M6 - Galway City Ring Road [planning decision pending]

cgcsb

If the original 600m budget was spent on bus lanes, a bus fleet and bike lanes, Galway would be a global sustainability mecca, Freiburg would be shamed.

brianc89

Can they really be so naiive to put the same project in again? It'll 100% be tied up in courts for years.

At the very least, if they want to resubmit, they should remove some of the exits. Right now it's a distributor road that will increase traffic in the medium term back to congested levels.

People might disagree with that, but like it or not, Induced Demand is widely accepted. Any argument against this phenomena is going to fail.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120183649#Comment_120183649

Whatever about your X on the western side, the X on the Eastern side will never be removed

That junction has been designed with future road expansion in mind. It'll be congested from the day it opens. It will essentially be a single junction to serve approx the population of Oranmore (5k) going through it during peak times

brianc89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120183694#Comment_120183694

Excuse my very crude diagram - just to illustrate the idea of having less junctions.

If this road is designed to bring cars into industrial estates it'll never get approved. If they want to get it built, it needs to be seen as additional road capacity to enable Public Transport reallocation.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120182844#Comment_120182844

This road is going to be built. You all know it is, just some of you are more prepared to lie to themselves about it than others.

Remind me again what you asserted would happen in Fairview once the schools opened last September 🤔

A joint statement released by the councils

https://www.galwaycity.ie/news/2933/59/N6-GCRR-Joint-Statement-/

The link is just a blurb, the pdf statement is attached

Joint Statement from GCC GCiC TII 31.01.2023.pdf

Some seriously deluded folks in those councils

Larbre34

Live on site debate on Prime Time now.

Larbre34

Kyne is right here, the whole of the Galway Transport Strategy is the only game in town, not just cherry picked elements.

All the major interests in Galway City want this road to go ahead, so it will go ahead and Pauline O'Reilly needn't worry because there are unlikely to be any Green Oireachtas members come Feb 2025.

Bobeagleburger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120184843#Comment_120184843

Greens or no Greens. I don't think it matters anymore. Climate change/action will be a big focus regardless of who's in government.

saabsaab

The RR or any major relief road is dead for a generation. What's needed is some simple solutions. Perhaps one way systems no private cars within a certain radius of the city centre. Perhaps a new bridge maybe the new Salmon Weir should have been for traffic and use the old bridge for cycles and pedestrians. How about a light rail along the coast from Barna to Oranmore with a feeder to the city centre?

Larbre34

I can promise you friend, it is not dead for a generation.

It will have its approval by Q2 2024 and be on site by Q1 2026. After that, its up how good the contractor is, but I'd hope to see it open by the end of 2030.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185192#Comment_120185192

Doubt it. It was approved back in 2008! 15 years and still not started.

CatInABox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185192#Comment_120185192

Is this timeline even with going to the courts for the inevitable Judicial Review? And once that review is complete, if it passes that hurdle, which is a pretty tall order in my opinion, then it'll go all the way to the ECJ like last time. Will it pass that?

I think that your timeline is wildly optimistic.

marno21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120184960#Comment_120184960

There were almost 38 billion tons of CO2 emissions in 2021. How much of an impact would not building the M6 GCRR have on this figure? Not much on a macro/global level it's fair to say. As a comparison, how much of an impact would not building the GCRR have on the people of Galway and Connemara? A massive impact, regardless of how much faith a person can have in the dream of active travel and public transport solving all the city's congestion issues.

I feel the difference between the overall climate impact of these "interventions" in the name of climate action vs. the huge negative local impact they have and the associated backlash and anger they will cause is one part of the jigsaw that a lot of people haven't put in yet.

xckjoo

Building the road would have a negative impact on both the environment and traffic though. The proof is in the Councils own predictions on the road causing an increase in car usage. It'll be beyond capacity in no time (specially if they repurpose all the inner roads like people are fooling themselves into thinking is on the agenda).

Get as many of the rest of us out of cars when we don't need them and the people of Connemara will have plenty of space on the roads to drive. If people were genuiunely concerned about them and disabled drivers, etc. they'd be pushing for more options so we can leave the road spaces for the people that have to drive.

what_traffic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120183792#Comment_120183792

That is one of the prime reasons it is been built. Might see some road in the future been developed as far as the N84 but that's about it I reckon.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185761#Comment_120185761

There were almost 38 billion tons of CO2 emissions in 2021. How much of an impact would not building the M6 GCRR have on this figure? Not much on a macro/global level it's fair to say. As a comparison, how much of an impact would not building the GCRR have on the people of Galway and Connemara? A massive impact, regardless of how much faith a person can have in the dream of active travel and public transport solving all the city's congestion issues.

