Work begins at reopened section of Mayo greenway
Workers were on site at location near Kilmeena where the greenway was blocked by a landowner for over a week
Work has begun to replace gates along a section of the Great Western Greenway in Kilmeena which was closed for over a week earlier this month.
Construction workers started work to replace the staggered red gates which were in place along a section of the Greenway which passes by the entrance of a farmyard and driveway to a private dwelling along the N59 road in Kilmeena.
This short section of the Greenway was closed for over a week after a landowner placed padlocked gates across two parts of the Greenway in the townland of Corragaun approximately 5km from Newport town.
The closed off section of the Greenway is adjacent to the N59 Newport to Westport Road and greenway users had to go onto the road for approximately 150 metres. This location was described as 'lethal' as it is on a bend with a 100km per hour speed limit.
The gates were erected over the August bank holiday weekend and negotiations between the landowner and Mayo County Council took place to try to resolve the matter. The gates were eventually removed last Tuesday and the Greenway was reopened.
Statement
In a statement, Mayo County Council said that following discussions with the landowner, “an agreement was reached and the section of the Greenway reopened on the morning of August 11. Mayo County Council acknowledges and appreciates the goodwill and cooperation shown by all landowners along Mayo Greenways.”
It is understood that the staggered gates, which are placed at junctions along the Greenway, will be replaced by a different type of gate at this location in order to slow down the traffic along the Greenway.
The decision to reopen the Greenway was welcomed by local councillor Peter Flynn who thanked the landowner and Mayo County Council staff for coming to an agreement.
However, Cllr Flynn said that the incident highlighted the challenges of constructing a greenway along a roadway and passing access points and driveway to people's homes.
“The closure the last ten days really brings home the challenges of permissive access and critically constructing any sort of greenway or trail alongside a road where inevitably there will be a significant number of local roads, farm access points and driveways into houses,” he stated on his Facebook page.