*Photograph: John Mangan

Diverse community involvement is required in order to maximise mobility within Clare towns and villages.

Founder of Better Ennis, Síle Ginnane stressed that active mobility must be given a competitive advantage and that towns and villages must focus on attracting people in and keeping them there as opposed to simply “allowing them to pass through.”

Last year, the former physiotherapist carried out a mobility audit of the town of Ennis, identifying key issues such as the reallocation of road space to pedestrians and cyclists, the need for segregated cycle lanes and to avoid shared road space at junctions as well as better air quality, signage and speed limits in many built up areas.

Speaking at an active travel webinar, Síle shared the view that the design of the built environment excludes physical activity, “what we want to do is to design it back in”. Places for people to stop and sit down are also required, she said.

Reducing motor traffic is one of the key objectives in enabling Clare towns and villages to embrace Active Travel. She hailed the temporary pedestrianisation of Ennis as a success in allowing families feel “safe walking the streets with their kids once again”. Messaging is also important, we are not closing off our streets to people, we are actually opening them up, Ginnane asserted.

Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) also chimed in on this idea, putting the question to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan TD (GP) who was in attendance if “Clare speed signs are simply inputted by someone in an office in Dublin who has never seen the design or nature of the road.” She added: “There are 4,000 kilometres of roads in Co Clare, many labelled with 80 to 100 km/h zones, particularly local roads. We need to think about road signs in the county. It’s a low-cost measure that will save lives.”

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If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

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