LIMERICK City and County Council, in partnership with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), has announced that it is reviewing options to connect the existing Limerick Greenway at Rathkeale to the active travel network in Limerick City.
The move has long been advocated by members of the original greenway promotion group, the Great Southern Trail Ltd (GST).
The council told chairman of the group, Liam O’Mahony, that it is considering the option.
In a communication to Mr O’Mahony, the local authority said that “one such possibility (to provide a Greenway) is along the rejuvenated Limerick to Foynes railway corridor”.
“Limerick City and County Council are liaising with CIE in relation to such a possibility, having regard to both physical and future CIE operational constraints.”
Mr O’Mahony said that locating greenways alongside tracks is “a very practical use of the space and is one which is adopted in many European countries”.
He said that the GST is advocating linking Foynes and Adare by way of greenway along the railway lines.
Ultimately, the aim, the group believes, should be to have access to a greenway which could take cycling tourists from Shannon Airport into the city and county.
“Developing a greenway alongside the restoration of a railway track is the best use of that land. There is plenty of space in the area allocated for the railway and the whole project can be tackled at once instead of tearing everything up a second time to do it later,” they said.
