Waterford walking and cycling infrastructure to receive €11million
Walking and cycling paths in Waterford are to receive a major boost of €11million in new funding as part of the Government’s Active Travel project. Green Party TD for Waterford, Marc Ó Cathasaigh praised the move saying it will make travel safer and easier for the local community.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan announced that €290 million will be allocated to local authorities in 2023 to expand walking and cycling infrastructure. This substantial investment will fund approximately 1,200 projects across the country, including cycle lanes, widened footpaths, new walking and cycling bridges, and new pedestrian crossings. Overall, almost 1,000km of new and improved walking and cycling infrastructure will be developed by 2025.
Speaking after the announcement, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said:
“Today’s announcement of €11m for Waterford builds on last year’s allocation of €24m to continue the very significant investment in Active Travel across both Waterford City and County – a key Green Party commitment in the Programme for Government. With today’s announcement, we can see a focus on key transport corridors including the Waterford City Inner Ring Road, the Tramore Ring Road and the Carrick Road in Portlaw as well as an extension of the Safe Routes to Schools scheme and an emphasis on permeability which will make it easier for people to get around their towns and villages.”
“We need to accelerate our roll out of active travel measures throughout the city and county to create a network of safe walking and cycling infrastructure which will cater for the needs of people of all ages and abilities throughout Waterford. Simple measures like footpaths, pedestrian crossings and road markings make a huge difference within our communities and they make it easier and safer to leave the car at home for some of those smaller journeys. The increase in funding for the staff allocation for the Active Travel team in Waterford will help with the delivery of these key projects”
“On a personal level, I’m very pleased to see further funding for the active travel corridor on the Tramore Ring Road – something I campaigned for before entering politics. We can also see a series of rapid build projects and further funding for the Tramore to Waterford Greenway which will link Tramore with the city, the Greenway and across to Ferrybank”
“What this allocation means in practice is that it’s easier for our children to cycle to school without being driven, it means we can walk to our local shop more safely and it means we all spend less time stuck in traffic jams. The end result is that we are a little healthier and happier overall.”
Since the Green Party entered government, spending on Active Travel has increased six-fold from circa €45 million in 2019 to an expected €290 million in 2023.
Making the announcement, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD said:
“The foundation of our transport strategy is to provide significant support for safe and sustainable travel. Our strategy is focused on local people and helping them connect with their local community. We plan to reduce our emissions by 50% by 2030 and increasing the number of greenways, cycleways and walkways is a crucial step towards achieving this. We have seen many times that once greenways are built, they become very popular, so this is certainly money well spent.”
