The Drogheda Cycling Campaign group has asked Louth County Council to explain why proposed new cycle lanes in the town have been put on hold.
The plans included routes from Rathmullen Road to the Southgate roundabout and along the old Cement Road to the M1 Retail Park. The multi million euro project had been expected to begin last year but did not proceed.
The works were to be funded under the government’s Active Travel Pathfinder Programme, run by the National Transport Authority. However, funding was not approved after the four year national scheme ended late last year.
In a statement on social media, the Drogheda Cycling Campaign said the projects have not been abandoned.
“Louth County Council is lobbying for more funding, this was reported back to us after last Monday night’s council meeting.
“We have asked for an explanation from the Active Travel Department of Louth County Council as to why the projects planned for Drogheda have been paused and when we can expect the schemes to go to tender.
“When we hear back we will decide on the next steps of our campaign but regardless of this setback we’re not going to stop, if anything we are going to up our activity.”
The National Transport Authority said that because construction did not begin last year, the projects cannot currently proceed. It also stated that approval at planning stage does not guarantee funding for projects of this scale.
The proposed cycle lane from Rathmullen through the town and along the Dublin Road is understood to have an estimated cost of around €20 million.
