Price tag of €18m on 2.7km Athlone Active Travel Scheme

by Geraldine Grennan and Kate Pendred

The first of six planned active Travel Schemes for Athlone, expected to get underway late next year at a price of €18m, was given the go ahead by members of Westmeath County Council at their November meeting.

The scheme which received council approval will involve a radical overhaul of one of the busiest approach routes into Athlone town, the old Dublin Road. Among the changes planned are the narrowing of the roadway to make way for double and single cycle lanes and the addition of two new signalised junctions.

Overall, Westmeath County Council plans to develop a 15.4km network of Active Travel schemes on the six main approach roads into the centre of Athlone, with the aim of encouraging more people to cycle and walk instead of using their cars.

The first of the six schemes, expected to cost €18m alone, is a 2.7km stretch of the R466 Old Dublin Road, from the Ankers Bower Roundabout to the Creggan Roundabout. It is proposed to reduce the road carriageway width along this stretch to three metres, and to install a 2.3 metre two-way segregated cycle track on the north side of the road from Ankers Bower to the TUS campus, diverging into two single lane cycleways on either side of the R446 road from TUS to the Creggan Roundabout.

The existing three roundabouts on the route – at Ankers Bower, Willow Park and Wash House Turn – are set to be upgraded to make provision for both pedestrians and cyclists while it is also proposed to install two new signalised junctions at the existing IDA Business Park Junction and at the Athlone Business Park Junction.

The Athlone scheme was approved subject to three amendments suggested by Cllr Frankie Keena.

He proposed that the scheme be adopted on condition that changes be made to the proposed locations of a bus stop and a pedestrian crossing, and that the council engage with an adjacent landowner to acquire the necessary property to ensure as much existing on-street parking as possible was retained.

Cllr John Dolan said he had no difficulty seconding Cllr Keena’s proposal provided the Active Travel team, headed by Pat Nally, “was given a little bit of latitude to make sure it works”. He said this was a positive thing for Athlone and would greatly enhance it. He also suggested that a Park and Ride scheme might be incorporated.Cllr Paul Hogan said this was one of the main thoroughfares into Athlone, and a “very, very busy road”. He agreed that a Park and Ride system would suit this project in the future and would cut down on traffic “clogging up the town centre”.

Chief Executive Barry Kehoe said acquiring land for a Park and Ride was a significant challenge. He suggested that a Park and Share system might work in the meantime. He said the council should identify where Park and Ride would work and concentrate on providing it in areas where it would have the greatest impact, where the council had land, and where it might be easier to deliver, and tackle the more difficult ones over time.

Michael Hand, Director of Finance, said they would be looking at doing the Dublin Road active travel scheme in phases. Now that it was approved by the councillors, they would seek funding and then approval to go to construction. He would hope to “have a spade in the ground” by the end of next year, he added.

Eight submissions were received on the proposed scheme for the Old Dublin Road during the consultation process, including one from TUS Midlands strongly supporting the project. The submission said TUS Midlands looks forward to “ongoing collaboration” with the council to ensure “seamless integration” between the Active Travel network and “future campus developments.”