Out of touch with reality to continue prioritising cars over cyclists – Senator Pauline O’Reilly on Galway’s proposed cycle track

A motion brought to Galway City Council in July 2021, proposing a two-way segregated cycle track on a temporary basis along the coastal side of Salthill Promenade, is at risk of being overturned on Monday 14th February at a meeting of Galway County Council.

Eamon Ryan, Minister for Transport stated;

“We can’t keep our heads in the sand and continue to let cars dominate our public spaces. The cycle track in Salthill is a critical opportunity to demonstrate that safer roads and alternatives to cars are a priority across parties in Government. While Salthill is a very popular destination for families and tourists, it is actually too dangerous for children and families to choose to cycle there at the moment. Galway deserves better. Communities across Ireland deserve better.”

Last year, 17 out of 18 Galway councillors voted in favour of the project, but pressure from some local businesses has put the project in jeopardy.

Senator Pauline O’Reilly added;

“Rejecting the proposed cycle track on the basis that the council is presenting options that don’t tick every conceivable box is unrealistic. What needs to happen instead is for people to say, ‘well I would like a cycleway but here are the changes that I’d suggest’. It has been proven in cities across Europe that the best way to develop cycling infrastructure that works for communities is to implement a temporary scheme that can be reviewed and tweaked for what works and doesn’t work. 

“We need to get real about meeting climate targets and making our cities safe and livable for people. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil may pay lip service to the importance of climate action, but it’s at a local level that we need to see that demonstrated. It’s completely out of touch with reality and the future of communities and transport to continue to prioritise cars over pedestrians and cyclists.”

Some concerns have been expressed locally that access by emergency vehicles to the Salthill road could be hampered by the cycle track.

Cllr Niall Murphy stated;

“In no way are emergency services affected by cycle lanes. In fact, it helps emergency services where you’ve got a two-way cycle lane because it’s not held up by cars. This has been demonstrated in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown where they rolled out a very successful trial cycle track in 2020 and came up against the same local concerns. The track has been a huge success for the area and is now embedded and widely used by the community and tourists. We want to see the same success for Galway.

“It’s thanks to the local community and cycling organisations – including Galway Cycling Campaign and Galway Urban Greenway Alliance – that we’ve come this far. We now need to make our voices heard louder than ever and get it over the line. I urge the community in Galway city and beyond to join the Galway Cycling Campaign on Sunday 13th of February at 11.30am outside Claddagh Hall for a Community Cycle calling for the Salthill cycle track to be implemented.”

The NTA has allocated funding for the temporary scheme this year and will assist Galway City Council with progressing the implementation of the scheme through the Cycle Design Office if it proceeds.