€25.5m funding for Active Travel in Fingal

Fingal County Council has welcomed today’s announcement by the Department of Transport, that €25.5m in funding has been granted to 44 Active Travel projects across Fingal. 

Fingal County Council has welcomed the announcement by the Department of Transport, that €25.5m in funding has been granted to 44 Active Travel projects across Fingal. 

The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan confirmed that the National Transport Authority (NTA) has allocated these funds as part of a national annual spend of €289 million on walking and cycling infrastructure in 2022.

Projects to receive funding include the Skerries Active Travel Plan, St. Cronins Road, the Broadmeadow Way, Seatown Roundabout and Rivervalley and Rathingle in Swords, locations in Balbriggan including the Harry Reynolds Road, Balrothery village, Rush South Beach and New St Malahide. 44 projects in Fingal have benefitted from this NTA funding.

Mayor of Fingal, Councillor Seána Ó Rodaigh, welcomed the funding. “Fingal is a young and rapidly growing County. Our sustainable growth can be supported by Active Travel, which will serve healthy communities by creating infrastructure that helps people to commute to school, work or just to their local shops by walking and wheeling.”

Minister Ryan said “It is important to accelerate delivery of sustainable transport modes as we come out of the majority of Covid restrictions. It is vital that we do not allow a return to gridlock as we come out of the pandemic. We need to use the switch to remote working as an opportunity to reallocate road space to create a safer and more efficient transport system.

Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, says Active Travel remains a major priority for the County. “Fingal continues to grow and as we move out of the early phase of the Covid pandemic we can see once again a real need for new transportation options in our locality. Our Active Travel team has been working diligently to deliver infrastructure that offers meaningful alternatives to the private car and will continue to do so with this funding now in place. With 44 projects in action under this funding alone we are making great progress in the change to Active Travel and look forward to continuing this transformative work.”

David Storey, Director of Services for Environment, Climate Action and Active Travel at Fingal County Council says this funding is vital to the future of the county. “This funding from the NTA will help us to deliver essential infrastructure to the areas that need it most. It is our mission to improve sustainable and safe travel across Fingal. Active Travel should be the first choice for journeys under 5km and we are working to make that choice convenient, safe and inclusive by delivering a multitude of innovate schemes. This funding recognises the hard work and investment required to change how we travel, and we are very happy to receive it.”

With the Government investing almost €1 million per day nationally on walking and cycling projects it is clear that Active Travel remains a key priority at local and national level. Fingal County Council is working to build Active Travel into everyday life as part of normal daily routines. Active Travel has the potential to transform our communities and positively impact our climate and Fingal County Council will achieve behavioural change by providing best in class infrastructure, policies and amenities that prioritise walking and wheeling for the people of Fingal.

Projects in Fingal to receive funding:

Active Travel in Fingal

Active Travel is part of the commitment of Fingal County Council to tackle climate action. Active Travel is travelling with a purpose using your own energy, which usually means walking or cycling as part of a purposeful journey, and the Council’s objective is to build Active Travel into everyday life as part of normal daily routines. Since the creation, in late 2019, of an Environment, Climate Action and Active Travel Department significant progress has been made in developing the Active Travel agenda. Fingal County Council was the first local authority in Ireland to create such a department and has invested heavily in resources toward its development.

Department of Transport

In line with the Department of Transport’s policy and allowed funding, the NTA oversees and allocates Active Travel funding to local authorities for the provision of walking and cycling (Active Travel) infrastructure in Ireland.

NTA Active Travel funding of €289 million in 2022 across Ireland covers approximately 1,200 Active Travel projects. This will contribute to the development of almost 1,000km of new and improved walking and cycling infrastructure across the country by 2025 as per the NTA’s multi-year draft programme to be published shortly. It will enable more people to walk and cycle in their daily lives, improving the quality of life, the fabric of our urban centres and, in particular, a reduction in carbon emissions as part of the government’s Climate Action Plan.

According to the CSO, 29% of trips are less than 2km, 57% of which are made by car. Moreover, of trips up to 6km, 79% are made by car. The investment on Active Travel will enable more of these and longer journeys to be made by walking and cycling.

The Safe Routes to School Programme is also included within this year’s Active Travel allocation. This Programme commenced last year and aims to create new and safer walking and cycling routes within communities, alleviating congestion at the school gates and increasing the number of students who walk or cycle to school.