Carrigtwohill cycleway plan unlikely to reduce traffic congestion 

While the project was welcomed by local councillors, some of them claimed it was unlikely to have any major benefit until the planned N25 upgrade was back on track. Picture: Denis Minihane

Plans for a series of cycleways/walkways in one of Co Cork's fastest-growing residential and industrial towns are unlikely to have any major impact on traffic congestion due to a stalled multi-million euro road upgrade.

Councillors are expected to approve the extensive cycleway/walkway project for Carrigtwohill next Monday, but fears have been raised it will have little or no impact on increasing 'sustainable travel' because the proposed upgrade of the Carrigtwohill-Midleton section of the N25 has been put on hold due to lack of funding from Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

A meeting of the Cobh Municipal District Council, which oversees the Carrigtwohill area, was told that the planned cycleways/walkways will connect housing estates, industrial estates, shops and the railway station in Carrigtwohill, as part of a proposed 'active travel' network which will eventually connect Cork City with Youghal, via the Midleton-Youghal Greenway.

Details of this project were revealed to councillors by Cormac Ó Súilleabháin, from the council's active travel and transportation section.

He said the cycleways/walkways being proposed will be a major benefit to commuters in the area who want to ditch their cars.

While the project was welcomed by local councillors, some of them claimed it was unlikely to have any major benefit until the planned N25 upgrade was back on track.

Carrigtwohill-based Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said traffic volumes were likely to significantly increase because more housing construction is in the pipeline and the IDA intends to open up the former Amgen site for industrial/commercial development.

Mr Barry said that the N25 upgrade plan included a new junction and flyover across the N25 into that site.

Without that, he said, traffic coming from the Midleton side will either have to take northern back roads in Carrigtwohill, or come up the N25 as far as the Barryscourt flyover. Either way that means more vehicles will converge on the eastern side of the town and into the already highly congested Main Street.

“As the flyover is not being built, the IDA has put in a planning application to open up the north-western side of the Amgen site for access. That means people will have to travel the (northern) back roads from the Midleton side, or come down the dual carriageway, turn off at the Barryscourt junction, into Carrigtwohill and then back down the other side of the dual carriageway to reach the Amgen site,” Mr Barry said.

He said a significant amount of new houses is already planned for the town, which will put further pressure on its inadequate roads infrastructure.

“There are 150 houses in the planning process at the moment and I know discussions are taking place between one developer and the council about another 700. On top of that, there is a huge amount of land zoned there for further housing. This will put unbelievable pressure on the roads network,” Mr Barry said.

Mr Barry and Labour councillor Cathal Rasmussen won support from fellow councillors when they proposed they contact TII  to ask for funding to be urgently reinstated for the N25 upgrade.

Green Party councillor Alan O'Connor said he'd do everything he could to get them a meeting with the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, to get the road project back on track.

Mr Ó Súilleabháin said it's hoped to progress the cycleways/walkways project by next spring, providing the acquisition of private land needed for the project isn't delayed by having to issue Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs).