Greenway along N59 in west Mayo reopened to the public

A section of the Great Western Greenway in Kilmeena which was closed to the public for over a week has been reopened.

A short section of the Greenway along the N59 road in Kilmeena was closed after a landowner placed padlocked gates across two parts of the Greenway in the townland of Corragaun approximately 5km from Newport town. This section passes by the entrance of a farmyard and driveway to a private dwelling.

The closed off section of the Greenway was adjacent to the N59 Newport to Westport road and greenway users had to go onto the road for approximately 150 metres. This location was described as lethal as it is on a bend with a 100km per hour speed limit.

The gates were erected over the August bank holiday weekend and negotiations between the landowner and Mayo County Council took place to try to resolve the matter.

The gates were eventually removed this morning (Tuesday) and the Greenway has been fully reopened.

In response to a query from The Mayo News, Mayo County Council stated: “Following discussions with the landowner, an agreement was reached and the section of the Greenway reopened on the morning of 11th August. Mayo County Council acknowledges and appreciates the goodwill and cooperation shown by all landowners along Mayo Greenways.”

The decision was welcomed by local councillor Peter Flynn who thanked the landowner and Mayo County Council staff for coming to an agreement.

However, Cllr Flynn said that the incident highlighted the challenges of constructing a greenway along a roadway and passing access points and driveway to people's homes.

“The closure the last ten days really brings home the challenges of permissive access and critically constructing any sort of greenwayway or trail alongside a road where inevitably there will be a significant number of local roads, farm access points and driveways into houses,” he stated on his Facebook page.