Love/hate for councillors over Marmite cycle-lane

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Galway City Councillors who signed their names to a motion to revoke the vote passed in September for a temporary cycle-lane in Salthill got it in the neck last weekend.

The lobbying was relentless. Councillors were bombarded with emails and social media messages urging them to reconsider, ahead of Monday’s crunch vote.

“My head is fried from it,” confided one elected rep who preferred not to be named.

“It’s not just locals; it’s from anyone around the country who owns a bicycle. It’s non-stop. My anxiety was bad before, but it was awful at the weekend.”

Another councillor confided he’d cleared his emails before midnight Thursday, but by 9am on Friday a further 18 emails about the cycle-lane landed in his inbox. “They will be relentless now all weekend,” he said.

And he was right! Most of the contact was civil. But, according to another councillor, “some of it was very personal”.

“It has become nasty. Both sides have been abusive,” said one councillor.

Another long-serving councillor said the “bitterness and divisiveness” associated with this project was “unprecedented. It’s full-on, and relentless.” Another said messages received were “full of vitriol”.

One cycle-lane supporter on Twitter actively encouraged a pile-on, with a tweet that read: “Cyber bullying your local City Council and the U-turning councillors is the morally right thing to do.” It was since deleted.

An avid cyclist, meanwhile, recounted how she cycled with her child to Salthill and was abused by a motorist. “My two-year-old should be able to enjoy sitting on the bike without hearing people hurl abuse at use or use their cars to bully us out of the way,” she said.

It hasn’t been all abuse, though. Several city councillors received early Valentine’s Day cards on Friday urging them to join the community cycle from Claddagh Hall on February 13.

The cards had “I heart Salthill Cycleway” on the front, with a message inside: “Roses are red, violets are blue. Let us show you what a cycleway can do!”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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