AQO 1503/17-22

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 21/01/2021
Answered On Date: 02/02/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for an update on the proposed community greenways for South and West Belfast on either side of the M1 motorway since 2014.

Answer:

The Member will know that I am committed to developing greenways that create safer, cleaner, greener spaces that allow our communities to thrive and that help to address the challenges we face from the climate emergency. I want to deliver on projects that have the potential to improve the lives of people and connect communities. This fits in with the aspirations of many of the people of Belfast.

The most recent Bike Life survey (carried out in 2019) indicates the level of support for building quality active travel routes: as many as 78% of Belfast residents want increased space for socialising, cycling and walking; and, 65% of residents want to see fewer motor vehicles in their areas. The community greenways that the Member refers to were included in the Department for Communities publication ‘Transformation South / West Masterplan’ in December 2016. The principle of good quality cycling routes is central to my Department’s Belfast Bicycle Network, which I hope to publish this spring. The draft Belfast Bicycle Network identified the possibility of a route alongside the M1 motorway from the Bog Meadows to Kennedy Way.

As the Member will be aware, I have committed funding towards the Belfast City Council’s Forth Meadow Community Greenway which is planned to link the north and west of the city to the Bog Meadows. Officials from my Department and the Department for Communities continue to work closely in the delivery of active travel projects.