EDITOR – IN my opinion, greenways are a great asset to Ireland but it needs a lot of consideration to design a suitable route.
The example being Ballydehob.
There is no suitable route through the village but a route around the north-west side of Ballydehob could be possible.
The idea of ploughing a greenway through residential gardens, walkways, driveways and recreational areas in the village will turn the greenway into a ‘blackway’.
At the recent public open meeting, a representative said ‘we would be shot if we didn’t succeed in using the 12 arch bridge.’
A photo of the 12 arch bridge is used to promote the new greenway even though the routes have not yet been proposed.
This would mean we would have to give up the pedestrian bridge to accommodate cyclists.
Parents walking with children and buggies, the elderly, the disabled and the average leisurely dog walker cannot share the same track as ‘semi-pro cyclists.’
It is not safe, especially over a narrow bridge.
The only sensible way is not through Ballydehob, but around it.
Haensel Thurnheer, Ballydehob.
