KILDARE: Call for link between Prosperous and the Blueway made by local councillor

A councillor has urged Kildare County Council (KCC) to consider linking the town of Prosperous to the Blueway.

The call was made by Fianna Fáil Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick at the latest Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting, which was held on Friday, March 1 last.

He submitted the following motion to KCC: "That the council cost and investigate the possibility of putting a footpath from Hatters Cross to the canal in the interest of connecting the village of Prosperous with the Blueway."

Cllr Fitzpatrick's motion was seconded by Social Democrats Cllr Aidan Farrelly.

Speaking about his motion, Cllr Fitzpatrick told those in attendance: "I think that this is something that we should be strongly considering as a council, going forward."

Expressing his support, Cllr Farrelly said that he raised a similar motion last year.

"I have received a number of requests about this from Prosperous; there is a hope that the link will happen," he said.

Cllr Farrelly also said to KCC: "If there is room for the council to conduct a feasibility study (for the proposed connection ), it would be very much appreciated."

The motion from Cllr Fitzpatrick also found support in Fine Gael Cllr Brendan Wyse, who also asked KCC to clarify the differences between the Greenway and the Blueway to the general public, in order to avoid confusion.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick put forward the motion to the council. File photograph.

Independent Cllr Pádraig McEvoy also asked KCC about the estimated cost of the connection.

In response, KCC engineer Cyril Buggie said that he agreed with all their points.

However, he added: "It's very difficult to put an estimated price on it; it would be in the seven-figure sum range.

"Finding a source of funding for the project would be difficult."

Mr Buggie further said that the matter has been brought to the attention to KCC's Public Realm team, and the team assured him that they would come back to him regarding the matter in the near-future.

KCC told Cllr Fitzpatrick the following via its report at the meeting: "The delivery of a footpath at this location would require a significant level of funding and the agreement of a number of landowners to facilitate the necessary setbacks required."

"The Project would not be feasible at the current time without the identification of resources and a funding source," KCC added.