Councillor Jim D’Arcy spoke to The Munster Express this week to address recent reports that suggested he was wrong to celebrate progress on the proposed Riverside Walkway which could run from the Dunmore Road into the City along the River Suir.
“I was celebrating the fact the Walkway was now on the development plan. The development plan is essentially a wish list, and even if work is not scheduled for next year, it could never be scheduled at all if it were not on the development plan,” Cllr. D’Arcy clarified to The Munster Express.
“And we should ask why wasn’t it on the plan all along?”
Recent weeks have seen much debate and complaints regarding the traffic situation in the City as the volume of cars continues to increase, but the Active Travel policy pursed by Council Management seeks to narrow junctions and prioritise pedestrian forms of transport.
An Active Travel one-way trial on St. Alphonsus Road in Newtown was deemed a success by the Council despite significant and sustained pushback from the residents who say the new system makes the traffic situation much worse.
“The way we are spending money in the City makes no sense, putting in small cycle lanes, it’s big money for small gains. And there’s very few people cycling alongside the traffic on pushbikes. It’s too dangerous,” Cllr. D’Arcy said.
As a potential solution to the traffic problem, Cllr. D’Arcy says the Riverside Walkway could be the most important transport project in the City. Although he acknowledges that may not make him popular with some people.
“I’m old enough to remember that the Dungarvan Greenway only passed the Council by a couple of votes. That’s forgotten now. And of course the Greenway has turned out to be more successful than our wildest dreams,” he pointed out.
“I see much the same arguments coming up now. There were objections from landowners, farmers, walkers. It was an uphill battle.
“The Riverside Walk could be just as successful. It could rejuvenate the entire area. The Dunmore Road is a huge area. This could offer all of those people and their children safe way straight into the City.
“That’s the starting point. What’s there already needs to be resurfaced so that kids can cycle safely and open up the bottle necks. It also needs to be gated so it’s not open 24/7. But I think it could make a huge difference to the traffic.”
Cllr. D’Arcy sees the River Suir as a central part of Waterford’s future.
“The argument for the Walkway is quiet strong. We’ve turned our back to the River, but we need to face it. The potential of our river is huge. The river is the reason the City is here in the first place,” he added.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme.
Aaron Kent
