Council rejects tram walkway claims

FINGAL County Council has rejected claims that it has
refused to protect a popular walkway that follows the route of an old tramline
in Howth.

Local man Brendan Keegan, who lives on Upper Cliff
Road and regularly walks along the tramline, claimed the council had failed to
take any measures to repair the pathway.

“This is supposed to be a dry walkway, which it
always was when the trams used to operate on it,

? Mr Keegan told Northside
People.

“At the moment there is water draining down along the
walkway all the time.

“The section of it between Kitestown Road and
Grey’s Lane has water running out along it and it has been like that for years.

“You would want to wear rubber boots if you walk along
it or else your shoes would be destroyed.

?

A spokeswoman for Fingal County Council said it would
be inaccurate to state that the local authority has refused to protect walkways
on the Howth Peninsula.

She said that in 2006 the council developed a
conservation plan for the peninsula in direct response to widespread concerns
about the demise of traditional walkways in Howth.

She pointed out that the Howth Pathways project had
been involved in the development of four way-marked looped pathways and over 20
site-specific conservation management plans for Howth Head.

“Approximately e130,000 has been spent in recent
years across a range of important projects to provide equipment, mapping,
signage, ecological studies, resurfacing, bridge repair, path reconstruction
and vegetation management that has significantly increased the amenity value
and biodiversity of the walkways in Howth,

? she told Northside People.

“These projects include development of Looped
Paths, the Howth Conservation Plan, the Heathland Management Plan, the Red
Squirrel Conservation Project, the Bog-of-Frogs Conservation project and
Invasive Species Control.

?

The spokeswoman added that funding for this work had
been made available from the council’s own budget and from specific levies
generated by the council after they were put in place the Howth Special Amenity
Area Order.

Dublin North East TD Tommy Broughan (Lab) has called
on the council to urgently investigate the matter. He is also insisting on the
full restoration of this section of the old tramline.

“Local residents and walkers are continually
complaining that these parts of this previously pristine and much used walkway
have been severely damaged between Kitestown Road and Thormanby Road,

? said
Deputy Broughan.

“Given that perhaps 50,000 to 70,000 walkers and
visitors use the walkways each year, I am seeking an early resolution to this
matter for my constituents.

?