Anger as cycleway rejection throws tourism plan into jeopardy

Plans to include cycle-ways in upgrades to tourist routes along the west and south coasts could be in jeopardy following An Bord Pleanála’s rejection of a €65m development on the Dingle Peninsula.

A decision by the planning appeals board to turn down proposals to straighten and widen 28km of the N86 Tralee to Dingle road drew angry reaction yesterday from local people who have been campaigning for decades for improvements.

Kerry mayor Séamus Cosaí Fitzgerald, a councillor on the peninsula, said 10 people had been killed in accidents on the road and he warned of further fatalities in the future.

“We had a huge opportunity to improve the road for once and for all, with benefits for local people and tourists. But now everything is up in the air and we don’t know where we’re going from here. It’s most disappointing,’’ he said.

The project was one of four chosen along the west by Fáilte Ireland to promote cycle-ways on tourist routes. Planning has already been granted for 46km from Clifden to Oughterard in Co Galway, and 25km from Westport to Mulranny in Co Mayo, with both projects complementing green-ways.

An Bord Pleanála approval has also been given for 29km from Dungloe to Glenties, Co Donegal, which does not have a green-way alongside.

A 4km section of the Dingle route has already been completed, near Annascaul.

However, following an oral hearing and the resubmission of plans by Kerry County Council, An Bord Pleanála ruled plans for the remainder to be contrary to proper planning and sustainable development. The council and the National Roads Authority (NRA) voiced disappointment at the ruling and the council may seek a judicial review.

Both authorities said the road was dangerous, especially in summer time when tourist traffic increased substantially.

NRA chief executive Fred Barry said they were “very disappointed’’, especially when such an effort was made to respect the visual and environmental impacts.

“We will need to digest this decision to understand its national implications,’’ he said.

The NRA has plans to upgrade hundreds of kilometres of low traffic volume national secondary routes, but the decision puts a question mark over the plans.

An Bord Pleanala, which rejected the Dingle plan by a 3/2 majority, said there would be “excessive intervention’’ into the landscape and an unacceptable impact on amenities.

Meanwhile, Shane Foran of Cyclist.ie, an organisation representing leisure cyclists, welcomed the rejection, claiming the design of the proposed national cycling network was “completely incorrect’’ and saying cycle-ways should be away from high-speed traffic.