Approval given for new Greenway in Cork City from Kinsale Road Roundabout to Spur Hill

Planning for a new Greenway from the Kinsale Road roundabout to Eagle Valley was approved at a Cork City Council meeting last Monday (10th July 2023). The project is expected to cost €5-million and will be fully funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Subject to the tendering process, work is scheduled to start mid-2024 and finish mid to late 2025.

The route is shown above in more detail. On the far left, there is a 1.1km section connecting the Chetwynd Reservoir to a point close to the Bandon Road Roundabout and Dunnes Stores. This goes through Eagle Valley estate.

Going East from the reservoir, it's 450m to the Spur Hill Road... 1.2kms to the Togher Road... 1.7kms to the Lehenaghmore Road... 2kms to Forge Hill... and 2.9kms to the Kinsale Road Roundabout.

The main 2.9km section of Greenway follows the route of the old Cork to Bandon railway line which closed in 1961. As might be expected with all railway lines, the gradient is very gradual. The difference in altitude over the 2.9km section is about 35-metres which works out as a gentle 1.2% slope going west.

The screenshot above shows the section where the road to the reservoir goes under the road to Spur Hill. All of the old bridges are still in place and just need to be cleaned up.

Some sections of the planned route are already in use as walkways that are mainly used by locals. These will now be improved and widened to 4-metres with a tarmac surface.

Analysis... In itself, 2.9kms is not a huge section of Greenway but it should be seen as the start of a much bigger project. On the eastern side near the Kinsale Road Roundabout, more work will need to be done to get a Greenway connection into the Tramore Valley Park. Looking west, there are plans for a 36km Greenway linking Cork City to Bandon and Kinsale which will open up the area for walkers, runners and cyclists.

The next obvious section is to connect the Chetwynd Reservoir to the Chetwynd Viaduct over the Bandon Road and across to Waterfall. The map below shows the old railway line to Bandon which has two tunnels along the route.

It's really slow progress but at least things are going in the right direction.