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The Department for Infrastructure are currently holding a Consultation on Active Travel with their plans for Newry, Mourne and Down open for perusal.
The Active Travel Delivery Plan sets out how the Department for Infrastructure plan to prioritise and deliver high-quality active travel infrastructure, for shorter everyday journeys within urban and rural settlements, over the next 10 years. The plan will be instrumental in ensuring that the infrastructure is consistently designed to be safe, accessible, and interconnected, encouraging more people to walk, wheel, or cycle as part of their daily routine.
In a personal capacity I have submitted my comments on their plans and would urge anyone interested in getting better infrastructure for Cycling and walking in Newry to reply to the consultation. You can reply at active-travel-delivery-plan-consultation
All replies need to be in by 5pm Friday 28 February.
My Submission
Connections within town centres
Connections within town centres - Connections in town/ city centres should be first. There's no point in directing cyclists into the centre of a town to then have nowhere safe to cycle from street to street.
Specifically for Newry City - A priority should be a central off-road linkage between the existing Newry Canal Towpath and the Carlingford Lough Greenway
Do you agree with the Priority Routes for Newry?
No
If you wish to expand on your answer above or if you have any alternative routes that you feel may bring more benefit to the local community and should be prioritised above those identified, please do so
I don't agree with the priority route for Newry.
It is an indirect route and while I can see the benefits of being able to get to the leisure centre more safely, other options would be much more beneficial especially connecting schools. Your priority route doesn't even go close to one of the largest education colleges the SRC.
I would suggest that the priority route should be based on the 'existing' route from Fiveways to Canal Street.
Currently your map is out of date as you have the route from Fiveways up to the turn-off for Newry Railway Station as a 'Future Route' when in actual fact DfI completed that route in 2024.
This route would take you from the same starting point to the same destination as your suggested priority route BUT it would serve a much larger proportion of schools. St Colman's, St Joseph's and Our Lady's are directly on the route and St Patrick's The Meadow PS and St Joseph's Convent PS are a very short distance away. Also it would serve the many developments based along the route including the 180 new homes beside Fiveways.
Linking Armagh Road/ Canal Street with a City Centre route that connects Newry Canal Towpath and Carlingford Lough Greenway would safely transport people through the city centre and to bus station and easy links could be made from this down Monaghan Street to the SRC, across Margaret St to Hill St and down Catherine St from both ends to Newry Leisure Centre. An existing active travel route on Carnbane way to Fiveways Roundabout also links in Abbey Grammar School (albeit that a route on the Ashgrove Road or Belfast Road would ultimately serve them and Newry High better.)
I'm also suggesting that this should be the priority route because the supposed 'existing' route is not an active travel route at all and is extremely unsafe. It is a white dotted line painted on the road and its narrow size ensures that the Highway Code's statement that cars should leave a 1.5 metre gap between them and cyclists is impossible. Also travelling the short distance from Sugar Island up to where the current 'route' terminates is possibly one of the most dangerous places for cyclists, meaning that many choose to cycle on the footpath instead, with the dangers that come from that.
Any active travel route in Newry needs to be separated from traffic.
A secondary priority route should also be based on completing the existing Warrenpoint Road/ Kilmorey St/ River Street route from Greenbank to Newry City Centre which is one route that would be an easy and inexpensive fix as it is mostly in place already.
Do you have any additional comments about the proposals for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council?
Safety is paramount. No cyclist wants to cycle on a busy road if there is an alternative. The lack of cycling infrastructure in Newry City means that most people would not use a bicycle as it is too unsafe.
A good yardstick when working out if a route is safe is to ask yourself "Would you be happy to allow your 10 year old child to travel to school on their own via this route" If the answer is no you are doing something wrong.
Newry City needs to be prioritised above other settlements in the area as it is by far the largest population centre.
Again your map is out of date as there is no mention of the Carlingford Lough Greenway that starts at the Albert Basin, one of the busiest routes already existing.
There really is no point in commenting on the suggestions for 'future' routes as you have marked them as 10 years plus - Why would you even bother! It's not a four lane motorway we are talking about so none of these routes should take anywhere near 10 years.
This consultation sounds as if getting it done is an end in itself as if it was a genuine attempt to change our town and city centres, a priority route would not take 0-10 years! Yes it is extremely unambitious and the timeline needs to be updated to much much sooner. Also money needs to be put in to these active travel projects rather than advancing more new roads.
Rebalancing the Street
To accommodate safe, high-quality active travel infrastructure, we may need to re-balance the space within our streets. This could involve narrowing carriageway widths in areas where the focus has shifted from maximizing motor traffic to ensuring safe and efficient movement for everyone. We may also explore options to reduce or relocate parking and review existing bus stop placements to ensure equal and convenient access to local amenities and services for all.
Rethinking Traffic Management
There may be places where we can introduce traffic management measures that can help to make walking, wheeling, and cycling more attractive. This could include lowering speed limits or implementing one-way systems to reduce risks associated with motor traffic, especially in areas with high pedestrian and cyclist interaction. We may also restrict motor vehicle access in places where there is desire to create places that are predominantly people focussed.
Strongly agree on both of these
City/ town Centres should be people first and not what they are at the moment car first
