'Broken' active travel process - €4m spend in Mayo with 0.9 kilometres delivered
THE active travel process 'is broken', a Mayo councillor has claimed.
It comes after a report revealed that €4 million was drawn down over two years in the county, with just 0.9 kilometres of active travel measures delivered.
The matter was highlighted by Councillor Peter Flynn at a Westport-Belmullet Municipal District meeting when the time scale and costs around delivering active travel projects was the subject of discussion.
It arose in relation to the Deerpark active travel project in Westport, a €1.5 million project that received Part 8 planning approval earlier this year.
It will improve pedestrian and cyclist safety and enhance connectivity on the N59 Newport Road in Westport, with improvements at the King's Hill/Cedar Hill and Pinewoods/Deerpark East junctions.
And clarification on where the project is at was sought by Councillor Johnny O'Malley, who understood it was gone to tender, to start next year, but who was now told it hasn't gone to tender.
He was told it hasn't gone to tender yet as the final detailed design has to be finished, and a contractor appointed, so it will be later into 2026.
Councillor Peter Flynn said the consultant has still to be appointed to complete the design work, though why they needed them he didn't know given the engineers they have in their council team.
It was expected that the earliest it will be completed is the end of next year - 18 months after they gave planning approval.
Councillor Flynn also noted the cost - in the region of €1.5 million - and said if it was managed through the municipal district it would be done for 30-40% of that sum.
The active travel process 'is so broken', commented Councillor Flynn.
He had received a report from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) which set out how €1.2 million in active travel funding was drawn down in Mayo in 2023 and €2.9 million in 2024, with 0.9 kilometres of active travel measures delivered from that.
All it was doing was slowing things down and creating massive bills for the tax payer, he commented.
A stretch of 100-150 metres was going to cost €1.5 million. And he asked how do you explain that to a layperson in terms of a simple piece of work.
Separately, the LGMA report also had data on retrofitting social housing, Councillor Flynn continued.
From 2022 to '24, some 42 houses were retrofitted in Mayo. The figure for Donegal was 523 homes.
That sits within the council housing section, he said, commenting on the length of time it's taking to turn around social homes when they become vacant.