SQR/BOD would not be considered "shared" space - there is drop (roughly diameter of a €2) between the footpath(higher) and the cycle path(lower).
Makes it tricky on the bike at the bus chicanes; however the bigger issue on the bike for the SQR/BOD is the NON-STEAM rolled red sludge they put down last summer. Its fine where motor traffic travel on it as it has smoothed those sections, but it is dog rough on many sections of it.
Headford road near the new lights junction does have the footpath and cycle path at the same level, as does Quincentenary bridge on the N6 as well. So no consistency, but then again the N6 was never designed back in the 80's as a cycle path, its a service duct, only last decade they placed the blue signs on it.
Probably be considered shared space - but the surface treatment is at least different between them. It is Concrete and tarmacadam. The Galway City side of Moycullen footpath is probably the best example I can think of a what a roads engineer would define as Shared Space. Wide footpath with the walking and cycling blue sign. Ya and I agree it is rubbish.
Shared spaces i.e. Walking and cycling together should generally be a last resort.
Pedestrians hate them and cyclists hate them as there is always a risk of collision.
In addition, unless there is a physical separation / barrier / height difference, a shared space for likes of someone with blindness, is 100% unusable as there is literally no way to know when you've crossed into the cycling part.
Shared space, as done on SQR is fine and is pretty much the best way to do shared spaces and off the top of my head I can't think of any location where the above issue exists in Galway City.
I have seen it in other parts of Ireland where there are wide paths, signposted as shared use and that is the only indicator for users. Those are wholly unsuitable and should be ripped out.
No they don’t! Like anything in society, there are always a few idiots on either side who f**k it up for everyone else. Everybody sees thing from their own perspective, but by and large, shared spaces work out well, regardless of which target audience they are trying to please.
It seems she’s not the only one upset, but should we abandon everything and leave the status quo remain until everyone is happy? Because I can’t see that working in anyone’s favour!!
Shared spaces suck for pedestrians.
Its a good plan to have a network of bike lanes everywhere, no objection to that at all
Two plans already mentioned in the posts above.
Still awaiting answers to the Dr Mannix Rd clarification questions...
Pauline O'Reilly is upset... Sorry I think we should cancel anything Green until she drops her objection to Bypass... It is another slow down tactic...
I have written an alternative plan before here (Dr. Mannix Road & Lower Salthill)... What is the cyclist plan that they think would be acceptable?
It's behind a paywall, but a headline on the Irish Times says that 2 out of every 3 submissions were against the cycle lane.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/almost-two-thirds-of-submissions-to-council-not-in-favour-of-galway-cycle-lane-1.4799881?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Falmost-two-thirds-of-submissions-to-council-not-in-favour-of-galway-cycle-lane-1.4799881
There is plenty wrong...
People who park and walk the prom is a very high activity in Galway... When the Prom parking was removed during COVID the residents in Salthill were up in arms... They don't want resident passes, the council make people go through rings for that...
Swimmers on Blackrock are institution in Galway... They want there cars close when they get out...
The cyclists wanted to get rid of the Walkers and Swimmers and they are facing a backlash...
Exactly this - 1m median buffer?? Why oh why would that be the case.
Designed to fail exactly. Should have been 4/5 options given to Cllr's could have variations on Option 1/2 for these subsequent options.
Yep, I’m still absolutely convinced this whole route has been intentionally designed to fail.
Surely any engineer, with even an ounce of pride, would not sign off on it.
Unless they bridge the canal aswell and get access through the bish it just doesnt make much sense. It would be ~1 minute longer to walk around o briens bridge from nuns island instead, and youll have to go down as far as o'briens bridge to cross the canal anyways
The cycleway is needlessly 2m at that section, they added 1m to the median/buffer.
I think there was mention of a bridge near Hygeia either - doesnt make a lot of sense really, would ruin the view of the river and you still wouldnt use it very often, with OBriens bridge and Salmon weir bridge within 100m of it.
From reading the news article about it, they were undecided on the location when it was mentioned. What they said was
The Draft Plan, which was approved by councillors last week and will soon go on public display, includes a specific objective to “investigate the potential for the construction of a new pedestrian bridge from Gaol Road to Newtownsmyth”.
