Mayo cycling amenity gets €1.6m in funding

Bunnyhopper

From the Irish Times:

Mayo cycling amenity gets €1.6m in funding

MARK COUGHLAN

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has allocated €1.6 million worth of funding to Mayo County Council for the building of a cycle and walking amenity.

The 17-kilometre route between Newport and Mulranny in Mayo is to be developed as part of the National Cycle Network predominantly along the Midlands Great Western Railway Line.

The development was made possible after local landowners agreed to allow access to their land during for the construction period.

Mr Dempsey said the route has the potential to become “very significant” tourist attraction.

“I want new routes like this to help re-engage people with cycling and help promote a shift from the car to more sustainable forms of transport,” he said. “This is one of the necessary steps to establishing a culture of cycling in Ireland.”

According to the Department of Transport, the route will be built to the best international standards. The Department is to fund €1.28 million of the total cost.

The rest will come from the department of rural and gaelteacht affairs, Mayo County Council and Fáilte Ireland.

The route is part of a plan to link Achill and Westport with 46-kilometre of traffic-free cycling and walking route.

ISOT

Great news - and even better the machinery has moved onto the railway line this week and has made a start. They originally promised to finish it by Christmas.

Esroh

46km Mayo bikepath gets 1.6mil, 7km in Dublin gets 10mil. Woud be very interesting to see where the money is going in Dub. Don't think any of the Rail line is bike worthy at the mo so just wonder how they costing the work in both places

Chips Lovell

Just don't mention it in After Hours.

Raam

el tonto wrote: »

Just don't mention it in After Hours.

Oh dear, there's a lot there. Can you summarise it?

Blowfish

Raam wrote: »

Oh dear, there's a lot there. Can you summarise it?

Its ok, its gone all political and nobody is actually discussing the cycling part at all.

petethedrummer

A wild guess is that anything not spent on hospitals is a complete waste of money.

Chips Lovell

petethedrummer wrote: »

A wild guess is that anything not spent on hospitals is a complete waste of money.

Spot on.

Taltos

el tonto wrote: »

Spot on.

You mean - they want to spend the money there on Hospitals to treat the symptoms of our growing obese population instead of putting it into something that could shrink the waist-lines and thus prevent folk from having to go to emergency in the first place.

Makes sense I guess???...
Gawd next thing is they will want to divert this cash to the banks - heard they are a little strapped these days too

monument

el tonto wrote: »

Just don't mention it in After Hours.

Replied. I know I shouldn't have, but I did.

CheGuedara

@ monument - Just read through that thread now - looks like arm chair activists talking themselves into a frenzy - it's extended itself to so much of what the Gov have/havent done that it could almost make it's way into R&R.

Yourself and one or two others made a good attempt but I don't think the distinction between transport budget and health budget is going to be accepted no matter how clearly put

monument

CheGuedara wrote: »

@ monument - Just read through that thread now - looks like arm chair activists talking themselves into a frenzy - it's extended itself to so much of what the Gov have/havent done that it could almost make it's way into R&R.

Yourself and one or two others made a good attempt but I don't think the distinction between transport budget and health budget is going to be accepted no matter how clearly put

There's some people you'll never convince. But I'll at least try to talk to the reasonable people who are just understandably angry with the government.