€400,000 allocated for new cycle path

PLANS to build a cycle path between two of North Clare’s busiest towns has “tremendous potential”, according to a local hotelier and the head of the Irish Hotels Federation.

Work looks set to begin later this year on a new off-road shared-use cycle path linking Ennistymon and Lahinch after the Public Transport Minister, Alan Kelly TD announced an allocation of €400,000 for the project.
“There is tremendous potential in this,” said Michael Vaughan, president of the IHF. “For many years we have been advocating a river walk between Ennistymon and Lahinch because there is potential for lots of leisure pursuits there. This is great news. There are many students travelling to school that might cycle if an off-road path was available. There are also bikes for hire in Lahinch but many people are apprehensive about cycling on the open road. This type of pathway would be tremendously well supported and quite the tourist attraction,” he went on.
“Anything that enhances the leisure facilities of the county is to be applauded. This is a nice short route. Four kilometres is a lovely jaunt and well within the reach of most people,” he added.
Mr Vaughan believes Clare could further exploit leisure tourism if further cycle paths were constructed.
“We could transform the whole of the West Clare Railway into such a track. We could have it all the way from Ennis to Moyasta. There are many miles of that railway still preserved. A cycleway like that, or greenway as it is known, would be a tremendous asset to the area,” he said.
Senator Martin Conway believes the investment in the shared-use cycle path linking Ennistymon and Lahinch will be a major boost to the North Clare towns.
“It is an investment that should have happened a long time ago but better late than never. I have spoken as far back as eight months ago to both Ministers Kelly and Varadkar about improving facilities for people who wish to cycle and walk in North Clare. Specifically following on from the success of the green pathways in places like Achill in County Mayo and seeing the amount of people walking in the Burren. I believe this is a growth area. What this money will do is ensure there is a safe cycle path and a new footpath installed between Ennistymon and Lahinch,” he said.
Senator Conway said he felt the estimated cost of €100,000 per kilometre is not excessive.
“This is an allocation. I would imagine the project would come in cheaper than that. I would certainly be hopeful it would. With this sort of project there are a number of health and safety concerns that have to be taken into account and there may also be some land acquisition involved in order to make the cycle- and footpath safe. I imagine this figure is there to cover that eventuality if that is required,” the Ennistymon man concluded.
The €400,000 is part of a €7 million investment programme for cycle routes.
Speaking as he announced bike week, Minister Kelly stated, “This is part of our efforts to create a more cycle-friendly culture across the country and to try and get people out of their cars and onto bikes. Having high-quality routes across the country is a key part of that. Also, many of these routes have huge tourism potential so hopefully it will lead to some job creation,” added Minister Kelly.