Of course we can easily take an inbound lane and outbound lane as a bus lane when the Ringroad is built, same for Sean Mulvoy road then N6 Bridge.
A cool little vid shot in New York city showing how useful and capable cargo bikes can be. Just putting here for those who say you can't do X, Y or Z with a cargo bike. As it turns out, very often you can
Options for the Salthill cycleway are now published.
Note, the Galway Cycling Campaign are supporting Option #2
The article below goes into a bit of details
Full details on the proposals are below including detailed drawings for every section, a FAQ
Feedback is through an online survey, accessible below
Or
By post - to Transport, Galway City Council, College Road, Galway
By email - to activetravel@galwaycity.ie
Scope is per below
Drawings for each proposal are below
Option 1
Option 2
2 good articles in the last few days fro the Irish Examiner covering both cycling and PT
The new bridge at the cathedral is scheduled for completion this year (November). This is one of the main things holding up further implementation of the bus connects programme for Galway so it's great to see it moving a step closer
I was pulling CSO data for something else and had a quick dig around for cycling & walking related data from the last census in 2016. A few things popped out
Galway has the highest % of people commuting by walking out of all 5 cities at 16.4%. It also has the second highest % of cyclists at 5.8%. That kinda puts to bed the argument that people won't walk or cycle because rain
Often on this thread and other boards, the old line is thrown out that cycling is only for the young, the data shows there are cyclists of all ages, across both sexes, on our roads
There was a jump of 43% from the 2011 to 2016 census in the numbers cycling
Cycling has been growing since 2002 with the numbers of women cycling nearly doubling
There was further data from the National Travelling Survey in 2019
First up, distance cycled shows a hell of a lot of cyclists are cycling a hell of a lot further than even I realised with the men age 75+ cycling the second highest avg distances overall
As for why people cycle...
Lastly, in terms of what is needed to make people cycle more, its pretty clear, safe infrastructure is the overwhelming answer
There was also data relating to students travelling patterns. Most of it makes for abysmal reading for primary level children, however specifically focusing on Galway's second & third level students we see over 66% are walking or cycling
I say there will be objections to any more bridge capacity taken away for cars...
The last time a bridge was built there was 4 times less cars in Galway... Galway has doubled its population since then...
Since then the Dominic Street Bridge has been taken out for car travel mainly...
Bus Connect was meant to go in and was recommended after the bypass was put in... I| say there will be a good few objections...
By the way, the Prom Cycleway wasn't in the transport strategy plan (or I at least can't find it)
The bus connects strategy, specifically the cross city link has already received full approval at council and govt level. Its gone through the various public consultations and is now with ABP for final approval with the decision due in Mar. Opportunities for lodging objections has passed outside of someone taking the ABP decision to judicial review which can never be ruled out.
The only potential justification for this is the decision not to do either an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) or a Natura Impact Survey (NIS) which they were told they could avoid as nothing is going into the water and there will be nets etc erected along the banks prior to construction to catch anything potentially falling into the water (tools, debris etc).
The Salmon Weir carries the lowest volume of cars of all the bridges, largely because its so narrow and doesn't allow for greater speeds. In terms of making a car-free spine through the city for public transport, its a no-brainer.
Bus Connect was meant to go in and was recommended after the bypass was put in
Nope, its going right through the whole period as its more difficult to do. Simply put, they can't wait until the mid 2030's to implement it. As it is, we're in year 5 of the current GTS, most of which was taken up with design, consultation and planning applications. The next 5 years will see the majority of the bus connects program implemented.
Without the cross-city link route, all other PT improvement works will have minimal effect in terms of driving modal shift away from cars where the whole point is to increase capacity on the remaining road network for those where driving is the only option.
Its not called out specifically, but forms part of other elements, specifically the Spiddal to Oranmore greenway, see from page 68 onwards.
Its being prioritized now simply because there was a colossal demand for it when they did a survey a few months into covid after people had a few months of cycling around Salthill without cars and realised how much safer it was. I can't recall what drove the survey or have a link to it, but I remember safe cycling infrastructure along the prom being the highest voted item by a LONG way.
Below is the drawing they included which, you can tell, they hadn't fully looked at in terms of the above greenway I mentioned.
I just came across this in the thread below, looks like it happened on the road out to Carna
All be stopped in Judical reviews...
Really can't see the prom one going through... The cycle lane is on the wrong road anyway... Dr Mannix makes far more sense... The Prom is just not suitable...
Is the road for :
Pedestrians were there first. Galway has had a history of driving down there in an evening, parking up and going for a walk. They do it mainly outside rush hours and is a leisure facility for them.
2._ Transport
If it is to ease traffic then Dr Mannix road is far more sensible... More connections to schools... Could connect Millers lane and Knocknacarra to Lower Salthill... Might not be as sexy but it makes more sense that using the mot exposed road in Galway when the main problem is wind...
