Welcome Upgrade Brings Mixed News for Marina and Cork Womens Mini-Marathon
New Route Required for 2023 Cork Womens Mini-Marathon
The Marina as it looks now - Photo: Larry Cummins/Examiner
Yesterday's announcement, by the National Transport Authority (NTA), of €57M funding for walking and cycling infrastructure projects, involving over 130 Active Travel schemes across Cork City and County is very welcome, but brings several 'headaches' for Cork Athletics and the general running community, at least during the development stages.
The works include the development of segregated cycle lanes and widened footpaths, new walking and cycling bridges, and new pedestrian crossings. Three of the major developments are; €1.6m for upgrade works to the Marina Promenade; €4.5m for a new pedestrian and cycle route, from the Grange Road to Tramore Valley Park, including a bridge over the N40 South Ring Road; and €3.4m for the Ballinacurra to Midleton pedestrian and cycle route
Work on the Marina is scheduled to start in May next, with a projected completing date of May 2024. While this is welcome news, the downside is that the Marina will not be available for races/runs during the development. This means that Cork Athletics, organisers of the Cork Womens Mini-Marathon, sponsored by The Echo, must find a new route for this year's event, due to be held on Sunday September 17th
Artist's impression of the completed Marina
The Marina upgrade is long overdue, as the concrete running surface there is quite broken in places. The artistic impression of the finished product looks great, so we look forward to that
Grange/Frankfield link to Tramore Valley Park
Artistic impression of pedestrian bridge over N40 South Ring
The other main Cork City project is the pedestrian bridge over the N40 South Ring Road, linking Grange/Frankfield with Tramore Valley Park. Indeed work is progressing well on the civil engineering works on both sides of the N40, so, hopefully the bridge crossing will be complete in the very near future. In addition, in the past two weeks, most of Tramore Valley Park has been resurfaced with smooth tarmac, and the main circuit around the Park has been widened, and drainage has been improved along the path
Ballinacurra to Midleton pedestrian and cycle route
The town of Midleton, and the general East Cork area, has been a been a hive of athletic activity for several decades, so the Ballinacurra to Midleton pedestrian and cycle route should provide a boost to running there
