Cycle route in north of town proposed

Mullingar Transport Plan

A comprehensive 20-year transport proposal drawn up for Mullingar that aims to reduce car dependency by promoting walking, cycling, and public transport was set out for councillors at the September meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District.

One of the key proposals in the plan is development of a segregated walking, cycling route across the north of Mullingar running from the Carey Bridge, along College Street, Bishopsgate Street, up to Friars Mill Road, and then across potentially a new Carey Bridge-style pedestrian bridge, over the canal, to the Delvin Road. To facilitate this, that road would become one way, and motor traffic allowed to travel only eastwards.

The plan is also strong on the question of permeability, a concept which would see what are effectively ‘shortcut’ routes created for cyclists and pedestrians, often through residential estates.

Andrew Archer of the firm Systra explained that the plan provided for introduction of a range of measures such as segregated cycle tracks, school zones, and public realm improvements, and while there was a welcome from councillors for many of the measures, concerns were also raised about the impact on town centre parking, the need for park-and-ride facilities, and the importance of school safety.

Work on the plan, which began in January 2023, saw planners undertake a study of current travel patterns within Mullingar and a surrounding district that stretches as far as Gainstown and St Kenny NS in Ballinea.

Mr Archer explained that before deciding what the needs and possible solutions were, the team from Systra began by meeting the councillors and other key stakeholders as well as soliciting feedback from the public and also undertaking a number of surveys in the town.

“Mullingar has some real strengths which we can work on to build the sustainable transport network, but also weaknesses that, like most towns of this scale, that we need to address,” he said, citing as assets the Royal Canal and the greenway; the road network, especially proximity to the M4; the rail links to Sligo and Dublin and the recent public realm improvements in the town centre.

Weaknesses included the reliance on private cars, which detracted from the number of people who walk and cycle in town, and also from the efficiency with which the buses can operate.

Mr Archer said that one of the key documents driving the direction of the transport plan is known as NIFTI (National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland), which suggested that in the process of trying to come up with transport solutions for the town, the plan should make the best use of what the area already has before building new infrastructure, and after that to look at investing in walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure.

He explained that those considerations also factored in the intentions of the Mullingar Local Area Plan, which would set out the overarching land use framework for the sustainable growth of Mullingar as it fits into the Project Ireland 2040 strategy.

Investment

“Without further investment in alternative modes of transport – walking, cycling, public transport – the town centre is going to continue to experience levels of congestion we can’t fix by just adding in additional car capacity,” he stated, adding that what is going to be required to support the health and vitality of town centre businesses is increased capacity across all transport modes.

Mr Archer explained that the plan is not finalised, but he will be taking on board all comments from councillors and using them when finalising the document.

On the cards are measures such as the segregation of cycleways from vehicular traffic, moves to slow the speeds and volumes of traffic along certain roads, the introduction of permeability links which facilitate shortcuts for walkers and cyclists between different areas, plus the introduction of what are known as quiet ways, where traffic would be kept at speeds low enough to mean it was safe for cyclists to share the road space.

There would also be dedicated safe areas outside of schools and formalised set-down facilities in order to increase safety outside the school zone environment.

Lack of space

Mr Archer said the plan acknowledges that there is not sufficient space along Pearse Street and Oliver Plunkett Street, which was why the new walking and cycling route from the Carey Bridge to the Delvin Road is proposed and he said that route would bring considerable advantages to the local school population.

At the same time, he suggested that the work undertaken in the last few years in terms of public realm improvements should be extended westwards to provide the same high quality street scene along Pearse Street, making the town a more inviting place and more attractive to visitors.

He added that conscious of the need to service the town centre and to allow buses through, the preference was for two-way vehicle access along that route.

Bus transport

On the question of the long-awaited Mullingar town bus service, Mr Archer said it is expected to start in 2025. He also discussed the question of improving accessibility from outlying towns and villages into Mullingar, and said it was desirable that a mobility hub should be developed at Mullingar train station to improve integration between the various transport modes in the town.

“The plan does recommend new road infrastructure, but that, by and large, is really to facilitate new development lands,” Mr Archer said, stressing that when any new roads are provided, it would be desirable that they should have walking and segregated cycling infrastructure as well as bus stops included.

The plan also provides for the development of ‘park and stride’ locations within five-minute walks of the town centre.