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Public Consultation No. 1

Public Consultation No. 1 which took place from Monday 29 January to Thursday 29 February 2024 has now ended.

The information that was displayed as part of the consultation is available here.

Introduction

Cork County Council are in the early stages of developing  the Cork to Kinsale Greenway. This project, which is funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), will provide a Greenway between Cork City and Kinsale. Arup has been appointed by Cork County Council to provide multi-disciplinary engineering and other specialist consultancy services to progress the project through the design process, following the Phases 1-4 of the TII Project Management Guidelines, which are outlined below: 

  • Phase 1 (Concept and Feasibility)
  • Phase 2 (Options Selection)
  • Phase 3 (Design and Environmental Evaluation)
  • Phase 4 (Statutory Processes)

The Project is currently at Phase 1 Concept and Feasibility.

This stage involves the development of the study area, investigating the constraints within the study area to examine the feasibility of the project and optioneering of the proposed route. The project will follow the Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways and Public Consultation No.1 will be held in this phase.

The interactive webmap of the study area can be viewed here.

Project Background

The Cork to Kinsale Greenway project seeks to provide a new Greenway which will create connectivity between Cork City and Kinsale and provide a structure for future greenway routes in the area. The project will link and improve accessibility to several significant tourist attractions along the route and potentially include the refurbishment of Chetwynd Viaduct and Ballinhassig Tunnel.

This Project forms part of an overall vision and strategy for the development of an integrated network of greenways and blueways, as outdoor recreational amenities, for the Southern region. Examples of adjacent projects which may provide connectivity with this Greenway are the proposed West Cork Greenways and the Cork City to Viaduct Greenway.

Initial studies for this project have identified a necessity to provide a link between two important tourist destinations, Kinsale and Cork City via a corridor exclusively for non-motorised journeys, while also acting as an Active Travel route for local communities for commuting purposes along its route. While this project will utilise works previously undertaken it will formally appraise viable options that would provide a public walking / cycling trail linking these destinations to ensure that advantages and disadvantages of the various options are considered, and the emerging preferred option represents the best solution.

Key Objectives

The key objectives of this project are to provide a Greenway which is sustainable, accessible, safe and attractive for locals and visitors. In achieving these objectives, the project will in turn:

  • Contribute to the economic prosperity between Cork and Kinsale and environs by increasing its attractiveness for locals and visitors. Provide an improved level of accessibility and intermodal connectivity to key services.
  • Provide an improved level of social benefit & interaction for communities including vulnerable or disadvantaged groups.
  • Promote physical activity in a safe outdoor environment and promote improvements in wellbeing.
  • Improve safety for non-motorised users and reduce the risk of collisions.
  • Consider sustainable development principles to minimise effects on the environment.
  • Seek to enhance the local amenity and heritage value of the area.

What’s Happening Now

This project is currently at Phase 1 Concept and Feasibility. The purpose of Phase 1 is to develop and investigate in further detail the feasibility of the project, to identify a suitable study area for the examination of preliminary route options and to implement the project management structure.

Public Consultation No.1 on the study area and constraints is planned from Monday 29 January to Thursday 29 February 2024. This consultation is being held online through a project website which contains all the information that will be displayed at the in-person public consultation events. This includes an interactive map of the study area and constraints and a feedback page for the submission of comments or queries.

Please refer to the Consultation Tab for further information.