Over €3m in funding for cycleways, walkways and footpaths in Offaly
OFFALY County Council has been granted over €3m in funding to be spent on a number of cycle-ways, walkways and footpath projects throughout the county. The allocation is under the Active Travel Investment Grants 2023.
Some of the schemes to benefit include €358,231 for the Tullamore Cycle Network Phase 1.
€298,882 for Active Travel Footpaths Improvements in Clara.
€110,449 for Junction Tightening in Edenderry and Birr.
Meanwhile, €125,000 goes towards Ballycumber Active travel elements.
Kilcormac, Kinnitty road active travel elements gets €75,000
Barry Cowen TD said he was ''thrilled to see such a substantial investment in active travel in Offaly. This funding will make our communities safer and more accessible for walkers and cyclists and I am confident that these projects will have a positive impact on the health and well-being of our residents. ''
Continuing Deputy Cowen said,'' This investment shows a strong commitment to promoting sustainable and active travel options in Offaly and I eagerly anticipate the results of these projects in the coming months and years.''
Carol Nolan TD said ''I will always welcome support measures that improve our local communities and assist in the provision of badly needed infrastructure like footpath improvements.
It was particularly fantastic to see Kinnitty Road Active Travel in Kilcormac Village receive €75,000 for the project,'' she said.
The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said; ''People very often think that Greenways, cycle-ways or walkways are primarily tourism amenities. Of course, they serve that purpose really well, but first and foremost they are about local people and improving local life, connecting suburbs, local villages or townlands that have often become disconnected from one another because of busy and dangerous roads.''
''The benefits of this investment are immense, locally and nationally, Not only are we making our cities, towns and villages greener and more livable, we are also helping to reduce Ireland's' carbon emissions. In transport, we have a significant challenge to reduce our emissions by 50% by 2030. To achieve this, we have to encourage more people to choose sustainable ways of travelling, However, as we have already seen with the greenways, walk and cycle ways, once we build them they become instantly popular and we don't really have to do much to encourage people to make the sustainable switch.'' he said.