Mallow Relief Road route options.
Cork County Council’s Road Design Office has announced a shortlist of routes for the planned Mallow Relief Road. The potential routes have been narrowed to four different options, each of which has flexibility of up to 200 metres to allow for the most convenient path for the road to be selected. The final route to be chosen may also be made of a combination of any of the four routes. All of the proposed options will include pedestrian and cycle facilities across their full length. In addition to road options, Active Travel Corridors have also been identified which may provide opportunities to provide new or improved pedestrian/cycle facilities with links between a proposed relief road and Mallow town and Mallow Railway Station. Consideration of active travel measures will also be investigated and assessed over the coming months.
At the end of Stage 2 of the selection process, a further period of non-statutory public consultation will take place and the public will be able to make submissions or comments on the emerging preferred option. Drawings showing the shortlisted options and the potential Active Travel Corridors are available to view or download on www.corkrdo.ie/major-schemes/.
Speaking on the announcement, Cllr. Gearóid Murphy welcomed news that that the project was progressing. However, he said it was very important for residents to have their say on the route which the planned road will take. “Having examined the options, I am concerned that Option B – the route of the old train line – runs in very close proximity to many houses and estates on the edge of Mallow. By a rough count, I estimated that more than 100 households would be directly overlooking the road. In particular, houses towards the back of River Valley, Cairn Woods and Brookfield in Ballyviniter would be affected. A number of constituents from these areas have contacted me with concerns about this.”
Cllr. Murphy continued: “I will be proposing a motion at the next Northern Division meeting of Cork County Council that the route to be selected should avoid existing houses where at all possible. However, I think it’s very important that everyone has their say about which route from the shortlist would be best. Even for Option B, there is leeway of up to 200 metres, so perhaps some people might feel that was acceptable. I would encourage anyone who is affected by any of the options to contact me or any of my colleagues and make your opinion known. You can contact me at g.murphy.bl@hotmail.com or on 087 660 2868.”