Walking and Cycling takes 32,000 cars off the road every day the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area, according to the 2023 Walking and Cycling Index, published in partnership with Sustrans and the National Transport Authority. The report has been launched across the five cities by the various local authorities involved in the publications.
Key findings from the Walking and Cycling Index
Key findings from the Walking and Cycling Index include:
- 52% adult residents walk 5 or more days a week, 55% use car 5 or more days a week
- 15% of adults cycle at least once a week
- 76% of residents support building cycle tracks physically separated from traffic and pedestrians even where that means less room for other traffic
- Every day those who walk and cycle takes nearly 32,000 cars off the road in the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area. If all these case were in a traffic jam it would tail back 151 kilometres equivalent to the distance from Limerick City to Waterford City.
- Residents walking, wheeling and cycling create an annual economic benefit for individuals and the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area of €145.4 million
- Walking, wheeling and cycling improves public health in the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area, preventing 320 serious long term health conditions each year, saving the HSE €4.54million equivalent to the cost of over 83,100 GP appointments
- Those walking, wheeling and cycling instead of driving, save greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 69,300 flights from Shannon Airport to London Heathrow Airport
- There is a €1.40 net economic benefit for each km cycled instead of driven and €0.94 net economic benefit for each km walked instead of driven
The Walking and Cycling Index, the biggest assessment of cycling in urban areas in Ireland and the UK, is produced by sustainable transport charity Sustrans (www.sustrans.org.uk/walkingcyclingindex) in partnership with city authorities.
The information in the report comes from local cycling data, modelling and an independent, demographically representative survey of more than 1,100 residents from across the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area, whether they cycled or not.
Documents below.
- Walking and Cycling Index 2023 Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area (low resolution)
- High resolution file attached below
- Walking and Cycling Index 2023 Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area IRISH
Extra Background Documents below
- For a summary of the overall Walking and Cycling Index methodology see Data Sources and Methodologies.
- For details on the residents survey see the Survey Questionnaire
- Sustrans Data Dashboard: Sustrans has interactive dashboards available that can be used to explore the data: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/the-walking-and-cycling-index/walking-and-cycling-index-data-tool