We'll have to agree to disagree but I will agree that Dr Mannix Rd should also have safe cycling infrastructure
Just to make the point also, what's happening along the prom is a trial which may show that it works brilliantly or may show that its totally unworkable with a load of CPO's etc.
Lets wait to see how the trial goes
If travelling Knocknacarra to Galway City, what route would you suggest, using Dr Mannix Rd? Let's say Joyce's to Jurys.
Outside of the interested people in this thread there is, in my anecdotal observations, very little awareness in the General Public that the Salmon Weir bridge is going to be closed to car traffic. This may have gone thorugh all the official hoops you like, but on day one of the bridge being closed to car traffic, there is going to be uproar. Closing the bridge is a very difficult thing to do, and it's the kind of hard decision which, although I agree with it, I cannot see lasting.
As I've said before, once the Salmon Weir bridge closes, there will effectively only be one usuable bridge for East->West traffic, and it will become pretty unusuable in a very short time.
Of course, I'll be happy to have my doubts disproven, but unfortunately, I think they may be justified.
In fairness to them they would have published in local press, Facebook, twitter and their own website as well as announcements to the council members themselves. Its also been discussed several times on local radio. Note this is the way they do it for every undertaking
There will always be some who are not aware but I don't know what you want them to do that would be legitimately feasible, practical and within their budgets.
While I support its pedestrianisation, without other measures, we are closing off an approach to the city’s only public a&e. Someone, someday, will die in the back of a private car trying to get there.
I harp on about leaving, but it is because of this, I worry.
Wouldn't want to be trying to drive across the Salmon weir in an emergency. You'll die sitting in traffic staring at tail lights.
I assume the PT bridge (Salmon Weir) will be open to emergency services too. They'll be able to use it for faster travel times to and from UHG. If they can't use it then you might have a point.
SeaSlacker is concerned about a more specific edge case. Where someone is at risk of death, coming from the city centre and travelling to A&E by private car rather than ambulance.
I thought there were promises that the city streets were to be freed up for public transport, pedestrians and active travel after the ring road was built... if we waited for that, how would this scenario be different then?
Yup. And you'd think the improved accessibility to ambulances that are going to and from the hospital multiple times a day would save more lives than the extremely unlikely case of someone in the city centre with an issue that's not serious enough to warrant an ambulance but so serious they'll drop dead in the back of a car sitting in traffic on the Quincentennial bridge.
True. Ambulances and the Emergency Services will be big winners when the Cross City Bus Connects is up and running.
That would be my fear as well, not enough has been done at all for the other parts of the Cross City corridor.
Will though make the bus service timetable far more reliable though, especially for Services West of the City
You know that sometimes people are told to get a patient to the hospital themselves, because there are not enough ambulances?
True. But there'll be more availability when they aren't stuck in traffic and risking their own lives driving on the wrong side of the road to pass it.
It's an invented issue that has a very small chance of occurring. You need the following: 1) two people to be in a very small area of the city, 2) a medical issue that is serious but presents as not urgent, 3) they have their car nearby and 4) no ambulances available. It also ignores the glaring issue of the current state of traffic that makes it far more likely to die while sitting in a traffic jam trying to get through Woodquay. That area is at a stand still during busy times.
Aren't Taxis still able to use the bridge? It'll change a half hour trip (peak times) to a 3 minute trip
Actually what normally holds up ambulances is not being stuck in traffic, but being delayed at hospitals because they have nowhere to decant their patients to. As of today, for instance, there were 46 patients on trolleys in UHG. Having said that, I wouldn't fancy being an ambulance driver trying to get a patient to UHG in rush hour traffic. At least a free Salmon Weir bridge will help that part of the journey.
I didn't so much mean stuck in traffic but slowed by it but I take your point that the healthcare system has bigger issues than traffic. But if I have a stroke or something in the future I would like the paramedics to be able to get to me as quick as possible 😀
Its done quite often, if I or a family member have an urgent medical issue who will stop us using the salmon weir bridge if its the shortest direct route,and I can't see the Garda enforcing it if someone has an emergency.
This is just ridiculous. There are plenty Galway drivers who seem quite happy to drive in bus lanes any day of the week just to shave two seconds off their journey but you're asking us to believe that people won't drive in a bus lane to get a dying person to hospital? If that's the only objection you can come up with to this project you're basically acknowledging that there are no logical objections.
My understanding is that they plan to use technology, not just paint, to stop vehicles except public transport with the right fob ( etc) from using the bridge.
As far as I'm aware in Dublin they're camera protected rather than there being a physical barrier but maybe they'll do it differently in Galway?
As far as I know it will be electric bollards, similar to Shop st, could be wrong though
Getting rid of traffic on this one route will probably save lives. Ambulances won't be completely blocked in by general traffic. People rushing someone to hospital will be able to use the bus lanes, receive the fine in the post, present themselves to the district court and explain to the judge that the Salmon Weir Bridge bus gate saved their loved ones life...
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