Minister for Public & Commuter Transport, Alan Kelly, has today announced the provision of over €1.7 million of sustainable transport grants for Limerick City.
The funding, administered by the National Transport Authority, will be used to remove pinch-points, improve public transport, cycling and pedestrian links throughout the city.
€1,000,000 will be allocated to the completion of the inbound bus lane linking Ballinacurra road with the city centre, while €200,000 will be spent improving access to the Colbert train station.
Minister Kelly says the reason for this investment is to have more people using cycling and public transport as a way of getting to and from work.
“Currently less than 5% of Limerick city commuters use the bus or the bike to get to work. That has to improve. It is far too low for a city of Limerick’s size. Combining this funding with the €9million allocated to the Limerick Smarter Travel Demonstration Area and the future bike scheme for Limerick city, I hope to see those numbers improve substantially.”
“All of this funding is designed to improve the public transport and cycling offering within Limerick city. While they are improving, the overall public transport numbers and cycling numbers for Limerick city are not as good as they could be. That is why this funding is so important.”
A cycle planner app for Limerick city will be commissioned under the funding as well as various junction improvements to improve cycling in the city. 70,000 will also be spent on planning and design for improved cycling links between Limerick Institute of Technology and the city centre. This will be the first step of a multi-annual commitment to improve cycling links between LIT and the city centre.
“The more we can limit traffic, improve public transport and get people to commute on bikes, the better the experience of shopping/working or travelling within the city will be. Traffic not only causes delays, it is bad for the environment and bad for the economy.
This all builds on other work we are doing in the city such as the city bikes scheme which I will be launching in the city later this summer,” stated Minister Kelly.
Welcoming the announcement, Paul Crowe Director of Travel & Transport at Limerick City and County Council said,
“It is vital that we continue to invest in Sustainable Transport Infrastructure in Limerick. By doing so, we can improve the travel times on all our Bus Corridors and make Public Transport, Cycling and Walking more attractive and desirable modes of transport in the City.”
Jimmy Browne, Vice President Corporate Services & Capital Development speaking on behalf of LIT said,
“LIT warmly welcomes the additional investment in this important initiative, which enhances accessibility between the LIT’s main campus at Moylish and the City centre, including our Limerick School of Art & Design campus on Clare Street. This is a significant boost to the Institute as it advances an important objective in our Campus Development Plan – Campus 2030.
