Leonard wants ‘joined up’ thinking on cycling

A call to have a “joined-up” plan for linking cycleways around the county instead of just developing new routes on a piecemeal basis as funds come in has been made by Cllr Denis Leonard.

Cllr Leonard’s comments came at the October meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad (MDMK), during discussion of his suggestion that a footpath that could be used by cyclists and pedestrians be developed along the overgrown hard shoulder on the old road between Kinnegad and Coralstown.

The response from council officials stated that the hard shoulder has now been cleaned and will be surveyed with a view to establishing the feasibility of installing a link to the existing network.

Cllr Leonard welcomed the reply but said it did not go far enough: “What I’m proposing is that we go a bit further and we actually have a designated cycle lane and designated walkway so that people will see what is meant for,” he stated.

He said that last month he had proposed a cycleway from Kinnegad to Killucan and said that there should be a joined-up plan in place for looped cycle routes all around the county.

The Labour councillor went on to say that the council should look at the possibility of having a complete cycling route along the Old Road from Kinnegad to Athlone that would benefit recreational cyclists from areas along the entire route.

“The benefits of this are not just a green issue: it’s also about health; obesity; mental health. It’s a local amenity; it’s about tourism – just think of the tourism product we could have here in 10 years if we had four or five looped cycles starting in Mullingar or Athlone or Kinnegad or Castlepollard – and not just one big cycle that goes through the county.”

He said the road between Kinnegad and Coralstown was ideal for this purpose because it was wide and is no longer used for heavy traffic.