A senior engineer with the Mayo National Roads Office has thanked Erris-based councillors for their support of a Greenway project in north Mayo.
The monthly meeting of the Westport/Bemullet Municipal District was informed that phase one of the Blacksod Bay Loop Scheme from Binghamstown to Cross Lake is due to commence this month and the €1.1 million project is to be completed by the end of the year.
Phase two of the project from Doohoma Head to St Pius X Church in Doohoma is currently in the planning stage with construction expected to commence on the €1.5 million project next spring.
Local councillors Seán Carey and Gerry Coyle both welcomed the funding for the projects saying they were supported locally and they also praised the engineers in the National Roads Office for the way they dealt with local landowners.
Geesala-based councillor Gerry Coyle said he was delighted with the way the consultation process was carried out and that the officials had listened to the concerns of local people.
"In fairness to the team they explained in detail in Doohoma and Binghamstown what exactly was going to happen and they took on board views people had about different aspects of it.
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"That is the only way to progress these walkways and greenways. It is about working together and making sure the end result is the shared result for everybody. It is shared with the farmers and walkers and cyclists and the tourists but most importantly it is shared by the people who live there 365 days a year," he said.
Cllr Carey said that progress on the projects was great news for the area and who said that it was a lovely part of the country to be opened up and it was welcomed by all locally.
Paul Hyland, Senior Executive Engineer at the Mayo National Roads Office noted the comments of the two councillors and that it was important to receive their support.
"We acknowledge the councillors support in the greater Blacksod area because it is very important they do support and see the benefits of a greenway like this. It was very important to us to have the support of the councillors," he said.
The meeting also heard that the TII has invested €3.5 million in the renewal of existing Greenways in Mayo between in the last two years. This investment included the resurfacing of different sections of the Great Western Greenway and the installation of junction gates and fencing upgrades.
Westport-based councillor Peter Flynn said it was important to acknowledge the support of the TII because Mayo County Council would not have the funding to renew Greenways on its own.
"It is a huge amount of money and we would never have come up with it if we were dealing with it in terms of Mayo County Council budgets. Mayo is doing very well under the greenway programme and I honestly think we have an opportunity here in this county to connect all of these greenways together down into Erris and Sligo and Galway and create something special.
"We need TII to be with us and for us to be TII on this," he said.