Update on Marina Upgrade - March 2023
Marina Upgrade Works to Commence Later in June
Major works on Cork's Marina were originally planned to commence in later May, however, at this point in time, it looks like that will be late June, at earliest. This will ease worries about routing of the Cork City Marathon and Half-Marathon, which will be held on Sunday June 4th, along with Athletics Ireland's Grant Thornton 5k Corporate Challenge, which is currently planned for Tuesday June 13th, but is likely to move, due to being held so close to a BHAA event, in the same location, on the following day
The Marina redevelopment is great news for both the athletic/running community, and the community at large, as the finished product will improve the quality and ambiance of the area. The pedestrianisation of the Marina has led to a massive increase in people using the scenic riverside amenity
Artistic impression of plaza by the the Atlantic Pond
The downside is that it is now though that completion will now take at least 12 months, and likely 18 months. Let us all hope that weather and work conditions lead to an earlier completion date
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| Current condition of Marina, with broken and subsiding concrete road, and footpaths on both sides | Artistic impression of revamped Marina, with roadway and riverside footpaths merged for a wider path... and there's lighting! |
Artist's impression of the completed Marina
The width of the new pedestrian path, which combines the existing roadway and footpath, is 6m, a significant increase. As can be seen from the artistic impression, the existing dirt road outside Lee Rowing Club, will also be tarmaced. This road will be 5m wide, and will be the vehicular access to Páirc Úi Caoimh, and Lee Rowing Club. Having this road paved will also increase the race/running route options
The Marina upgrade is long overdue, as the concrete running surface there is quite broken in places. The plans show lighting along the path [Currently, the Marina is unlit and I have memories, many years ago, of doing speedwork there in the dark, hitting an unseen branch and nearly going 'ar#e over t*t'! That put a stop to speedwork there!] The artistic impression of the finished product looks great, so we look forward to that
'Dogleg' at Marina/Centre Park Road
'Dogleg' at Marina/Centre Park Road and Plaza at Lee Rowing Club
Monaghan Road Realignment, New Residential Development & New Access Road
In the coming months, Monaghan Road is expected to be realigned, with the road to go through the former coal depot, by 'Marquee Road', while Monaghan Road will remain open, this will obviously disrupt races in the immediate area. further disruption, both short and long term, will come from new residential development, including access roadway, on the Marquee site
Grange/Frankfield Link to Tramore Valley Park
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| Assembly of N40 South Ring Road Bridge in its final stages at Thompson Engineering, Carlow | |
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. Work on the access ramps almost complete, with much of the shuttering for the concret ramp on the Tramore Valley Park side being removed in the past day or two. The bridge assembly is currently being assembled at Thompson's Engineering works, in Carlow. As can be seen in the two photos above, things are at an advanced stage. A release, today, from Cork City Council, suggests that the Bridge may be in place in late April, however Cork Athletics has recently heard that it may be a short while after that, and opening may be affected by works on the Park on the Frankfield side
In any case, we can look forward, shortly, to opening up a whole new running environment. It will also provide a great opportunity for those living in the Grange/Frankfield area to run/cycle/walk to and from work, and the City
Tramore Valley Park - Works on Paths
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of welcome improvement works on the paths inside the Park. Almost the entire outer path has been tarmaced to a high standard, with just a very short section, by Half Moon Lane, remaining to be done. This is likely to happen next week. Next week's work will see the final 20 or 30m being tarmaced, with the Council access road being raised just at the turn, both as a traffic calming measure (not that there's much!), and also to provide a pedestrian crossing point. Then finished product remains to be seen, but, with the sharp turn, will the ramp be an impediment, particularly in view of the turn, in races. Other works this week included progress on the new tarmac path on the eastern side of the pitches. About half of this path was tarmaced earlier today, with more in progress.
There are two other paths across the site, one - the shorter one - is of reasonably good condition, while the other, which goes across the top - and is used by some for hillwork - is quite a rough dirt track, literally. Neither of these is likely to be resurfaced any time soon. The short one close to the Parkrun start is in good condition, while the one that goes up over the hill is, literally, years away, as the ground will be 'settling' for years to come, so isn't suitable for permanent surfacing
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