The Irish Government is to invest €73m in cycle/walk-ways across rural Ireland. The original budget was set at €50m. However, it was increased to €73m because of the quality of the submissions. The funding does not include the €240m for Dublin, surrounding areas and regional cities announced earlier in the year.
The objective is to provide green sustainable transport options to those outside of the large urban centres via high quality walking and cycling facilities. Being safe and accessible to everyone will encourage more people to “get on their bikes” and tackle climate change.
The regional economies will benefit directly from the jobs created during the construction stage and indirectly from the hoped-for uptake in tourism.
The investment will be made across 19 local authorities. The biggest projects include the Bridge Street one-way system in Callan, Co Kilkenny, St Dominick's Bridge in Drogheda, Co Louth and the Ardmore Road Footpath and Cycleway in Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
Galway County Council has attracted an investment of €6.2m, while Clare County Council, Kerry County Council and Donegal County Council achieved €6m, €5.6m and €5.3m respectively.
This article was first seen on:
https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2021/0329/1206760-nta-rural-transport/
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