AS work begins on the construction of the new 10km Tralee to Fenit Greenway, Kerry County Council has announced plans for the extension of an adjacent walking and cycling route along the coast of Tralee Bay which would connect with the greenway and provide a new leisure amenity for the area.

The council is proposing to extend an existing walkway and cycleway which has been developed in recent years from The Basin and the Canal in Tralee and which currently terminates at the end of Cockleshell Road near Lohercannon.

Plans are being developed to continue this coastal route – which forms part of the North Kerry Way – as far as Spa village. This would allow users to connect to the new greenway at the Spa at the rear of the Oyster Tavern.

Continued below…

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD recently visited the walkway at the of end of Cockleshell Road and discussed with councillors and officials the proposal to continue the walkway to The Spa, a distance of approximately two kilometres.

Subject to funding and the agreement of local landowners, the walkway and cycleway, when completed, would allow users to travel along the coast to The Spa, cross the road in Spa village and join the new greenway to continue their journey on foot or by bicycle.

It would effectively provide a looped route to and from Tralee via the greenway and the coastal walkway/cycleway.

Kerry County Council looks forward to the extension of the route at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile preliminary work is underway on the new Tralee-Fenit Greenway along the route of the old railway line, following the receipt of €3m from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.