Dublin Road cycle path about ‘giving alternative to the car’

The new 2.5km protected cycle track from the Dublin Bridge to the roundabout at the Mullingar Park Hotel is not about making Mullingar less attractive to motorists, but giving people an “alternative to transportation by car”, according to the council official heading Westmeath County Council’s Active Travel Team.

The €7m project, which is at the preliminary design phase, also includes the upgrade of existing footpaths along the 2.5km route; new pedestrian crossings at the Delvin Road, Ardmore Road and Glenmore Wood junctions; the installation of new stops and upgrades of existing stops for the forthcoming town bus service; as well as the introduction of traffic calming measures to slow vehicles down.

One of the major changes is the decision to make all of the roads at the Dublin Bridge junction single lane. That means that the left-turn lane for Delvin at the Dublin Bridge, the left-turn lane from the Delvin Road to the Dublin Road, and the right-turn lane for Delvin as you come down the Dublin Road are all being removed.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner at the information and feedback session at Áras an Chontae on Monday evening last, senior executive officer for the Active Travel Team, Pat Nally, said that Dublin Road Active Travel Scheme will be similar to the completed scheme on the Ardmore Road, which has seen a significant increase in the number of children cycling and walking to Holy Family Primary School.

To accommodate the installation of the 3m wide two-way cycle lane on the eastern side of the Dublin Road, the road width will have to be reduced slightly, but Mr Nally says that it will still accommodate a truck comfortably.

“It’s not to get rid of the car. It’s about providing a safer alternative for people,” he said.

“It not for the confident cyclist who wants to be on the road anyway. This is about encouraging kids and families who want to cycle or walk into town.

“It’s about safety, and it’s about the health benefits of active travel, as well. This includes mental, as well as physical health.”

While a reduction in car traffic is “not the driver of what we are trying to do”, Mr Nally said that if more residents living along the route start walking or cycling into the town centre, it could ease congestion problems in the mornings and evenings.

“We would hope that it will lead to reduced traffic, but the driver of the scheme is not to get rid of the car. In combination with the bus service, it should remove some cars. Even though we won’t be looking after the bus service, this scheme provides facilities for the bus service, which will be coming to town later this year.”

The Dublin Road Active Travel Scheme is part of a larger 9km active travel network for Mullingar.

The other key routes, which are currently at various stages of the design process, are: Harbour Street and Old Longford Road – from St Finian’s College to the junction of Harbour Street, Castle Street, Bishopsgate Street and Friar’s Mill Road (approximately 1.6km); Mullingar Western Relief Road (R394) ‘C-link’ – from Lough Sheever Corporate Park to Grange South roundabout with spur to connect the route along the Ballymahon Road to the access to the Dublin-Galway Greenway along the Royal Canal (approximately 3.5km); Mount Street, Jail Hill, Lynn Road, Sundays Well Road, Auburn Road and Millmount Road (1.5km).

“The greenway is the backbone and we decided we needed to build a network around that backbone,” Mr Nally said.

Rather than putting all of the schemes in the network through the planning and consultation phase at the same time, because they all have unique issues, Mr Nally said that the council decided to start with the Dublin Road project as it will affect the largest number of people.

Input from the public is important at the consultation and planning phases, he says. The feedback from the public at the information session on Monday had been largely positive, Mr Nally said.

“We’ve done a lot of background work. We have had a full-time team on this [the Mullingar Active Travel Plan] for about a year and a half. We’ve done a lot of work modelling and completing site surveys. Today is about gathering a little bit of local knowledge.

“So far, we’ve got very positive feedback. There’s been a couple of very localised issues but we’ve that people appreciate that things have been explained.”

It is hoped that work will commence on the Dublin Road Active Travel Scheme next year.