3 July 2019
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Politics – News from the Green Party in Cork
The Green Party in Cork has called for a shift from a car-first approach to a greater emphasis on public transport, cycling and walking in the how the National Development Plan affects the region.
Speaking this afternoon, Green Party councillor in Cork City North East, Oliver Moran, replied to critcism from Fine Gael saying:
“Taking the commitment to meeting the climate crisis seriously means Fine Gael rethinking completely the car-first approach in the National Development Plan and taking a more reasonable and balanced approach to private car vs public transport.”
“The state could save €500m without any great sacrifice by taking an M8 route for the Cork-Limerick motorway while still making necessary upgrades to the N20 for people living and working in north Cork. That would elimate the need to connect the M20 and M8 north of Cork city, saving another €250m. And a further €250m could be saved by scrapping the M28.”
“Those few measures alone would save €1bn without any great loss and would pay for the Bus Connects, €545, surban rail, €274, and cycle infrastructure, €230m, in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy. It’s that kind of shift in mindset from ‘car, car, car’ that we need to make.”
