€125,000 has been allocated by central government for pedestrian and cycle links from Kilkenny city centre under the Smarter Travel Initiative — less than half of what had originally been sought by Kilkenny Local Authorities.
It is hoped that the funding will go towards amenities that will lead to a 10 per cent reduction in car use and increase of 90 per cent in cyclist and pedestrian traffic,
The funding was announced by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar this week and has been welcomed by Minister Phil Hogan and local Deputy John Paul Phelan.
Deputy Phelan welcomed the funding although it fell short of the €300,000 that had been applied for initially.
“This funding has been allocated as part of an overall spend of €15 million under the Jobs Initiative on sustainable travel projects. The criteria were that projects should be labour intensive in order to maximise short-term job creation, and could be completed within the 2011 calendar year.
“These jobs would not be here without a change of government and hopefully this will get people off the dole, improve our transport and tourism potential and result in money being spent in our regional high streets. It is not a full solution but will provide some help.
Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan revealed that the funding is for the provision of pedestrian and cycle links from the city centre to MacDonagh Junction.
“This funding is part of the €4 million funding for sustainable travel projects outside the greater Dublin area”, he said.
