Tramore Park access denied again

The decision not to temporary open up the entrance to Tramore Valley Park from Half Moon Lane has been described as a “huge disappointment”.

The topic has come up for discussion many times at Cork City Council meetings with Monday’s meeting being no different.

Community groups and activists have been asking for the entrance to be open for pedestrians since it opened last year and given the reduction of traffic in the area with the closure of Christ King School due to Covid-19, many were hopeful the council officials would open the gates to pedestrians and cyclists.

The current lockdown has also lead to an increased demand for access to the facility for pedestrians and cyclists.

However, council officials didn’t support the call to open the gates. The Cork Independent reported in February that providing this access would be a lengthy process and that careful planning and detailed design works would need to be completed before the project could be progressed.

Green Party Cllr Dan Boyle said: “It really is a huge disappointment. I was hopeful that long stated obstacles had been overcome, and that re-opening of the entrance would be imminent, but it wasn’t to be.

“What is being proposed now is to move immediately to a Part 8 planning process. This will be to work on the junction of Half Moon Lane and South Douglas Road. The earliest this can be moved is June. There then would follow a two month public consultation. Then a decision has to be made to provide resources. I find this highly unsatisfactory. There is no certainty when or if this work will happen.”

Cllr Boyle said that there are many things that can be done on a temporary basis to bring about an opening more immediately.

“Temporary traffic lights should be placed directly at the junction. For traffic exiting Half Moon Lane, a restriction on turning left would remove a risk to pedestrians at that corner. Using bollards, a temporary walkway can be marked on Half Moon Lane, and until a permanent solution is available, bikes can share the road space,” he added.