€20m Cork riverside plan unveiled to turn Horgan’s Quay into pedestrian-friendly space

Cork’s Horgan's Quay could soon see traffic rerouted to make way for riverside parks, a promenade, and bike lanes

Cork City Council has unveiled plans for a multi-million regeneration of Cork's north docklands, to create a new northern gateway to the city. 

Ambitious plans have been unveiled to take traffic off the main gateway road into Cork City and to build a riverside promenade and public parks.

The details of the €20m-plus project are contained in planning documents that have been published by Cork City Council for public consultation.

The new ‘Cork north docks public realm and transport infrastructure’ project includes several ambitious proposals to deliver what consultants say will be an integrated public realm design along the south-facing riverfront at Horgan’s Quay.

The new ‘Cork north docks public realm and transport infrastructure’ project includes several ambitious proposals to deliver what consultants say will be an integrated public realm design along the south-facing riverfront at Horgan’s Quay.

If approved, it will transform Horgan’s Quay from a traffic centric corridor into a pedestrian-friendly riverside promenade, bookended by public parks.

A key element of the project will involve the relocation of the existing N8 national road, which carries traffic city-bound along Horgan’s Quay, away from the water’s edge, to facilitate the creation of a promenade on the waterfront, similar to the Marina promenade which has been developed on the south of the river.

The documents show how the local authority is seeking planning to:

• Realign the N8 between Lower Glanmire Road and Alfred Street, and build a new inbound route closer to the rear of Kent Station, removing all traffic from Horgan’s Quay. 
• The realigned road will be approximately 720m long and will comprise two traffic lanes, a bus lane, footpaths and planted verges
• It will create a new promenade in its place on the waterfront along Horgan’s Quay, running for some 690 metres, with pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. 
• It includes new recreational amenities, seating areas and a new 6,000sqm public park at the city end of Horgan’s Quay, with a creative water feature
• A second public park is envisaged for Water Street, providing a landscaped pedestrian link from Lower Glanmire Road to the new waterfront promenade

The project will require land acquisition, most of which involves the Port of Cork and Iarnrod Eireann, but the council has had extensive engagement with both state bodies already. The design has also factored in various public transport and sustainable transport plans proposed in and around the north docklands, including the Cork Luas, BusConnects Cork, and the Glanmire to city centre bike lane project.

Officials will consider public feedback and prepare responses in a report for councillors in September or October, at which point a decision on planning will be made. Pending the planning process, and the subsequent tendering, work on the first phase could get underway towards the end of next year.

The multi-million regeneration of Cork's north docklands includes new recreational amenities, seating areas and a new 6,000sqm public park at the city end of Horgan’s Quay, with a creative water feature.

The consultants behind the scheme say it represents “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to re-imagine the River Lee not as a barrier, but as a vibrant open space that reconnects northside communities with the river.

“It envisions a welcoming, inclusive waterfront where people can meet, connect with nature, move freely, and experience enhanced well-being in the heart of the city,” the consultants say.