Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015
Plan Strategy: Developing an Intergrated Inclusive Transport System

The Plan Proposals seek to reduce reliance on the car by a closer integration of transportation and land use, by promoting a significant improvement in public transport and by management measures to influence the choice of travel mode. The provision of improved facilities for walking and cycling as a means of providing greater travel choice is a key principle.

The Plan Proposals seek to manage integrated transportation with benefits to the environment and human health, and to enhance accessibility to employment, community and other facilities for those without access to the use of a car. The emphasis on provision of housing and employment within existing urban footprints, and on mixed-use development, will ensure patterns of development supportive to a choice of modes of transport, including public transport.

The BMA is the major gateway to Northern Ireland and the heart of the Regional Strategic Transport Network. Fast and efficient transportation links to the Belfast Harbour are essential to the economic prosperity of the Metropolitan Area and Northern Ireland as a whole. The Plan Proposals identify road improvements necessary to ensure the efficient movement of freight and people.

Road improvements are also proposed to facilitate future housing and economic growth, to provide necessary links by public and private transport to MELs and to reduce traffic in the built-up area, with benefits to living environments.