Works set to commence soon on new urban street and park in Kilkenny

Works are to commence soon on a new urban street and urban park on the Abbey Quarter masterplan site in Kilkenny City.

That was the update given to councillors at the most recent full meeting of Kilkenny County Council.

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The urban street will be aligned north-south through the Abbey Quarter, linking Bateman Quay in the south with St Francis Bridge in the north and will provide multiple pedestrian linkages to the city, making the Abbey Quarter urban park readily accessible.

It is planned to be designed as a shared surface, allowing easy movement for pedestrians and vehicles through the Abbey Quarter development.

Vehicular access will be limited, planned to be accessible only for delivery, service and emergency vehicles.

Urban design solutions for both ends of Vicar Street are also to be advanced, and a new street linking Greens Bridge Street and the St Francis Abbey Bridge is planned.

The newly published Abbey Quarter User Guide has also recommended that ‘a high quality continuous river greenway’ is provided from Greens Bridge to Canal Square.

To facilitate the continuous greenway it is envisaged that the southern end of Bateman Quay adjacent to the Rose Inn Street junction will need to be reconfigured to allocate additional space/priority to the greenway, subject to detailed design and planning consent.

Smaller ‘infill’ sites within the Abbey Quarted are recommended to be considered for small scale residential opportunities.

It is also an objective of the local authority to resolve the vacant property at the corner of Vicar Street and St Francis Bridge with an appropriate solution.

Non-residential masterplan car parking has also been recommended to be dual purpose and available to other users.

For example, office car parking used Monday to Friday (8am - 5pm) would be available in evening time, weekends and public holidays for other public users.

It has not been recommended not to provide a dedicated coach parking facility on the Abbey Quarter masterplan site.

If required, a coach set down facility could possibly be provided.