‘Fantastic’ response to €3m greenway from Daingean to Edenderry
There's been a hugely positive public response to the recent completion of the Grand Canal Greenway stretch between Daingean and Edenderry, according to two local representatives.
Offaly County Council announced last weekend that construction work on this section of the amenity was complete, and that parking spaces were now available at "most public road intersections" along the route.
Some €3.1m in Department of Transport funding for work on the Daingean to Edenderry section had been announced back in October of 2020.
Edenderry councillor Robert McDermott, who lives beside the Greenway, said the work had been carried out for over a year, but had caused little disruption.
"They have done a fantastic job on it and it's very popular with walkers and cyclists who have been using it at all hours of the day," he said, adding that some people were now back swimming in the canal also.
Another Edenderry councillor, Noel Cribbin, said the new greenway section was "absolutely superb."
"They've put the finishing touches in now, the markings, the car parking and the disabled spaces. You would have to be very proud of it, and the amount of people using it has gone through the roof," he said.
He said the amenity had first been started by Edenderry Tidy Towns a decade ago and that it was very popular with the public because it was "an easy walk and an easy cycle."
The greenway has opened up new ways of accessing Lough Boora Discovery Park and other attractions in the county. Cllr Cribbin said he hoped this would bring a tourism boost in time, but at the moment the people using it are mostly local residents.
"It's making a big difference - maybe not in the tourism sense yet, but people from outside Edenderry are driving to it and parking their car so they can use it. That can only be a good thing," he said.
In posts on social media, the county council highlighted some of the new parking available along the route.
It pointed out that the George's Bridge carpark featured a small slipway, 7 parking spaces and 2 disabled spaces, while parking at Trimblestown Canal Bridge near Edenderry, offered 10 parking spaces and 2 disabled spaces.