The Government has launched a public consultation on a plan to build a network of new cycle routes across the country linking up several cities and towns.
The draft plans for the National Cycle Network from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) would see the development of 3,500km of cycle routes, with a finalised version of proposed routes to be signed off later this year following the consultation.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said the new cycling network would be for "everyday travel and use" and would connect up a host of villages, cities and towns. The public consultation process on the proposed routes in the draft plans opened on Wednesday.
The cycling network would be built alongside current and planned greenway routes, with local authorities leading the development of the cycle tracks “over the coming years”, Mr Ryan’s department said.
Mr Ryan said the rollout of the national network would allow more people to switch to cycling, in both urban and rural parts of the country.
“Whilst we will continue to invest in greenways like the Galway to Dublin route currently under development, this is not only about providing cycleways for long-distance cyclists,” he said.
“This proposed network’s focus is on everyday travel and use – connecting village to village, town to village, city to town,” he said.
Western routes
Some of the proposed cycle routes would run from Galway city to Castlebar, Co Mayo, and from Cork to Limerick, while there would be routes running along the east coast from Newry to Rosslare.
The idea behind the new routes would be to connect the cycle lanes to public transport options, such as bus and train stations.
Minister of State with responsibility for road transport Hildegarde Naughton said the network would be made up of "accessible, sustainable and high-quality routes". The plan "will help commuters, leisure users and tourists to choose to cycle" rather than driving, she said.
The public consultation is to run until June 7th, with the proposed map of cycle routes available at: https://ncn.consultation.ai/
