NTA Award €17.11m Funding to Fingal Active Travel Projects

Fingal County Council has welcomed the announcement by the Department of Transport, of €17.11m in funding, which has been granted to 52 Active Travel projects across Fingal. 

The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has confirmed that the National Transport Authority (NTA) has allocated these funds as part of an overall €290 million to be spent on 1,200 on walking and cycling infrastructure projects across Ireland this year.

Projects to receive funding in Fingal include Safer Routes to School spread across the county, Active Travel upgrades for Skerries, Rush, Lusk and Portmanock, connections to Dublin Airport, the Swords Cycle Network as part of the Sustainable Swords initiative, Broadmeadow Greenway, the Royal Canal Cycle Route and a series of routes planned for Blanchardstown, Clonee and Castleknock.

Mayor of Fingal, Councillor Howard Mahony said: “Throughout 2022 Fingal County Council has been developing walking and cycling opportunities in locations all over the county. The objective of this work is to make choosing Active Travel safer and more convenient for as many people as possible and I am pleased to see greater numbers choosing walking and wheeling whether they are heading to school, work or to the local shop.”

Welcoming the announcement from the NTA, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said: “The benefits of this investment are immense, locally and nationally. Not only are we making our cities, towns and villages greener and more liveable, 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 seen already 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.”

Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, says great strides are being made in the transition to sustainable travel. “I welcome this essential funding from the NTA. It will enable our teams in Active Travel and Strategic Infrastructure to continue progression on the delivery of landmark amenities including the Fingal Coastal Way and the Broadmeadow Greenway while also empowering them to continue building a comprehensive walking and cycling network across the county. Every time a person begins a journey, they have a choice to make and the switch to sustainable transport is a key positive climate action open to us all. Fingal County Council is continuing to deliver alternatives to car transport and in the process, we are also making our towns and villages safer, greener, more pleasant places to live, work and do business.”

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. “Every project we undertake contributes to a vision of Fingal where Active Travel is the first choice for journeys under 5km. I’m very proud to say this funding will contribute to creating Safer Routes to School at 11 Fingal schools. Children are fantastic adopters of Active Travel and we have a responsibility to provide safe environments for them to walk or wheel to class. They also care deeply about climate change and our dedicated Walking and Cycling Officers are now visiting schools across Fingal to educate them on the many benefits of Active Travel.”

Matthew McAleese, Director of Services for Planning and Strategic Infrastructure at Fingal County Council says collaboration is key to developing Fingal’s place in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) transport network: “Our teams are working to deliver projects including the Snugborough Interchange, Donabate Bridge, Harry Reynolds Road cycling infrastructure and the Fingal Coastal Way. To provide such amenities we consult with landowners, local residents and organisations like Irish Rail, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Dart+ to ensure that the work we do sits within the context of other infrastructure developments and complements the sustainable development of Fingal’s towns and villages into the future.”

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. Fingal County Council is working to achieve behavioural change by providing best in class infrastructure, policies and amenities that prioritise walking and wheeling for the people of Fingal.

Learn more at fingal.ie/activetravel