More people using greenway in Athlone than in Mullingar

Usage of the Old Rail Trail greenway is more than twice as high in Athlone as in Mullingar.

Counters at strategic locations in the two towns to monitor usage of the facility found that 80,000 people used the trail in Mullingar over the last 12 months, the National Roads Office (NRO) in Mullingar says.

“About two thirds of those would be cyclists,” reveals Elva Roe, Project Liaison officer with the office, referring to the Mullingar figures, and adding that the counters show that approximately 37,000 of those who used the track went out at least as far as the Castletown Geoghegan gates.

In addition, the office has monitored usage eastwards, says Elva, revealing that the counting devices placed at Mary Lynch’s pub at Kneadsbridge showed 20,000 journeys along the canal greenway.

However, figures obtained by the Westmeath Independent indicate that there have been some 150,000 uses by pedestrians and cyclists recorded at the White Gates in Athlone during just a six-month period this year.

The cycleway is used by students of a number of schools in Athlone, and May was the busiest month of the year for both pedestrians and cyclists at the White Gates.

A counter which was put in place on the greenway in Moate recorded 46,061 uses by pedestrians, and 34,640 uses by cyclists between March 1 and August 31.

June was the busiest month for pedestrians on the greenway in Moate (16,076 uses), while July saw most cycling activity on the greenway there (7,584 uses).

At the White Gates in Athlone, the greenway was used by an average of 590 pedestrians and 248 cyclists each day during the six months, while an average of 250 pedestrians and 188 cyclists were using it in Moate on a daily basis.

The counters indicated that – in Moate – Saturday was the busiest day of the week for pedestrians on the greenway while Sundays were when the most cyclists were using it.

At the White Gates in Athlone, activity levels were fairly similar day to day but, on average, Tuesdays were the busiest days of the week.

The section of the greenway between Garrycastle and the White Gates in Athlone, which cost €580,000 to develop, has been in use since December and was officially opened by Transport Minister Shane Ross in April. There are plans to extend the greenway westwards via a new bridge over the River Shannon, and the ultimate aim is to have a complete east-west cycle route from Dublin to Galway.

“Next spring/summer, users will be able to go all the way to Maynooth,” said Ms Roe.

This is the first full year for which usage figures are available, and the office is pleased too with the reviews the greenways have been getting on Tripadvisor.

“There are some ‘peak times’: it’s busier at weekends, and it’s obviously busier in the summer months,” Ms Roe stated.