Tag Archives: Active Travel

THE breakdown of the almost €6m allocation to Clare County Council for Active Travel projects has been revealed with significant investment in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure announced. The National Transport Authority and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan announced spending totalling €72.8 million this Monday for 340 sustainable transport projects in 19 local authorities and Clare County Council has received €5,986,000 under the scheme. The biggest allocation of €950,000 comes under the heading of village enhancement, which relates to the Connecting & Co-Creating Ennis walking routes project. Among the big winners is Kilrush with separate €200,000 allocations for pedestrian and cycleway projects, while it is also included in a €444,000 grant for footpath improvements. Lahinch and Ennistymon also benefit from large allocations for cycle and public lighting infrastructure. Over €2m of the allocation has been directed to projects in the north and west of the county including Kilrush, Lisseycasey, Doolin, Spanish Point, Lahinch, Lisdoonvarna and Ennistymon, among others. Ennis has also been …

THE Green Party influence in government has been blamed for a lack of funding to address safety concerns at a junction on the main arterial route into East Clare. News that the Department of Transport is prioritising Active Travel funds over grants for specific road schemes angered members of the Killaloe Municipal District this week, when they learned that a large-scale application for works at Henchey’s Cross on the R352 had been refused. The matter was raised by Councillor Pat Hayes after The Schedule of Municipal District Works for 2021 was outlined at a district meeting this week. The Killaloe Cathaoirleach welcomed the allocation of €100,000 this year and sought clarity on what last year’s figure of €150,000 had been used for. “A man rang me just the other day to ask if somebody needed to die at this junction before action is taken,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “There was another serious incident there lately and the situation needs …

PUTTING in walking and cycling trails at the site of Clare windfarms was among the ideas mooted at a recent Active Travel briefing for the county, attended by Transport Minister Éamon Ryan. The well-attended event, which was organised by Green Senator Róisín Garvey, highlighted cycling and walking projects in the county and looked at how funding and staffing resources might be captialised upon for Clare. Acknowledging that the issue could be controversial, Senator Garvey noted that there are a number of windfarms already in Clare and several other developers looking for planning permission. “Even retrospectively, they could make good cycling and walking trails, it’s been put to me by a number of people,” she said. “Can recreational trails be incorporated into windfarm planning? It might be something to think about. I know they give some money to communities for things, but there’s a lot of land around wind farms, they do take up a lot of space and maybe it’s …

SHARED bike schemes for a number of Clare towns were mooted at an online Active Travel briefing last week. The event which was attended by an expert panel, including Transport Minister Éamon Ryan, heard calls for a Dublin-based scheme whereby bikes are available for short-term rental at a variety of locations, to be rolled out outside of the capital. “The Dublin Bike Scheme is great, is there any chance of that being rolled out in towns?” Green Senator, Róisín Garvey, who organised the online event, asked. “Is it a private enterprise, because it would work in Shannon, it would work in Ennis and in Kilrush, maybe. People have been talking a lot about this.” The minister noted the popularity of the scheme as well as some pitfalls. “I think we could and should [extend it],” he said. “It is a private scheme. In Dublin, it was JC Decaux who did a deal with the council, they’re the signage company. I’ll …

SLOWING traffic on some routes around Clare has the potential to increase cycling tourism, the minister for transport has told an online Active Travel briefing. Responding to queries from some of the 200 people who attended the event last Thursday night, Éamon Ryan discussed the possibility of encouraging cycling by reducing speed limits. Minister Ryan outlined how he had operated cycling tours for 15 years before his political career and brought thousands of people around Clare, by bike. “I’ve real experience of it,” he said. “My sense is that I could do that on the existing road network. Sometimes, you pick your roads, but it doesn’t always have to be segregated to my mind. In my mind, all our country roads, local roads, should be suitable for cycling. It depends on the volume, but critically, it depends on the speed. “I always judged it in terms of that old-fashioned things when you’re driving along and if someone’s walking or cycling …

THE Mayor of Ennis has described recently announced government funding for Active Travel Teams in local authorities as “crucial” and has urged Clare County Council to become a leader in improving walking and cycling infrastructure. Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD and Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton TD has announced funding for up to 248 new jobs in local authorities to expand walking and cycling facilities all over the country. Councillor Paul Murphy at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District had urged that specific funding be put in place for all local authorities to create the role of active and sustainable travel officers. Reacting to the government announcement, Councillor Murphy said, “As a cycling and walking enthusiast, I am delighted with the government announcement as I believe that this funding is crucial in these times that we are currently living.” “The importance of safe streets and roads has never been as important as it is now during the …

CONSTRUCTION on a section of the proposed Shannon Greenway, which is set link Scariff to Limerick, could begin by 2023, bringing a welcome tourism and business boost to East Clare. An update on the greenway, which will run the length of the Shannon and originate in the Leitrim/Roscommon area, was given by Éanna Rowe, Regional Manager with Waterways Ireland at an active travel briefing last Thursday night, organised by Senator Róisín Garvey. Mr Rowe is responsible for the management, maintenance and development of the Shannon Navigation. He told the briefing that the greenway will form an integral element of a new tourism masterplan for the Shannon, which is due to be published shortly. “We’re working within [Fáilte Ireland’s] Hidden Heartlands brand and, to that end, we’ve just completed The Shannon Tourism Masterplan,” Mr Rowe outlined. “We hope to publish the plan in February. It’s the first time there has been single unitary plan for the Shannon, from any perspective. We’ve …

CLARE will ‘have its hand up’ when it comes to accessing a recently-unveiled fund of €1.8 billion, a briefing on the Active Travel has heard. The online event with Transport Minister Éamon Ryan was attended last Thursday night by up to 200 people and facilitated by Green Senator Róisín Garvey. Among the expert panel was Senior Engineer with the Project Management Office (PMO) who told the minister that Clare County Council is “a winning local authority,” ready to capitalise on the transformative opportunities offered by the fund. At the outset, the Green minister said his department would work with authorities who were willing and able. “If other counties aren’t willing or aren’t interested, that’s fine,” he said. “We’ll get those who are to show best example and best practice.” Minister Ryan who, at one time, ran a cycling tourism enterprise in Clare, outlined his vision for the Active Travel initiative, citing his own memories of this county. “I always remember …