options to protect the integrity of the greenway while at the same time providing an improved traffic management solution to the area in the long term.”

Church Hill junction will have a right-hand lane incorporated from the R639 with improved pedestrian/cycling facilities and increased junction capacity.

A number of junctions will see improved cycling and pedestrian facilities and signalised junctions will be introduced at a number of locations.

The East Cliff Road pinch point will also be addressed by a realignment of the road and a widening of the footpath.

Site clearance works have been completed on the Dunkettle Interchange with SISK appointed as the main contractors for construction works which are due to begin in early 2019.