SINN Féin Councillor Joe Duffy has welcomed progress on the West Belfast Greenway Project which aims to provide safe cycling and pedestrian routes across the constituency. 

Speaking to the Andersonstown News after a site visit with the Department for Infrastructure, the Colin Councillor said: "Following on from the Belfast Strategic Development Partnership which launched the Belfast Active Travel Plan between 2014 and 2020, West Belfast makes up about one per cent of cycling infrastructure across the city. 

"To tackle this, the West Belfast Greenway will connect West Belfast to the Blaris Greenway and the Lagan Towpath, taking in destination hubs such as the Andersonstown Leisure Centre and the new Roddy's Visitor Centre.

"We hope that this will also improve health inequalities and decongest some of our roads by taking cars off the roads and encouraging people to use our green space."

Cllr Duffy said that tackling the lack of access to green space will help prevent around 650 people developing serious health conditions per year.  

"It is estimated that walking saves the NHS about £4.1million each year which is the equivalent of 140,000 GP appointments. 

"Cycling would prevent around 100 serious health conditions a year which would save the NHS £660,000 per annum which is the equivalent of 22,000 GP appointments."

The Greenway will include traffic free feeder routes and dedicated cycle routes on quiet streets to connect the Forthmeadow Greenway to Bog Meadows and then go across the NI Water treatment plant, cutting through Musgrave Park and Woodlands to the old Visteon site, along the motorway to Dunmurry.

"We hope to then connect this to the Colin Active Strategy which is a big priority for me," Joe added.

The project is currently at the feasibility stage and it is hoped that phase one, which will connect Bog Meadows to Woodlands, will be completed before 2024. 

Welcoming the news, West Belfast MP Paul Maskey said: "There has been a lot of work going on over the past number of years to put pressure on the Department for Infrastructure to make sure that they create safe cycle routes to connect West Belfast and beyond.

"This has many health benefits as well as reducing the number of cars on our roads. I want to commend the work of the West Belfast Partnership for the initiative as well as some of the other cycling groups across West Belfast who have been upping the campaign on this."