Council due to make decision on road plan for second Athlone IDA park

Westmeath County Council is due to make a decision by the end of this month on a plan by IDA Ireland for a major road network to facilitate access to a second business and technology park in Athlone.

The site which has been earmarked for a the business and technology park is to the north of Athlone, just off the N55 Ballymahon Road, between Mayfield Grove and the State Examinations Commission.

The site has the added benefit of a number of adjacent services, as well as having frontage on both the N55 and N6 as it stretches from the Ballymahon Road to the Athlone relief road, opposite the Brawny housing development.

The plans were placed on hold by the council recently, pending the receipt of further information from the IDA on a number of aspects.

That request has now been complied with, and among the aspects addressed in the further information response was the rationale for a proposed roundabout on the internal access road to the site.

The further information states that the roundabout provides the “most optimal engineering solution” for a number of reasons, including that it will act as a speed control measure on what would otherwise be a “long straight downhill stretch of road encouraging higher speeds” and endangering the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

The IDA also points out that, if the roundabout was omitted, no turning facility for a bus (or HGV) would be provided, “making it impossible to enter and exit the site without making a difficult 3-point turn which is not recommended from a safety or operational perspective.”

Council planners also said the Masterplan for the IDA site failed to demonstrate how it would create “a strong urban form” along the site frontage on the N55.

In its further information submission, the IDA said the proposed entrance for the site would have a 1.5m high limestone clad stone wall which would be set back from the site and IDA Totem signage “visible for oncoming traffic.”

There would also be a landscaped buffer around the site with scope for the provision of “active travel routes and walkways." Plans for the area where the site is located also include the construction of a footbridge over the N6 Bypass.

The issue of pedestrian links has also been addressed by the IDA, which plans to provide 1.8m wide footpaths on both sides of the access road and raised pedestrian crossings to all arms of the roundabout along with uncontrolled crossings at the access points.

The entrance to the site is to be “a signalled junction” with pedestrian crossings on all three arms.

In its planning application, which was lodged with Westmeath County Council on December 19 last, IDA Ireland sought permission for a new access junction at the IDA Business & Technology Park on the N55 (Ballymahon Road), including road markings to facilitate a right turn lane.

The development would also consist of an internal access road of approximately 465m in length and with a 7m wide carriageway; an internal roundabout and priority junctions; the erection of totem signage at the entrance; landscaped verges; 1.8m wide footpaths; 2m wide cycle lanes and all associated site works.

The 56 acre site was purchased by the IDA in 2020, with a view to developing a second IDA business and technology park in Athlone.