Vol. 531 No. 2
134 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the total amount of money allocated for traffic calming and other traffic improvements; the amount of money allocated to each local authority in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5352/01]
Grants to local authorities for traffic calming and other traffic management measures arise under a number of programmes financed by my Department.
An ongoing programme for traffic calming on national roads is being operated by the National Roads Authority and is comprehended within the grant allocations for 2001 recently announced by NRA. A comprehensive programme of traffic management measures for the greater Dublin area is being co-ordinated and financed by the Dublin Transportation Office. The detailed allocation of grants is a matter for the DTO.
Regional traffic management grants applicable to the county boroughs of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford were introduced as part of the non-national roads programme in 2000. The 2001 non-national road grants which I announced on 5 February last allocated £1.75 million for this purpose in 2001 – £700,000 to Cork Corporation and £350,000 each to Galway, Limerick and Waterford Corporations.
Discretionary improvement grants are also allocated to county councils as part of the non-national roads programme. The memorandum on grants for non-national roads provides that traffic management works are eligible works for financing under this category. Some £15.1 million has been allocated to county councils in 2001 in discretionary improvement grants, which represents a 35% increase on the 2000 allocation.
