The Government is to select a city which is to become a showcase for sustainable transport, ministers Noel Dempsey and Eamon Ryan said yesterday.
While both men were initially reluctant to name the city involved they conceded that references in the strategy to Galway, meant the city was a likely contender.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said “Galway never had the political will” to set up sustainable transport with all its implications for combined land use and transport planning. But he said “with good will we could have a project there” and he added it would serve the people of Galway well.
The strategy is likely to see the development of new public transport routes for cycling and public transport linking newer housing areas on the outskirts of the city to the centre.
It would also see the development of park and ride sites outside the city and new quality bus routes from the county area through to the city centre.
Other moves would include pedestrianised areas, and a sustainable transport fund is to be available to support novel transport ideas.