On your bike Offaly!

THE National Transport Authority (NTA) has urged Offaly County Council to make walking and cycling central planks of its new development plan.

A new county development plan which will guide all planning policy in the county between 2021 and 2027 is currently being considered by the local authority.

In a submission, the NTA says the plan should recognise the importance of sustainable modes of transport.

It says the plan should ensure people are living within walking and cycling distance of their neighbourhood or district centres, public transport and other local services like schools.

The NTA says the plan should contain objectives to ensure walking and cycling are at the forefront of transport and land use planning.

Having examined the draft plan, the NTA says: “No objectives were found to implement cycle lanes other than to cooperate with Bord na Mona on their study for cycling in the Midlands and pursue the development of greenways.”

The NTA adds: “The provision of cycling facilities should be a fundamental part of transport planning as a key enabler of active modes, particularly in towns and for school travel.”

The authority said no objectives to improve walking and cycling facilities were found in the draft plan other than the Connecting People Connecting Places document, which is a walking and cycling tourism strategy.

In relation to new development, the NTA says they should be “fully permeable for walking and cycling” and in existing neighbourhoods, walking and cycling facilities should be implemented retrospectively “in order to give competitive advantage” to those modes for local trips.

Elsewhere, the NTA notes that the draft plan refers to placing a double track on the Dublin-Galway rail line between Portarlington and Athlone by 2025 and electrifying it by 2030.

The plan also mentions the provision of a rail link from Mullingar directly to Clara and a new line from Enfield to Edenderry, and from there to Portarlington with a possible junction at Garryhinch.

The NTA points out that even if those projects are objectives, none of them are funded under the National Development Plan up to 2027.

In a separate submission, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) points out that the draft plan supports cycle lanes along the N80 in Offaly, preferably off road.

Also, an “on road footpath” is proposed for Ferbane along the N62, a road with an 80kph speed limit.

The TII says there are no investment objectives for either road in the National Development Plan.

Meanwhile, population growth objectives for Tullamore have been questioned by the Office of the Planning Regulator.

The regulator expresses doubt that the county town's population will grow by 4,753 by 2027, a jump of 33% on current levels.

The regulator notes that regional and national policy objectives had not identified growth above 30% in Tullamore by 2040.