Cyclists in war of words with Council

Date Published: 08-Jun-2010

THE proposed redesign of the Seamus Quirke and Bishop O’Donnell Road is a €6 million waste of limited funds which will slow buses down to cycling speed and increase the risk of collision between pedestrians and cyclists according to the Galway Cycling Campaign.

Bur Galway City Council have dismissed these claims stating that the off-road segregated cycle tracks are in accordance with current design standards and the An Bord Pleanála decision on the scheme.

“The scheme as proposed, and which has received favourable comment from the National Transport Authority which is the body drafting the cycle design manual will ensure that safe cycling facilities are provided for cyclists and will not result in city bus services being slowed,” a Galway City Council Spokesperson responded.

The new off-road design provides for two traffic lanes in each direction, one of which will be a bus lane. It also includes a 2-metre wide off-road cycle lane and a two metre wide footpath in each direction with pedestrian crossings at all junctions along the scheme.

A different design plan was considered in 2007 which provided for combined bus and cycle lanes. However, the City Council opted for an off-road design which, it believes, will provide a safer environment for cyclists.

As a result, cyclists will have to swerve behind bus stops and will be dangerously ramped up and down onto raised cycle paths according to the Galway Cycling campaign who would favour on on-road solution which would involve the widening of the shared bus and cycle lane.

“In Galway, if you want to provide safe facilities for cyclists, then it has to be done on-road. Off-road should be a last resort. This is not a high speed road. It is not an arterial route in the middle of nowhere,” said Shane Foran, Chairperson of Galway Cycling Campaign.

For more see page 7 of this week’s Connacht Sentinel.