Wexford County Council has an Active Travel Department based in the Roads Section. The team which will be tasked with delivering infrastructure upgrades to support safer walking and cycling in the county. It is hoped that these infrastructure upgrades will encourage more active travel, improving the quality of life for people in Wexford as well as helping to reduce carbon emissions.
Approved projects are funded by the National Transport Authority under their Active Travel allocation Active Travel Investment Grants: 2023 Allocations - National Transport
What is Active Travel?
Active travel simply means making a journey in a physically active way. This could be walking, cycling, wheeling (using a wheelchair or mobility aid), or scooting.
Active travel journeys are often short journeys like trips to school, work or to the shops.
According to the Central Statistics Office 29% of trips are to locations less than 2km from home, and of these, 57% are made by car. The completion of our Active Travel Projects will support more people to walk and cycle for everyday short journeys, improving health, creating safer communities and reducing environmental impacts.
What are the benefits of Active Travel?
Active travel is all about getting from A to B in a physically active way that doesn’t use fossil fuels. Active travel will improve your health and wellbeing and will also help reduce your carbon footprint and save you money.
The most sustainable option is walking where the only resource required is you, followed by cycling which requires some equipment. Along with wheeling (the term used for wheelchair users), these methods are classed as active travel.
Reduce Carbon Emissions – This is a significant benefit if we are to protect our planet from the effects of Climate Change. By reducing our car journeys, we can reduce pollution and make our public realms cleaner and healthier places to use.
Physical & Mental Health improvements – Active Travel has clear benefits for us in terms of our physical health but also can improve our mental health. Mental health is boosted by activity and time outdoors in the fresh air.
Quicker Journeys – You may not get from one end of the country to the other in a faster time than a car, but you might just get to work a bit quicker on a bike or on foot when the traffic is heavy. Remember, short journeys are where you will see the big advantage.
Save Money – Walking is free. You can also make significant savings by using your bike instead of using expensive fuel in your car. The Bike to Work Scheme also provides tax relief for people who cycle to work.
Improving our public realm - Improving opportunities to walk will create places and communities that are more vibrant, creative, enterprising, and accessible.
More Social Interaction – We can neglect our social health when we are isolated in our cars. Active Travel encourages more social interaction because we see more of each other on our journeys. Many of us noticed this during Covid when we were restricted to within our 2km or 5km radius of home, we met our neighbours and had time to talk.
Safe routes to school – By encouraging our children to walk or cycle to school we can make a big impact on their safety and wellbeing. Congestion at the school gates is often a major issue but Active Travel can help to create safer access options.
Funded by the National Transport Authority, Wexford County Council will deliver schemes such as:
• Safe Routes to School Programme (in collaboration with An Taisce Green Schools Green-Schools - Green-Schools (greenschoolsireland.org)).
• Improved / segregated cycle paths.
• Improved crossings for walking and cycling.
• Upgraded / new crossings.
• Permeability measures to support improved access within and between local communities.
• Continued development of our urban space towards prioritising sustainable travel
Current Projects
These projects are currently underway and at various stages from planning through to on-site construction. Each project has to achieve the approval of the National Transport Authority in terms of detail design before it will be given the green light to proceed.
Detail of projects HERE
Get in touch with the Active Travel Team at ActiveTravel@wexfordcoco.ie