Users of the 49km Great Western Greenway should get off their bloody bikes and open and close gates at driveways where landowners have issues with cyclists crossing their driveways, a Mayo councillor has said.There are around 100 driveways along the route between Westport and AchillIsland, although the majority of driveways are on sections where the route is shared with motorists on low-traffic access roads. There are also around 30 minor side-road crossing points and a handful of main-road crossing points where chicane barriers are mostly already in place.The Mayo News reported the comments in an article mainly covering how Independent councillor John OMalley called on the chief executive of Mayo County Council to replace an official dealing with issues along the greenway, including a recent closure by a landowner.The greenway was built using permission access, where the council gains permission from landowners to build the walking and cycle route on their land without the council taking ownership or full control.The method has been problematic because landowners with issues with the council sometimes unrelated to the greenway have closed the greenway without public notice and forced greenway users onto busy main roads. Council officials have also outlined how the system is resource-intensive. While some earlier greenways were built this way, nationally funded greenways are now being planned with the local council taking ownership, with the preferred method being via agreement and the use of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) where needed to retain a continuous and functional route. According to The Mayo News, Cllr John OMalley said that a landowner who closed a section of the greenway in August said he did so because people were cycling in front of his car when he was coming out of his driveway.Cllr OMalley said: This gentleman comes out of his driveway, and there are bicycles passing backwards and forwards in front of him, and he almost hits them, and his heart is out in his mouth. He wants gates on both sides so they can get off their bloody bikes and open the gate, and they swing close behind them and walk across his driveway and open the gate again.Swing gates have already been installed at the driveway. However, it is unclear how cyclists using swing gates, which are now directly at the driveway crossing point, will help matters, as cyclists now have to stop in the way of the landowner to operate the gates. The driveway previously had chicane barriers, styled like gates, at three points in close succession between the mans driveway and a far access point close to the driveway. National guidelines only recommend the use of such barriers at side roads or main road crossings, not at driveways.There is a distance between the driveway and the main road, which allows the owner to navigate that high-speed road and the greenway separately, but there is a large amount of greenery and other objects that make the sightlines poor between the greenway and the driveway. The greenway is also on a notable gradient at the driveway, making barriers or gates more awkward. IMAGE: Older file photo before the chicane barriers were replaced with swing gates.

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