— TD said cycle lane “looks like a breach of the National Cycle Manual.”
Non-segregated cycle lanes have been repainted on the route Cork Airport where the speed limit is 100km/h, however, the resurfacing work was not funded from active or sustainable transport funding, as had been thought by some.
It is unclear at this point if both Cork City Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) were involved but it was paid for by TII road maintenance funding.
IrishCycle.com asked Cork City Council yesterday about the nature of the funding spent and if the council thinks that a 100km/h road is a suitable place for non-segregated cycle lanes. But no response was forthcoming before the publication of this article just before 6pm.
Dermot O’Gara, a spokesperson for the National Transport Authority, said that the funding for the project was from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and not from active or suitable transport funding.
O’Gara said: “The NTA provided allocations this year and last year for upgrades to the existing cycle lanes on the Airport Road. Other than design costs, relatively little has been spent on this project to date. Cork City Council is due to submit design proposals in the coming weeks for NTA review.”
He said that construction on upgrades funded via the NTA is expected “to get under way later this year” and “The current programme is for upgrade works to be on site towards the end of Q3.”
He added: “The resurfacing works recently completed were carried out by TII.”
Brian Leddin, a Green Party TD for Limerick and chairperson of the climate committee, said: “I’m told that the project at the top of this thread wasn’t funded by sustainable transport funds and that it was funded out of the roads maintenance budget.”
He added: “Notwithstanding that this work seems to have come from the road maintenance budget, there is an issue with misspending of active travel money and I understand the department are looking into that. Also, this work looks like a breach of the National Cycle Manual.”