Inclusion of rural towns and villages for active travel funding a must for Mayo
RURAL towns and villages in Mayo cannot be excluded from active travel investment.
Elected representatives in the county and Ministers Jack Chambers and Eamon Ryan have been urged to ensure their inclusion and that any attempt to exclude them at national level will be resisted.
With a figure being quoted of €1 million per day being spent on active travel and related programmes, it is only proper that rural towns and villages be included in these programmes, and, additionally, when works are being carried out that ducting for services such as fibre, ESB and all necessary services be installed, an official at a football club in east Mayo has implored of local councillors ahead of a municipal district meeting today.
Mary Niland, secretary of Kiltimagh Knock United, in a submission to councillors, set out: 'We have a number of areas around east Mayo where relatively small investments would make a huge difference to the lives of people living in these areas, prevent fatal accidents and also make a significant contribution to the government's climate action targets.
'One such example is the R323 between the village of Knock (with hundreds of thousands of visitors) and the Knock Kiltimagh Soccer Club, located less than a mile from the village - where well over 1,500 people a week frequent for 8-9 months of the year.
"Western Care have now also located a hub on the site and it would be a huge advantage to service users to have connectivity to the village, and likewise for the local national school students.
'Another example would be to connect with a safe travel corridor the town of Ballyhaunis out to Western Brand Chickens on the Knock Road where many hundreds of workers are employed.
'There are many other examples around the county and I am asking that councillors ensure that rural villages and towns are not excluded from active travel or any related programmes and furthermore that these programmes are administered in an open and transparent manner and that there is cooperation between departments to ensure that service ducting are laid as part of the works, ensuring that these areas and compete and contribute to sustainable growth in the future.'
Also requested was a detailed list of spend to date in the county under active travel and all related programmes since 2020.