Written Answers Nos. 1 - 50
50. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Transport the amount of funding expected to be invested in 2021 in walking and cycling infrastructure projects such as the Midleton to Youghal Greenway; if the timelines for development of such infrastructure will be impacted by Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1739/21]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware the Programme for Government committed toward investing €1.8 billion in walking and cycling over the lifetime of this Government. I believe this investment will be hugely beneficial to our society, our health and our environment and it will support projects across the country, in both urban and rural Ireland, as this Government looks to fundamentally change the nature of transport in Ireland.
In Budget 2021 we announced that €360 million was being allocated across Government to support walking and cycling this year. These allocations are being made available through my own Department’s expanded active travel and greenways programmes, as well as through other programmes such as the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme.
Among the major Active Travel projects scheduled for construction this year are the Clontarf to City Centre route in Dublin, the Mahon to Marina Greenway in Cork, the Castletroy Greenway in Limerick, Parkmore Improvement Works in Galway and the Bilberry to City Centre route in Waterford.
In addition to those projects, the increased funding is being used to support an entirely new programme of works in rural local authorities which will establish a dedicated active travel funding programme for those local authorities outside the five cities. I understand that the National Transport Authority will publish details of the projects to be funded during 2021under this programme very shortly.
The increased funding is also being used to support local authorities in terms of ensuring they have the right type of skills and resources available to them to plan and deliver active travel infrastructure. Furthermore, last week Minister Foley, Minister of State Naughton and I announced details of the new Safe Routes to School Programme that will support active travel improvements for schools up and down the country. This funding programme will support children cycling, walking and scooting to primary and post-primary schools. The programme, which will cost circa €15m in 2021, was developed in response to ongoing issues of safety and congestion at school gates and on routes to school.
The Deputy is right to point out that the ongoing restrictions due to the current public health guidelines may potentially impact delivery this year. However, at this point it is still too early to say whether there will be a substantive impact by the time we come to the end of the year. I can assure him that I am well aware that this increased funding needs to be translated into delivery on the ground but I do believe we are on the right track.
With regard to the Midleton - Youghal Greenway this was initially funded €8 million from the Department, equivalent to 60% of the estimated total cost. Following the impact of the pandemic on the income of local authorities, I increased funding of all the Greenway projects to 100%; for this project funding has further increased due to some changes in specification and it is now funded to a total of €19.8 million. Indeed in November 2020 I announced an allocation of €63.5 million to greenways for 2021. This is the highest single year amount ever allocated to greenways.
As the Deputy is also aware, quite significant amounts have been allocated to projects in Cork with funding of over €45m recently announced for sustainable transport projects including cycling and walking infrastructure such as Dunkettle to Carrigtwohill €3.1m; Ballinacurra to Midleton €1.325m; Cobh Ferry to Train Station €50,000 and Carrigtwohill to Midleton €100,000, this shows the commitment of Government to creating networks and building on the benefits of Greenways in terms of changing our options for travel from the car to walking and cycling.
I am advised by Cork County Council that, while construction of the Midleton-Youghal Greenway has been impacted by restrictions associated with the COVID pandemic, plans are being put in place for site works to resume shortly. Having regard to the delays experienced, the proposed revised completion date for the overall Greenway scheme is Q1 2023. However there may be opportunities to open sections of the route to the public in advance of this date.
