Tag Archives: Canal

News

Feasibility Study Of Canal Silt Levels And Lock Gates To Be Advanced In 2023

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The canal.

A SURVEY of silt levels in the canal and an assessment of the swing bridge and Lock Gates will be advanced next year.

Sinn Fein Cllr Deirdre Ferris asked the Council for an update on the Tralee Bay Blue Way feasibility study at the November meeting of the Tralee Municipal District of Kerry County Council.

In reply, the Council said an extensive survey of the 2.5km length of the Canal and the preparation of preliminary designs and plans to enable its use as a safe and healthy Blueway was included as an element for funding under Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund in 2020.

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This element of the application was not successful and is not included in the overall final grant award.

However, earlier this year, Tralee MD was successful in securing ORIS Funding of €31,050 as a Project Development Measure to undertake a Feasibility Study along the Tralee Ship Canal which includes for a survey of the existing silt levels in the canal, a condition survey of the canal slopes and an assessment of the lock gates and swing bridge. The study will be advanced during 2023.

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News

Canal Works Scheduled To Be Completed By End Of March

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Works on the canal road.

WORKS on the canal — which have seen a traffic light system installed in recent months — are set to be completed by the end of March.

Labour Cllr. Terry O’ Brien asked the Council for an update on the works currently being carried out on the Canal Road at the March meeting of Tralee Municipal District on Monday.

He was told the work involves stabilisation work to the road and canal embankments. This included the use of soil anchors and the construction of retaining walls.

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This work, being carried out by Cumnor Construction under a TII Contract, are on programme to be completed for the end of March 2022.

The anchors/soil nailing element of the works is complete. The shotcrete element of the works is close to completion. The works are being carried out on four sections of the canal. The works are 60% complete.

News

Council To Look At Lighting On Second Part Of Canal Walkway

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The canal walkway.

THE issue of lighting along the canal from the Lock Gates to Blennerville bridge was raised again at the meeting of Tralee Municipal District on Tuesday.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Mikey Sheehy was welcoming the new coastal greenway from Cockleshell to Spa when he brought up the issue with Council management.

He said that the canal walkway was hugely popular and it was unfortunate that people were put off using the second part from the bridge to the Lock Gates later in the evenings, due to the lack of lighting. He asked was there any plans to install lighting there going forward.

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Senior Engineer Tom Sheehy said that, while the new walkway to Spa will not have lighting as it is in a rural area and is considered intrusive, he would discuss the issue of lighting on the second part of the canal walkway further with Council management.

Tralee Municipal District Manager, Michael Scannell, acknowledged that the lighting issue was an ongoing one and that stretch to the lock gates is considered a rural, but he said it needs to be revisited and they would investigate if a funding source can be provided.

News

Ecological Survey Carried Out At Tralee Canal

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Colonies of Tubeworm on canal wall & Pontoon.

A SPECIES called Australian Tubeworm has been identified in the Tralee Canal thanks to an ecological survey.

The survey, which is near completion, was secured by Tralee Rowing Club after applying for funding from the Local Authorities Water Programme (LAWPRO) to perform an ecological investigation of the Tralee Ship Canal.

The survey is being undertaken by Aquafact International Services with assistance locally.

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The Club was contacted in January of this year by Dr Noel Mulligan, a local marine biologist, about the increasing presence of a tubeworm in the canal area and the potential impact on its ecosystem.

This call put the pieces in motion to secure the funding for this project, which is revealing what lies beneath the water.

The ecological survey is nearing completion and already results confirm that the canal has large quantities of Australian Tubeworm (Ficopomatus enigmaticus), Ragworm (Hediste diversicolor) and Sand Gaper (Mya areanaria).

These are particularly well adapted to the canal conditions. The survey found that there are also a number of other interesting species that are resident in the canal.

The salinity in the canal fluctuates due to freshwater run-off from surrounding land and seawater entering the canal at high tide during spring tides.

Temperature fluctuates also and the canal is covered in a sheet of ice at times in the winter and very high water temperatures are recorded in the still water on hot summer days.

Because of this challenging environment, the flora and fauna of the canal is restricted to species that can tolerate these  water conditions.

Dr Mulligan has assisted in preparing a presentation of ‘What Lies Beneath’ which will appear on the Heritage Week website. He has also assembled a display that can be viewed on the first and last days of Heritage Week.

The display will be mounted on the canal basin in front of the Marina Apartments on Saturday 14th and Sunday 22nd August.

This will allow the public to see what the different species living in our canal look like and learn a little of their ecology.

Tralee Rowing Club (TRC) is located next to the boat slip on the canal and makes use of the facility for training purposes.

News

Cllr Asks Council To Look At Making Canal Safe For Swimming

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A LOCAL councillor has called for the Council to look at making swimming safe again in the canal.

Sinn Féin Cllr Deirdre Ferris was asking for an update on the progress of the feasibility report for the canal in Tralee in the North Kerry Blueway at the online meeting of Tralee Municipal District on Tuesday.

