Multimillion-euro road across Cork City's northside draws opposition from campaign group

The proposed Cork Northern Distributor Multi-Modal Road (CNDMR) has a single vehicular lane in each direction, flanked by bus lanes and bike lanes.

Plans for a strategic multimillion-euro road across the northside of Cork City are facing opposition.

A campaign has been launched in Glanmire urging residents, businesses, and community groups at the eastern end of the proposed Cork Northern Distributor Multi-Modal Road (CNDMR) to oppose its connection point just south of their village.

The Save Glanmire From Gridlock group says the current plans for its eastern connection to the R639 would destroy a scenic woodland and that alternatives have not been considered properly.

“This would have devastating environmental and visual impacts on one of the area's most cherished natural amenities,” they said.

They say an alternative connection point further north avoids many of the issues they have.

“Other options, such as a direct connection from Banduff to the M8 dual carriageway, have not been fully explored and deserve further assessment,” they say.

Following a lengthy examination of seven potential options on various grounds, the preferred 100m wide route corridor for the 14km CNDMR was unveiled late last month for public consultation.

Following a lengthy examination of seven potential options on various grounds, the preferred 100m wide route corridor for the 14km CNDMR was unveiled late last month for public consultation.

It runs from a point on the western side of the city on the Carrigrohane Rd to Glanmire in the east, via Hollyhill, Dublin Hill and Banduff, connecting to the R639 south of Glanmire village the Vienna Woods Hotel and the village’s landmark grotto.

It has a single vehicular lane in each direction, flanked by bus lanes and bike lanes, and has been designed to improve journey times for all road users, improve access to employment hubs, and unlock zoned land on the northside of the city for residential and commercial development.

But the Glanmire group said the R639 is already congested and can't cope with a connection to a four-lane road.

“With significant residential development planned for Glanmire in the future, the local infrastructure will be further strained,” they said.

“The combined traffic from new developments and the access point will overwhelm the Glanmire Rd, leading to substantial congestion that will disrupt the local community and make daily commutes and school runs more difficult.

“The Glanmire Rd simply does not have the capacity to accommodate the traffic to and from a four-lane road.” 

Public consultation on the preferred corridor continues until April 10.

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The campaign group plans to hold a public meeting on April 3 and has urged people to attend, and sign its petition on its Save Glanmire From Gridlock Facebook page.

The CNDMR is being advanced by Cork City Council, in collaboration with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Department of Transport.

The need for a northside distributor road, and a similar distributor road on the southside, was set out in the 2020 CMATS plan, the landmark transport blueprint for metropolitan Cork.

Pending funding and planning, it is hoped that construction on the northern distributor will start by 2031, that it will take three years to build, and be ready for use by 2035.

The northside distributor road is separate to the proposed northern outer ring road, which it’s hoped will link the M8 Cork to Dublin road with the N22 further west, and is not likely for delivery before 2040.