Active travel route will make journeys to Newry Railway Station safer for cyclists and pedestrians

Work is progressing steadily on the second phase of a combined footway/ cycleway on a stretch of the A27 Craigmore Way between McCanns Corner/ Fiveways Roundabout and the turn off for Newry Railway Station. The finished project will make it safer for pedestrians to get to the Railway Station on foot or on a bicycle. Previously there wasn't even a pavement on the road with walkers having to walk on the hard shoulder. The first phase of the project saw a combined path completed from the Mourne Country Roundabout to McCanns Corner/ Fiveways earlier this year.

The project involves removing the existing crawler lane on the road and in its place provide a 3m wide shared footway/ cycleway with a 1m grassed buffer alongside the A27 Craigmore Way carriageway. The scheme will tie in to both the McCanns Corner/ Fiveways and Camlough Road roundabouts and will allow you to travel from the Mourne Country Roundabout to the Railway Station mostly off road. The existing hard shoulder on the other side of the carriageway will remain unchanged.

Drawings for the project also show a proposed bus layby with bus shelter just past the entrance to the new housing development. A Puffin crossing is also proposed just before the Derrybeg Lane turn off.

It's part of a Department for Infrastructure active travel scheme instigated by former Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon, who at the time said it was part of a committment by her department to "make walking, wheeling and cycling a safer and more attractive option for people getting around."

The project comes at the same time as a DFI Report on Walking, Cycling and Public Transport in NI 2021/2022 revealed that less than half (46%) of respondents to a survey report were satisfied with cycling facilities in their area, down from 53% in 2020/21. Newry City still has some catching up to do to make cycling a safe and attractive option for all.