70+ Road Deaths This Year: Local Authorities Urged to Prioritize Active Travel Projects
Over 70 road deaths this year highlight the urgent need for safer roads, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. Local authorities, despite significant funding, are failing to implement active travel projects quickly due to bureaucratic processes and political resistance. Incentivizing councils that rapidly build transformative projects, like successful initiatives in Mayo and Monaghan, is crucial to reduce fatalities and injuries.
More than 70 people have died on roads this year, with a consistent increase in serious injuries, particularly among pedestrians and cyclists. The Department of Transport, Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána, and transport agencies are responsible for addressing this, but local authorities are crucial for tackling the root causes.
The primary issue is that roads are designed for cars and trucks, making walking and cycling unsafe. Local authorities have an annual budget of €350 million for active travel improvements and new design teams in every council, the National Transport Authority, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. However, the delivery speed and scale are insufficient due to a procedural system that delays projects like cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings with extensive consultation and design processes.
Political challenges also exist, as councillors may resist unpopular changes that reduce space for cars in a car-dependent culture. A proposed solution is to allocate transport budgets primarily to councils that build transformative projects quickly, rather than a uniform distribution. This would incentivize faster action and restore power to local government.
Successful examples include the Newport to Achill, Co Mayo greenway, built quickly and affordably by Brian Quinn, and an experimental coastal cycle route in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, developed rapidly and cheaply by Robert Burns during the Covid lockdown. Burns, now county manager in Monaghan, has launched a «quiet roads» project to transform country roads into safe community spaces, encouraging walking and cycling. He emphasizes that rural mobility innovation can begin with rethinking existing road space and layouts to enhance safety for all users. The public consultation for this proposal concludes Wednesday at 5pm.