Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) has allocated €289m (£245m) for local authorities to spend on walking and cycling infrastructure in 2022.
Projects to be delivered this year include the Clontarf to City Centre route in Dublin, MacCurtain Street in Cork, O’Connell Street in Limerick, the Salmon Weir Bridge in Galway, as well as connection of the Waterford Greenway from Bilberry into the City Centre.
These and other projects are designed to make Ireland’s urban centres more attractive places to live, work and visit. It is good for public health, as well as the environment, and promotes the most economic and efficient transport system, the NTA said.
Funding is also being directed to rural local authorities, with around 1,200 walking and cycling projects being developed by local authorities across the country. Projects include the Hanover Pedestrian and Cycle Scheme in Carlow and the N63 pedestrian and cycle scheme in Longford. NTA added this will bring a renewed vibrancy to its regional towns and villages.
Minister for transport, Eamon Ryan, said: “It is great to see our investment in active travel starting to bear fruit. I want us to now accelerate delivery of sustainable transport modes as we come out of the majority of Covid restrictions.
“It is vital that we do not allow a return to gridlock as we come out of the pandemic. We need to use the switch to remote working as an opportunity to reallocate road space to create a safer and more efficient transport system.
“Local authorities and the NTA have been provided with an unprecedented increase in funding for additional staff for active travel. I will be bringing forward further amendments to the Road Traffic and Roads bill in the coming weeks, which will also enable them to progress experimental traffic management schemes and other measures which fast track active travel infrastructure.
“We need to be quick, to help reduce our climate emissions but also to use this unique moment in time to create a more attractive and safer local environment.”
