Portlaoise 'rapid deployment' scheme gets biggest slice of cash for 'active travel' in Laois

Portlaoise's Dublin Road is getting €500,000 for a so-called Rapid Deployment scheme under a new grant green grant scheme to get people in the town out of their cars.

The town's Mountrath Road is getting €250,000 for a project of the same. Portlaoise is also getting €330,000 for a Portlaoise Transport Plan out of €3.3 million in funding for Laois aimed at getting people out of their cars and using bicycles and walking for leisure of day-to-day trips.

Rapid Deployment Schemes allow the deliver of an Active Travel scheme in a quicker timeframe. The exact detail of what infrastructure is to be used on Dublin Road, Portlaoise, is yet to be determined.  

The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD has confirmed that the National Transport Authority (NTA) has allocated funds to Ireland’s local authorities with a view to spending €290m on walking and cycling infrastructure in 2023.

A total of €271,000 is being spent in Laois on Active Travel staff costs. A big slice of the funding, €250,000 is going to pay for low-cost junction tightening /pedestrian crossing 

While Portlaoise the main beneficiary of the spending, money is also going to projects in Stradbally, Abbeyleix, Mountmellick, Ballyroan, Ballinakill, Portarlington, Camross and Rathdowney. A number of schools are also getting money for Safe Routes to School.

More below table of money for Laois. 

Nationally, about 1,200 Active Travel projects are earmarked for work by 2025. This includes the development of segregated cycle lanes and widened footpaths, new walking and cycling bridges, and new pedestrian crossings.  

In total, the 2023 fund allocation for Active Travel will allow for the progression of 387 projects in the Greater Dublin Area, 250 across other regional cities and a further 502 projects across rural Ireland. 

It is also claimed that Active Travel funding will ensure that the Safe Routes to School programme will continue to provide for safer cycling and walking facilities for many more schools across the country. 

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Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD said continuous and substantial funding for active travel across the country is a key commitment in the Programme for Government and a cornerstone of our transport strategies.

"The benefits of this investment are immense, locally and nationally. Not only are we making our cities, towns and villages greener and more livable, 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,” he said.

Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority said: “2023 is going to be an important year for active travel. With a growing number of active travel schemes moving from design into construction and delivery, we can encourage more people across the country to walk or cycle within and beyond their local community. The funding being announced today will allow the NTA to continue to work alongside local authorities as we accelerate the delivery of improved cycling and walking infrastructure. 

"From new segregated cycle lanes and footpaths, to dedicated pedestrian and cycling bridges, the active travel projects receiving funding will make it easier and safer for people to choose active travel modes. The extensive work being undertaken in partnership with Active Travel teams within Councils nationwide will help improve the health and wellbeing of our communities and make them more accessible and attractive for everyone.” 

Expenditure on and delivery of Active Travel, as funded by the department, has increased substantially, from circa €45 million in 2019 to an expected €290 million in 2023.

Minister Hackett welcomes funding announcements for safe crossings, footpaths and cycle paths.