It would have an impact in increasing the carbon emissions. This is the councils admission. Trying to compare the impact from a single infrastructure project against global levels is being deliberately facetious. They have also made similar admissions that the road would increase traffic volumes and thus congestion. So yes, this road would have negative impact in terms of Galways traffic and Irish carbon emissions but also in terms of pissing away what will inevitably cost well over a billion euro on a project that will make the current traffic situation in Galway even worse!

I feel the difference between the overall climate impact of these "interventions" in the name of climate action vs. the huge negative local impact they have and the associated backlash and anger they will cause is one part of the jigsaw that a lot of people haven't put in yet.

So we should abandon doing what we can to minimise our carbon emissions in situations when it causes an inconvenience to people? Hopefully you realised the utter stupidity of your questions as soon as you posted it - "Don't look up!"

A report on the councils reaction

https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2023/0131/1352907-galway-ring-road/

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185192#Comment_120185192

This is impossible. The climate change act means its not getting through ABP at all, not even a 1% chance. never mind as soon as 2024. Have you read the act? It's one of the strictest of its kind in the world.

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185761#Comment_120185761

There is not one single transport project in the whole world that is globally significant in terms of emissions generation. Its cumulative, and the only way to reduce said emissions is to reduce at the micro level. Pointing out the lack of global significance is book passing.

There is no benefits for the people of Galway and Conemara in building the road, the modelling report shows an INCREASE in congestion as a result of the road being built, it will worsen the lives of galweigens in terms of time loss and will worsen the health of people in the region.

brianc89

There has to be a balanced argument on carbon emissions.

• what emissions will occur if Galway is allowed to continue sprawling?

• what emissions will be saved if the road enables denser housing in a more confined space?

• can sprawl be stopped and denser housing delivered without the road? Probably......

• can inner city roads and bridges to allocated to public transport without this road? In theory yes, but very unlikely to happen?...

• what emissions will be saved if 3 inner city bridges are fully reallocated to public transport? Tonnes...

Galway Chamber of commerce CEO says the ring road is the only fix 🙄

RTE news : Delay to ring road risks Galway's reputation - Chamber

http://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2023/0131/1353032-delay-to-ring-road-risks-galways-reputation-chamber/

Thats one way of getting it over the line I suppose, just give the projects you deem worthy, a free pass lol

https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-bay-fm-news-desk/o-cuiv-calls-for-critical-infrastructure-projects-to-be-excluded-from-emissions-targets/

dumb_parade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120187934#Comment_120187934

This is exactly what we need, finally some sense being applied to the problem

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120188261#Comment_120188261

Sorry, but thats not how the world works. There'll be no exemption

CatInABox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120188261#Comment_120188261

Ah, if the government brought this in, then they'd be brought to court over it, and if they do somehow manage to win in an Irish court, then they'll be brought to the ECJ again. It really won't fly in the EU at all, as they're going to be the ones fining us for non compliance.

The proposed Galway Ring Road cannot go ahead despite the plans getting a second look by An Bord Pleanála, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said.

https://www.independent.ie/news/environment/galway-ring-road-cannot-proceed-despite-fresh-review-by-an-bord-pleanala-says-minister-42323716.html

“It vital that all our transport plans deliver the 50pc reduction in emissions we need this decade and go net zero in three [decades],” he said.

“The National Transport Authority, the local authority and our department are going to have to look at a new transport strategy for Galway that meets that climate target.

“You can’t just go ahead and build roads that have an induced traffic system that means you can’t meet the climate targets.

“So the plans for Galway are going to have to change. The exact elements of that, the combination of new public transport and other infrastructure, will be the outcome of that process.

“But the existing plans, the existing way of doing things is not going to progress. You have to heed what the law says – you put climate at the centre of everything we do.”

This bodes well for the GTS review underway. Though its very likely that they'll have to "retire" Brendan McGrath to see any real progress/shift in attitudes

Glenomra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185192#Comment_120185192

Doesn't look your predictions will come through.

Widescreen

Northern Distributor Road in Limerick, put on the long finger by the Greens, now the Galway Ring Road.

Galway and Limerick are like Car Parks now and all because of the Green Party policies and their coalition partners just going along with them to stay in power.

I thought they wanted us all to buy Electric Cars, WTF would you buy an electric car to sit in traffic! Seems the policy is to get the whole country using Public Transport, that is the totally wrong approach. Roads and public transport improvement should be developed together.

I would normally have changed my car two years ago, its a 2015, I will just drive it into the ground and billow smoke out of the exhaust willy nilly if these policies don't change and plenty of people feel that way.

They should build proper roads, encourage people to get electric, hybrid and plug in hybrid with appropriate policies to create affordable pricing, have dates carved in stone when types of cars will be banned from and then people will row in behind it.

The present policies are an absolute jokeshop and it's only getting worse and its all because of weak politicians most of whom, except the Greens are scared of putting their head above the parapit (probably spelt wrong).

waterwelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185192#Comment_120185192

Worst prediction ever.