COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, April 16, 2012

QUESTION NO. 11

QUESTION: Councillor W. Lavelle

To ask the Manager the criteria considered when deciding on which specific projects should be the subject of funding applications to the NTA;  are requests from elected members (e.g. by way of motions at Area Committee meetings) considered;  are Development Plan objective prioritised;  and will the elected members be consulted with ahead of any future funding applications?

REPLY:

Elected members are advised of Projects funded by the NTA when confirmation of funding is received and are consulted during the design and planning phase of any project approved by the NTA for funding.

The principal source of National Transport Authority funding for projects in SDCC are ‘Sustainable Transport Measures Grants’ (STMGs).  Specific Projects selected for funding applications to the NTA are selected on the basis of consultations both inter-departmentally and through regular meetings held with the NTA.

Project proposals are evaluated on the basis of the NTA strategic transport and value for money objectives outlined in the NTA Project Management Guidelines and as such projects are selected according to the transport user hierarchy outlined in the GDA Draft Transport Strategy 2011-2030 published by the NTA.

Projects that already have Part 8 approval, or that are small scale and don’t require Part 8 approval in cases where there is local support, may be prioritised.  Requests from elected members are also considered e.g. Willsbrook Cycle Track in Lucan, which is at design stage. In considering project selection, County Development Plan objectives are also considered priorities.

In the case of local permeability improvements, a ‘long-list’ of potential projects was drawn up and presented to all local area committees in June 2011 and a further meeting was also held with the Lucan area members.  A number of projects were identified and progressed and others were added to the overall list as a result of this process.  Those projects not commenced in 2011 have formed the basis for applications to the NTA for funding in 2012.