Our very own First Minister (the biggest fish in our little pond), the Right Honourable Peter Robinson MLA, took a trip to see one of my favourite stretches of cycle path recently, the award winning Comber Greenway.
Mr. Robinson commented:
It gives me great pleasure as the member of parliament for East Belfast, to join with Sustrans and the local community, to celebrate the recent success of this great and internationally recognised, local initiative. The result of the wide support for this project, has provided an asset of great value for the local community.
This project is a great response to an identified need for sustainable transport in East Belfast, which found a compromise between a high quality greenway network and providing an attractive environment for both walkers and cyclists alike.
The hard work from both Sustrans and the local community has been deservedly highlighted, with the accomplishment of receiving The European Greenway award. The Comber greenway is now internationally recognised as an example to be followed by others.
Some nice words there from Mr. Robinson, but I wonder what he thinks of the threats faced by the Greenway? Despite spending £250,000 on building the seven mile Greenway, the Department of Regional Development (DRD) in Northern Ireland plan to tear up the route and repurpose it as a rapid bus transit corridor. Would that really be “an example to be followed by others” ?
Oh, here is what he has to say:
Before the Executive takes any decision on the Rapid Transit Scheme along the Comber Greenway it would want to see an alternative option of the Upper Newtownards Road being utilised. It is very likely that cost will be a key consideration by the Executive when giving the Rapid Transit Project the go ahead and there is a strong likelihood that the Comber Greenway proposal might have very significantly higher costs as well as the Environmental issues which have caused concern.
That suggests there’s at least a possibility that the Comber Greenway will stay a haven for cyclists and walkers, and I hope Mr. Robinson’s recent trip and positive experience will help convince him that the Greenway Must Stay.
Interesting statement from Mr Robinson on the potential future of the Greenway. I don’t quite remember him taking a similarly positive line when he responded to my letter last year … wonder if he has had a change of heart. Sadly I didn’t keep the letter (or at least not in the obvious part of my office where I have various letters from Sustrans about it).