Galway cyclists welcome amendments to city development plan

national | environment | news report Wednesday October 13, 2004 12:41 by Shane Foran - Galway Cycling Campaign galwaycyclist at yahoo dot co dot uk Galway Cycling Campaign -Feachtas Rothaiochta na Gaillimhe 087 9935993

Cross party support crucial to essential changes

Councillors from Labour, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, the Progressive Democrats and Sinn Fein all successfully propose pro-cycling amendments to Galway city plan.

The Galway Cycling Campaign have expressed delight with the amendments made to the City Development Plan during the debates at city hall over the past two weeks. On Sunday night 10/10/04, last minute amendments, such as replacing cycle lanes with hard-shoulder markings more suitable for Galway's roads, were carried. Other key improvements made included an acknowledgement that roundabouts pose difficulties for pedestrians and cyclists and provision for two-way access for cyclists on one-way streets. In future, where planners propose to omit cycle parking from new developments this will have to be referred back to the planning SPC of Galway City Council for approval. The city council also adopted wording acknowledging that providing off-road cycle paths is not an alternative to adapting the existing road network for cyclists' use.


"Cross party support was vital in getting these changes made. We appreciate the fact that councillors were working together for the benefit of city cyclists. It is heartening to see that councillors can put aside differences for the benefit of ordinary city residents." noted campaign PRO Alan Burke. "These amendments should see a marked improvement in cycling conditions and a corresponding increase in the numbers of cyclists" he continued.


During the course of the Development Plan discussions, councillors from Labour, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, the Progressive Democrats and Sinn Fein all successfully proposed pro-cycling amendments to the city plan.