Thomas Gould
Ceist:142. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Transport his views on whether cycling infrastructure in Cork city is on a par with that in other local authority areas. [35949/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 5 July 2022
Ceisteanna (142)
Freagraí scríofa
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for the policy and overall funding in relation to Active Travel. The National Transport Authority (NTA), meanwhile, has responsibility for the allocation of funding to specific projects and oversight of their development, in cooperation with the relevant local authorities.
The Programme for Government committed to an investment of €360 million per annum in walking and cycling over the lifetime of the Government. The years 2021 and 2022 have seen a significant increase in my department's funding for cycling and walking, in line with the Government’s prioritisation of Active Travel and Greenways. Earlier this year I announced funding totalling €289m through the National Transport Authority (NTA) for 1,200 Active Travel projects. This funding included an allocation of €46.29m to Cork City Council and an allocation of €20.46m to Cork County Council. In addition funding of circa €60 million has been allocated to around 40 Greenway projects across the country in 2022, with over €5m of that funding allocated to projects in Cork.
This funding will support the development of key Active Travel and Greenways projects such as McCurtain Street Public Transport Improvement Scheme, Grange Road Transport Corridor, Passage to City Centre Greenway, Dunkettle to Carrigtwohill cycleway and the Midleton to Youghal Greenway.
I wish to assure the Deputy that the safety of all road users, particularly those who are most vulnerable such as cyclists and pedestrians, is at the top of my priority list as Minister for Transport.
I would point out that any new cycling infrastructure funded by my Department must be designed in compliance with the guidance and standards set out in the NTA's National Cycle Manual (NCM) which is currently being revised and updated. I expect the revised version of the NCM to be published by Q3 2022.
In tandem, my Department officials have convened a Standards Working Group which is examining the various guidance and standards documents which should be taken into account by local authorities when constructing new walking and cycling infrastructure. These include the NCM, as well as the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland's (TII's) standards. The Working Group will seek to identify any gaps or contradictions between these various guidance documents to ensure that new walking and cycling infrastructure is designed safely and efficiently in order to encourage more people to use Active Travel transport modes over the private car.