Ballyporeen/Clogheen funding passed for footpaths
Good news this week for the Ballyporeen, Clogheen and Ardfinnan areas as well as Cashel, Donaskeigh and Hollyford as Tipperary County Council received funding for a new footpaths package.
These local projects benefit from National Transport Authority (NTA) funds allocated to local authorities for the delivery of walking and cycling infrastructure in 2022. Footpath improvements were also funded for Clogheen village, Tipperary Town, Borrisoleigh and Roscrea.
Elsewhere in Tipperary, NTA funding provides for cycle parking, staff costs in the Tipperary County Council Active Travel Office, low-cost permeability measures, low-cost junction tightening and pedestrian crossing schemes, and light segregation cycle schemes
‘BEARING FRUIT’ Welcoming the news this week,
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said that it was great to see the investment into 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,” Minister Ryan said.
The NTA funding allocation, which has a view to spending €289 million on in 2022 will see circa 1,200 walking and cycling projects developed by local authorities across the country.
Anne Graham, CEO of the NTA also commented on the positive news, nothing that the announcement will support the provision of walking and cycling facilities across the country.
“More people than ever want to cycle and walk as part of their daily journey, and it is incumbent on us to encourage them to precisely do that, so they can leave the car behind. This investment will make a big difference, not just in our major cities, but in towns and villages across Ireland.
“We will work with our partners in the local authorities to ensure that the projects announced today become a reality as soon as possible,” she said.