Eoin Ryan
Question:19 Mr. E. Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has to provide funds for local authorities to improve pedestrian facilities. [3351/96]
Written Answers. - Pedestrian Facilities.
Responsibility for the improvement and maintenance of public roads, including the provision of facilities for pedestrians, rests with individual road authorities. In the case of non-national roads, including roads in urban areas, the improvement of pedestrian facilities normally falls to be funded from the road authority's own resources, supplemented by the annual grants for these roads. It is a matter for individual road authorities to select the projects they wish to fund, subject to the general guidelines which apply. In the case of national roads, any necessary improvements in pedestrian facilities would be a matter for consideration by the local authority concerned and the National Roads Authority.
The improvement of pedestrian facilities could also form part of proposals for urban and village improvements for which grants are available to local authorities from my Department under the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development. Pedestrian facilities, including facilities for people with disabilities, and traffic calming measures, may also qualify for assistance under the scheme of traffic management grants provided annually in respect of the Dublin Transportation Initiative area.