€25m+ allocated for sustainable transport projects in the Greater Dublin Area – Donohoe

5th February, 2015

109 projects will benefit from funding to make public transport more sustainable & ultimately more attractive  

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, today (Friday) announced the allocation by the National Transport Authority of more than €25 million for sustainable transport projects in the Greater Dublin Area. These projects, which include improvements on bus, cycle and pedestrian routes, revisions to traffic management systems and footpath upgrades and extensions, are designed to encourage greater use of sustainable and public transport option, reduce congestion and allow for enhanced economic activity.   The total funding being allocated is €25.93 million. This will be distributed between 109 projects within the Greater Dublin Area, including Kildare, Meath and Wicklow County Councils.

Provision is also being made for projects that will encourage students at DCU and UCD to take the bus or to cycle to and from campus.   In the Dublin city area a number of projects have been identified aimed at alleviating congestion. They include interventions to reduce bus delays, including traffic light priority and works to eliminate pinch points; the construction of wider bus lanes on the Chapelizod Bypass which is a major restriction on N4 route; and funds for the city centre to Terenure route, targeting the Rathmines/Rathgar corridor.   Minister Donohoe said; ‘The economy is growing which means that there are more people back at work and more vehicles on the road. In some areas this is leading to a build-up of congestion.

To ensure that the economic progress we are making is not impeded by the inability of people to get around we must encourage greater use of sustainable and public transport. We can do this by making sure that public transport is an attractive option and that the bottlenecks that are slowing us down are eliminated. This funding prioritises these, and other, areas and I am confident that as these projects progress they will make a big considerable difference to the commuters and road users in the affected areas’.

Ends

Further information:

In the Dublin area, key projects include:

  • The completion of the removal of the Cat and Cage bottleneck on the Swords Road Quality Bus Corridor;
  • Commencement of construction of the “missing link” on the Dollymount – Sutton pedestrian and cycle route;
  • The reconfiguration of the Kilmainham Gaol Environs to accommodate significantly more capacity for coaches, bicycles, pedestrians and tourists within an enhanced public realm;
  • Completion of Traffic Management changes to accommodate extra buses using Pearse Street;
  • Completion  of a new bus and cycle outbound contraflow on the section of Camden Street Upper between its junctions with Harcourt Road and Charlotte Way;
  • Design of new sections of the Strategic Cycle Network for Dublin (to be built in 2016 and following years), including Ranelagh Corridor and Fairview /Amiens Corridor, the two busiest radial cycle corridors in the region.

Outside Dublin city, funding will be used to identify and progress designs for improved bus, cycle and pedestrian networks in the growing suburbs of Swords, Blanchardstown, Tallaght, Bray and other urban centres.   Other projects for construction within the Greater Dublin Area include:

  • Completion of the Frascati Road (Blackrock Bypass) Cycle Route;
  • Cycle track improvements along the N11, including safety works at the Johnstown Road junction;
  • Cycle route upgrade along Old Blessington Road from Main Street Tallaght to the M50;
  • Completion of the missing cycle link from Palmerstown to Chapelizod along the Galway Road;
  • Completion of the Ashbourne Main Street Cycle / pedestrian project;
  • Construction of the Bray Strand Road Cycle route along the seafront;
  • Trial re-configuration of the Walkinstown Roundabout, to make it safer, easier to use, more reliable and more attractive for all road users and for the locality; and
  • Construction of revised junctions in Lucan and Scholarstown along strategic cycle routes.