Video from Cork County Council Sept 2018...
More info below...
It was announced recently that a contract has now been signed to transform part of the old Irish Steel plant in Haulbowline into a public park. On the map shown above, the area on the right is the eastern part of the island and it's where the toxic spoil from the Irish Steel plant was dumped.
Once these toxic deposits have been cleaned up, the area will be turned into a public park.
This is an aerial view of what the island might look like just after it has been cleaned up.
This is an overview of the master plan. Haulbowline is adjacent to Spike Island and in time, there might be a bridge connecting the two.
This is another artists view of what it might look like from a distance...
This new park which is due to be completed by December 2018 will include playing pitches, a walking/jogging circuit, picnic areas, viewing points and a car park.
If the actual paths are like this then there is a 1km loop if someone runs around on the outside paths and a 1.3km loop if they include a bit of a zig-zag.
Possible 5k parkrun???
Would a 5km parkrun be viable here? It looks a bit small but the 5km parkrun in Tralee in Co.Kerry uses three full loops in a town park to make up the 5km distance.
With the new park in Haulbowline, three loops would give 4.2kms so it's some way short. Perhaps the addition of an extra 800m loop at the start might do the trick.
The area in the centre of the island is also being developed so it's not really clear at the moment whether that could be included or not.
One additional thing to consider is that if the bridge to Spike Island was built, it might include even more possibilities for parkrun routes. There was a 5k race there earlier in the year and it would be a stunning location for a parkrun.
In Dublin, there are around 15 parkruns in or near the city. In Cork, the Ballincollig parkrun is the only one near the city. Surely there's scope for more? Haulbowline 2019?
Info...
http://corkcocoplans.ie/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2016/07/Haulbowline-Assessments.pdf
Has parkrun potential for sure, depends of course on a local group of people getting together to try and start one.
ReplyDeleteWith Fairview starting last Sat in Dublin, I think there are ten inside the M50 there now versus zero in Ireland's second city!
Speaking of Fairview, they do 3 laps. I can't think of anywhere else in Cork City that's suitable though given the lack of larger public Parks. Tramore Valley was the right spot. I don't know were else you could hold one. Maybe the Glen park up the northside, but there is no parking there.
DeleteSounds very healthy,running on a toxic steel dump!!!!
ReplyDeleteIf Cork City Council have anything to do with it, then not a chance. When TVP was shut down by the City Council in Jan 2016, other venues around the city were proposed but shot down by the council. They seem determined to not have a parkrun within city limits.
ReplyDeletePeople power is also a factor. It's not up to parkrun to create new events, it is the power of the local community, a few individuals at the start have to actually put in the legwork to create any new parkrun event. So far I see Ballincollig calling out each week for volunteers, so a lot of people go there and enjoy the benefits of the run but not enough people consider to volunteer to keep it going. Apathy like that won't bring about a 2nd parkrun for Cork, even with all the possible venues out there.
Haulbowline Will have nothing to do with Cork City Council. And there's 4 parkruns in Cork.
DeleteClonakilty has a 4 Loop Around Course
ReplyDeleteIf the they build the bridge over to Spike then a parkrun around Haulbowline and Spike incorporating the bridge would be amazing, and probably one of kind. I run over the bridge to Haulbowline all the time and the views over the harbour are fantastic. Even if a parkrun isn't setup, it'll be a grand spot to incorporate into a road race.
ReplyDeletePlaying pitches for who exactly. Seems like a waste of good space.
ReplyDeleteBHAA Army/Navy 5 may change from 2019 to include the new park.
ReplyDeletegreat to hear that this park might actually happen at last! :) but i would hate a bridge, it would rude the spike experience.
ReplyDelete