Regional Action Plan the Role of Modal Interchange to Foster Low Carbon Urban Mobility
Description of the Description of the regional Policy Context
more than any other sector to the increase in emissions nationally since 1990 11 .
Project Ireland 2040 8 is the long-term overarching government strategy that seeks to focus public spending on infrastructure in areas that will improve life in Ireland for its citizens. Project Ireland 2040 aims to accommodate an additional population of one million people by 2040. Under this strategy, the framework to guide development and investment on a national level is the National Planning Framework 9 (NPF). The framework defines common goals on a national level, so that detailed policies adopted at regional and local levels are complementary to the NPF. Within the Southern Region, it is predicted that the population will increase by 340/380 thousand to around 2 million people, with the number in employment increasing by 225 thousand to around 880 thousand from2018 to 2040. Coherent guidelines are essential to allow the development of regional and local policies that help deliver these aims in a structured and complementary way. The physical form of urban development is one of themost important challenges to address in creating a culture of sustainable travel. Historically in Ireland, infrastructure and amenities have tended to play catch-up with new housing and employment, leading to dispersed and geographically fragmented developments. This creates greater distances between where people live and work, leading to car dependency and difficulty in providing sufficient public transport. The extent of car dependency in the Southern Region is evident in the high percentage of the population who use private cars to commute to work or education. Across the region, 68% of the population in 2016 commuted as either a car driver or passenger, an increase from the 67% figure in 2011. In the same timeframe, cycling and public transport usage remained unchanged at 1% and 8% respectively, and walking declined from 14% to 13% 10 . Transport accounts for 20% of Ireland’s GHG emissions, and emissions in the sector have increased by 135% from 1990 to 2018, contributing
Data from the 2016 Census shows that the proportionof thepopulationcommutingbywalking, cycling, or public transport into the major urban hubs in the Southern Region is 27% in Cork, 27% in Limerick, and 21% in Waterford. These are well below the national target figure of 55% by 2020 as set out in Ireland’s Smarter Travel Policy. This policy highlights the need to focus future population and employment growth in sustainable urban areas and to prioritise walking, cycling, and public transport facilities and infrastructure. The NPF proposes ten key National Strategic Outcomes, and three of these are especially relevant to creating sustainable cities, towns and villages and reducing GHG’s and private car reliance as follows: • Compact growth – managing growth in cities, towns, and villages to create places that are attractive for people to live and work, with access to all amenities and services; • Sustainable mobility – reducing the environmental impact of transport through transition to sustainable travel modes; • Enhanced amenities and heritage – creating attractive cities, towns, and villages with a good quality of life by investing in well- designed public realm, extensive amenities and recreational infrastructure, and integration with the built, cultural, and natural heritage. Delivering sustainable transport systems and thereby reducing GHG emissions are important dimensions of Ireland’s climate change agenda. The Southern and Eastern Regional Operational Programme (SEROP) 2014-2020 under Priority 5: “Sustainable Integrated Urban Development” supports low carbon sustainable, multimodal urban mobility in designated urban centres. The SEROP assists in meeting the minimum 20% of European
8. https://www.gov.ie/en/policy/project-ireland-2040-policy/ 9. http://npf.ie/wp-content/uploads/Project-Ireland-2040-NPF.pdf 10. 2016 Census, Central Statistics Office
11. https://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/air/airemissions/
ghgprovemissions2018/Report_GHG%201990-2018%20 Provisional%20Inventory%20October%202019.pdf
Southern Regional Assembly | Regional Action Plan
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