Cllr Ferris said the lock gates make a very good high-water area for sea swimming which is getting more and more popular and also offers an outdoor activity for families and tourists alike.

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In reply the Council said the feasibility study in relation to the development of Blueways in North Kerry was commissioned by NEWKD in 2018.

The first stage was the development of the Tralee–Fenit Blueway which would open up the town centre to Tralee Bay via the proposed Canal Blueway and would enable the town to develop a new range of opportunities in relation to world class adventure tourism and leisure provision.

Kerry County Council has recently sought funding approval through the Urban Regeneration Development Fund to begin this process by undertaking an extensive engineering survey of the entire circa 2.5km length of the Canal and prepare designs and a plan to enable its use as a safe and healthy Blueway that achieves Blue Flag Status and provides a dynamic link to Tralee Bay.

The various elements of the extension of the Blue Way northwards beyond Tralee Bay will be considered subsequently.

In relation to swimming, a consistent high-water quality for bathing purposes would be required prior to promoting the area as a bathing location.

On previous occasions when the Canal has been used for a bathing event it had been necessary to flush the canal prior to the event.

This involves opening the Lock Gates at specific times. The Council said this would not be feasible for continuous use for bathing purposes. A sampling regime will be put in in place to determine the suitability of the water for bathing over the coming months.

News

Staff From Local Company Join Nealon Brothers For Tralee Bay/Canal Clean-Up

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Alex, Evan and Dylan Nealon with their mom Laura Jane Nealon, staff from Sigmar Recruitment and other volunteers taking part in the clean-up on Friday. Photo by Dermot Crean

A LOCAL company showed the way for other businesses on Friday, by taking part in a clean-up organised by three young brothers.

Nine year old twins Evan and Alex and their 12 year-old brother Dylan Nealon from Lixnaw have been spearheading a campaign for the past number of months now to remove plastic from the Tralee canal and bay, as well as the protection of wildlife and the environment.

They were out again on Friday last and this time they were joined by staff from Sigmar Recruitment in Monavalley Industrial Estate, as well as other volunteers.

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“It was a great day,” said the boys’ mother, Laura Jane Nealon. “What an amazing team Shaun has in Sigmar. And they will be in touch to organise another clean. There is a huge difference to the area since the first time we went in there in January. It is very satisfying to see the change. Fields which used to be a blanket of plastic are now fields of green. The bay is starting to look like a home for wildlife. There’s still loads to do so we will be organising another big clean in the coming weeks,” she added.

Shaun O’Shea, Head of European Recruitment at Sigmar, was delighted they could lend their support.

“I think the lads are really inspirational and we can all learn from their example. As a manager in the business community, I felt we had to do something. We’re happy to commit to helping and if we can do it, then I would hope other companies and businesses would join in too,” said Shaun.

Ballyseedy in the Tralee Bay Wetlands supplied free tea/coffee and biscuits for all volunteers after their afternoon’s work.

The Nealons need as many members of the public and staff from local businesses as possible to come along and help them in their next clean-up, which is planned for the coming weeks.

News

Mounthawk Students Plan Family Fun Walk By The Canal

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FAMILY First, a group of Young Social Innovators from Mercy Mounthawk secondary school, are organising a family walk by the canal this Friday evening.

Walkers will gather at the Marina end of the canal and take off from 7pm. It’s a fancy dress themed walk with prizes for best costume.

“The walk promises to be a super fun activity with the kids and we will be very grateful for everyone attending, especially pets! The walk is through the canal walkway in Tralee and parking is available at the Aquadome,” said the group.

News

PHOTOS: Work On The Canal Walkway Continues

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Canal 1
Work continuing on the canal walkway. Photo by Gavin O’Connor

WORK on the canal walkway is continuing and it should be finished by the end of the month.

We called down on Friday to see tarmacadam work being done on the walkway near Hare Street. The main walkway has been closed since April and was scheduled to reopen in July.

However, there was a delay due to work which had to be done on the retaining wall on the canal.

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New lighting, resurfacing and a cycleway will give a fresh and attractive look to it as part of the Tralee Active Travel Initiative. The initiative includes incorporating a cycleway from the Forge Cross down to the town centre, out by the Brandon Hotel and to the canal way. This work is scheduled to take place next year. Scroll down for photos…

 

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The new surface on part of the canal walkway. Photo by Gavin O’Connor
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Work continuing on the canal walkway. Photo by Gavin O’Connor
News

False Alarm As Rescue Helicopter Called To Canal Area

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Rescue Helicopter
A rescue helicopter was called out to The Basin last night.

MANY residents on the west side of town may have seen a rescue service helicopter hovering over the canal area on St Stephen’s night at around 10pm.

Apparently a member of the public reported that a woman had fallen into the canal while out  jogging and as a result the helicopter and two coast guard units were dispatched.

Thankfully, it turned out to be a false alarm and a genuine error on the part of the person who reported it.