Cork County Council has opened a 2 km section of a planned urban greenway in Glanmire, which was delivered as part of the ongoing Glanmire Roads Improvement Scheme.The roads project is designed to modernise some of the junctions and roads in the town, but for active travel, large parts of the project include substandard shared paths and cycle paths which revert to shared paths at junctions.The now-opened urban greenway is short, running for about 2km through parks in Glanmire, with shared paths and cycle paths linking to it as part of the roads scheme its not to be confused with the Glanmire to Cork City Centre route, which is still largely a work in progress. The council said that the road and active travel improvement works between Glanmire and the Dunkettle are scheduled to finish in September-early October, completing the connection between Glanmire Community College and the Glounthaune Greenway.IMAGE: Map of some of the main routes in the area (not comprehensive). Note: Work is ongoing on the link between Glanmire and Dunkettle / Little Island. The council said that the greenway project was opened by Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Gary OBrien, and local elected members of the Northeast Ward accompanied the chief executive of Cork City Council, Valerie OSullivan, on a walk along the new Glanmire Greenway, which opened to the public today.In a press release, Cork City Council said: The new greenway connects the recently completed link road at Dooleys Lane, via the former John Barleycorn site. It includes two new pedestrian and cycle bridges, one across the Glashaboy River into John OCallaghan Park, and the second across the Butlerstown River into the former Riverstown Soccer Club, onto East Cliff Road and connecting to the existing shared cycle facility at Glanmire Bridge.The scheme is part of a suite of major infrastructure works, representing an estimated 50 million public investment in Glanmire over recent years. The schemes, in various stages of planning, construction and completion, include the delivery of the Glashaboy Flood Relief Scheme, new roads, enhanced pedestrian connections, cycle infrastructure, greenway routes, new river crossings, and community recreation facilities, the council added.Cork City Council said that construction on Hazelwood Road between Aldi and Crestfield Shopping Centre is due to start this month, with a 12-week construction programme, and the Glashaboy Flood Relief Scheme is also in its final stages of completion, providing a one-in-one-hundred-year flood protection for around 78 homes and 25 businesses in Glanmire.Valerie OSullivan, chief executive of Cork City Council, said: The investment in Glanmire will have an enormous impact in creating a key destination along the greenway and in strengthening connections between Glanmire Village, Riverstown, East Cliff, John OCallaghan Park, local schools, residential areas and community facilities. It makes Glanmire a hugely attractive place to live, visit, and enjoy.On behalf of Cork City Council, Id like to thank the residents of Glanmire for the patience and support that they have shown while these works have been underway, in the understanding that they will ensure benefits in the area for generations to come, she said.OSullivan added: I also want to pay tribute to the Councils Infrastructure Directorate and all the team whose vision, work and dedication are transforming Glanmire and many other parts of Cork City for its people.Plans for enhancements to the parkMeanwhile, Cork City Council also highlighted that it unveiled what it called ambitious plans for a major new riverside park in Glanmire, which will be the largest investment in public park infrastructure in the town in a generation. The works will be around and complement the existing John OCallaghan Park and the now-open greenway. These plans are out for public consultation.PHOTO: By Brian Lougheed for Cork City Council.