Second option for new Limerick road features loop around college

A LOOP road around the rear of the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) campus in Moylish is planned to ease traffic as part of a new link between two communities.

At a consultation session in Thomond Community College, council officials unveiled an alternative route for a new road connecting Woodview and Moyross.

The proposal would mean the two communities are linked by a five-minute walk. At present, despite being adjacent, pedestrians must take a circuitous route of up to 35 minutes.

READ MORE: Hottest tickets going aren’t in Prague, they're in Limerick for new drama group’s plays!

Notionally named University Way, the proposed link has been welcomed in Moyross but has sparked opposition in Woodview since a first route option was presented in 2023.

In response to concerns about traffic, the council has now developed a second option.

This revised proposal largely mirrors the original plan — a direct route between Old Cratloe Road and Moyross Avenue — but adds a one-way loop road behind the TUS campus.

This loop would operate outbound only (away from Moyross), guiding traffic and pedestrians around the sports hub and reconnecting them near the Cratloe Road roundabout.

Council will now gauge public support for both options before selecting a final route, which members will ultimately decide on.

Fine Gael councillor Olivia O’Sullivan said residents in Woodview are “disappointed” with both options.

“They feel a bit unheard and not taken into account in the proposals. It looks like everything one community is asking for is being delivered, and nothing the other community is looking for,” she said at the consultation event.

“It’s hard to understand. The council seems to be gung-ho on this. There are other land banks. There was an expectation there would be more inventive proposals,” she added.

Mayor John Moran said he has not yet decided which option he will support and will outline his preference in the coming days.

David Tobin, a board member of the Northside Family Resource Centre in Ballynanty, said he was unsure what purpose the alternative route via TUS serves.

“But the most important thing, whether it is option one or option two, is that it is done, passed by councillors and delivered at pace,” he said.