Mallon announces opening of new walking and cycling path at Blaris, Lisburn

A new walking and cycling path, to be known as the ‘Blaris Greenway’, has been officially opened by Minister Nichola Mallon.

Minister Mallon on the new 'Blaris Greenway'

The new 1.4 kilometre traffic-free path links Blaris Road to Sprucefield Retail Park and Sprucefield Park & Ride.  It will provide a direct link to enable people to walk or cycle on to Union Locks, Lisburn and the Lagan Towpath. 

Opening the path Minister Mallon said:

“I am delighted to open this new facility as part of my commitment to deliver sustainable infrastructure that will better connect our communities and transform lives.  With the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, we are now having to adapt to a new way of living, and as part of that, we need to create more opportunities for active travel and create safer infrastructure for those who want to walk, wheel and cycle.”

The Blaris Greenway, links both Sprucefield Retail Park and the Sprucefield Park & Ride to Lisburn and onwards to Belfast City Centre via Union Locks and the Lagan Towpath to give 20 kilometres of virtually traffic free walking and cycling. 

Minister Mallon continued:

“This is the type of infrastructure I want to deliver for communities as I hope it will encourage people to rethink their way of travelling to work and for leisure purposes, and engage more in outdoor activities which in turn will improve their health and mental wellbeing. My Department alone cannot deliver a safe traffic-free cycling network for the whole of Northern Ireland and I will continue to engage with stakeholders to explore how we can continue to develop safe connected infrastructure across the North.

 “Blaris greenway forms an important part of a wider network for all and I look forward to working with Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and indeed all Councils to assist them in taking forward their greenway projects. I am very keen to develop greenways as part of my vision to develop sustainable infrastructure projects that will deliver lasting change, enhancing our economy and improving lives.”

Welcoming the new path, Sustrans Northern Ireland Director Caroline Bloomfield said:

“We are delighted that the Blaris Greenway is now open as it provides a much-needed connection to retail and park and ride facilities, as well as the Lagan Towpath. Dedicated traffic-free infrastructure is essential if we are to enable more people to travel actively. It provides people with a safe environment to walk and cycle, but ensuring this network is connected for people and places is just as important. The Blaris Greenway delivers on all these aspects and we look forward to working with the Minister in delivering a greenway network across all of Northern Ireland.”

Notes to editors: 

1. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Infrastructure Press Office at: press.office@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk.
2. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
3. Follow the Department on Twitter @deptinfra and on Facebook @DepartmentforInfrastructure

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