New cycle and walking track planned for Lough Boora area

Offaly County Council is currently planning the construction of a new cycle and walking track in the Lough Boora area.

Tom Shanahan, Director of Services, told the recent meeting of the Council in Aras an Chontae Tullamore that the proposal includes “the development of a safe cycling and walking link from Leabeg to the Lough Boora Visitor Centre and the development of a pedestrian / cycling raised crossing at Leabeg by Offaly County Council.

“The Local Authority has collaborated with Bord na Móna in the preparation of this Part 8 project proposal.”

Lough Boora Discovery Park attracts about 100,000 users per year. In co-operation with Bord na Móna, during 2019, the Council enhanced the link between the existing Lough Boora Parklands outer walking & cycling route and the Grand Canal Greenway. It is therefore now possible to cycle, mostly along greenway, from Tullamore to the Lough Boora Discovery Park Visitor Centre. A small section is on the public road but this new cycle and walking track will mean that it too will be taken off the public road.

The Council has also worked with Bord na Móna and secured Just Transition Funding for the Lough Boora Connections project. This project, said Mr Shanahan, is nearing completion and has upgraded approximately 9kms of trails within the Lough Boora Discovery Park, including that part of the outer loop from Turraun Lakes to Leabeg (and taken this part into the charge of the Local Authority).

Presently, the part of the ‘outer loop’ from Leabeg to the Visitor Centre, including passing the Teach Lea Community Centre and the former Lough Boora Inn, is on the public road. It is the intention to provide an ‘at grade’ segregated path insofar as is achievable within the road width and verges. Part of the link route, i.e. south of the Lough Boora Inn will be totally ‘off road’, i.e. inside the existing hedge line.

An application has been made to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for the funding of this project.

"The site," explained Mr Shanahan, "is located in Leabeg Village and extends to the Lough Boora Visitor Centre along the public road and also on lands owned by Bord na Móna.

“The works will consist of the construction of about 100 metres of cycle / walking track within Leabeg (along the R357 Blueball to Cloghan road) and about 1.2 kilometres of cycle / walking track extending southwards along the west side of the approach road (L-7023) to the Lough Boora Visitor Centre.”

Mr Shanahan added that works will also consist of the development of a raised crossing to the immediate west of the Church in Leabeg at the Junction of the R357 and the local road (shared cycleway) to the north, the L-70208.

“The scheme,” he pointed out, “has been designed to fit neatly into the available road verge and will have a soft impact on the landscape. A buff (light brown) surface coating of the proposed cycle / walking path from Leabeg south to the Lough Boora Works will be used to integrate visually into the rural setting while providing a clearly identifiable shared space for cyclists and pedestrians, separate to the road space. The proposed cycle / walking path will be ‘at grade’ (level with) with the road surface and segregated by means of hard rubber ‘armadillos’ or similar.”

Additional landscaping works will also be carried out to lessen the impact of the scheme and public lighting will be installed from the R357 junction south to the community centre.

Staged Safety Audits of the proposed scheme will be undertaken to ensure compliance with requirements relating to the shared walking and cycling infrastructure and Offaly County Council will provide the necessary ongoing maintenance of the development after its construction is completed.

The Director of Services said it's Council policy to promote the continued development of Lough Boora Discovery Park as a tourist and ecological amenity. The Council is also focussed on the Park's linkages with the Grand Canal Greenway and the surrounding towns and villages.

It's also one of the Council's objectives to promote the existing educational and amenity facilities at Clara Bog Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre and Lough Boora Discovery Park and their expansion.

This new trail from Leabeg to Lough Boora is part of the Council's ongoing project of providing appropriate new infrastructure and upgrades of existing infrastructure to meet the needs of the Offaly Cycling Destination Network, Offaly Way walking route and Greenway links between the  Grand Canal and Lough Boora Discovery Park.

An EIA (Environmental Impact Statement) published prior to this development states that the group of Monterey Pines at the entrance to Lough Boora Discovery Park has a cluster of bat activity and are important for feeding and foraging. The Statement says that these should be “mainly retained if possible to do so except for those in the area of the proposed cycle / walking route.” The report also recommends that a series of 5+ bat boxes should be erected on trees along the route to provide future roosting opportunities.