“There is no specific location for it as yet, but the objective is open-ended so that would allow for further investigation,” said Mr Finn, pointing to the former Hygeia Chemicals site as a regeneration project that could be augmented by the addition of a bridge.
Based on that, there's 3 possible locations that I can see, shown below
Honestly, I think the Hygeia option is probably the most useful in terms of permeability
The bridge at the old Hygeia site would probably tie in with the College’s long term plan for the development of Nun’s Island. I think I’d read about that a few years ago, but cannot find it now.
spent ages looking at that picture wondering where the river that runs through whitestrand park is... doh
I believe that both sides have wrongly jumped on the ES band wagon just for something to grasp at.
The Salthill cycle lane, at the one way section, is only 2m wide, which is way too narrow to accommodate even a car let alone a fire truck. As that is the only plan on the board, of course they would raise concerns about the impact it may have. There is no doubt it will impact them, but it is a TRIAL, so they should be using the period to record proper data during the time
I noted that all the counter arguments saying that it helps emergency services ( with the exception of one) post shots of a Garda car or an ambulance on a 3m two way cycle lane, it is still very tight for a fire truck to safely manoeuvre around.
Regarding emergency access being hampered by bike lanes, this short video from the Quays in Dublin shows that they can, in fact, speed up emergency access
Minister Malcom Noonan urges the councilors to proceed with the trial
Changes coming for Tuam Rd and Parkmore
As for the 3 bridges, there's the new one at the Salmon Weir, the one using the old railway and the third one was recently mentioned in this thread but I don't think there's too much info on it yet
I've marked where the 2 known bridges are below in pink and where I think the 3rd might go in orange but its a pure guess
The locations of the new traffic light junctions are marked below
IMO Shared Spaces are massively underutilized.
Certainly you would remove a lot of the objection if the Blackrock to Knocknacarra Cross section was removed - anyone who considered a one-way for this part should have known that it would be a non-starter.
I reckon you could very easily do a Dalysfort Road junction to Fr. Griffin Road junction as a permanent way without any trial. There is loads of space along by the Car Park, the easterly prom road is massively wide, as is Dr. Colohan Road. From there you could then route cyclists through Whitestrand Park which is enclosed so it has no through traffic, it's already a 30km/h zone and all you would need would be one of those "shared space" pavings (like Raven Terrace) to make the road accessible to all.
They did propose amendments.
The council also have drawings since 2016 of a two-way cycleway that maintains most on-street parking and keeps all traffic two-way. The council don't want to make any changes that are not easily reversible after 6 months. The TEMP cycleway would verify the appetite for a cycleway along this route.
Instead of scrapping the full scheme, I think they should only do Grattan Rd to Blackrock. Use the golf course shared path then add crossings and a "slow zone" to allow a safer connect between the caravan park to Knocknacarra. Would be closer to the proposed long term project and less disruptive to the status quo.
So now the cycle group should propose a better plan
"The cycle group have a lot of support out there, and a council that will help them with the right plan."
These plans didn't come from any cycle groups, it was created by the council with zero consultation or discussion.
The purpose of the consultation was to select the preferred of 2 designs. The cycle groups recommend Option 2 as the better of these but lots of amendments needed.
So councilors listened to the public, and changed their minds based on what the people were saying/asking for?
Seems like thats the way it should happen. Well done everyone
Now, if the people who want a cycle lane are smart, they have a fantastic opportunity.
What needs to happen, is a realistic cycle lane needs to be demanded. Not one that closes off one of the most popular, natural, free amenities in Galway to everyone from outside of Salthill.
The cycle group need to take this opportunity, and really understand, what they want.
Is it a well connected cycle infrastructure that takes in schools, residential areas and places of work?
Or is it a scenic cycle lane that takes in views and places of interest?
The cycle group have a lot of support out there, and a council that will help them with the right plan.
It just seems that a cycle lane along the prom is the wrong place for too many people
That's also what I heard from someone who talked to one of the councilors. A lot of quite petty, political back-biting. Councilors who voted for it originally didn't know what exactly was planned for the cycleway and have been turned by the negative feedback they've received.
I really suspect the main obstacle to acceptance of the plans was the inclusion of the one-way section at Knocknacarra - cutting off one of the few routes for westbound motor traffic was inviting opposition.
A response from Irish Doctors For The Environment to the proposal to kill the bike lane trial in Salthill
A local mum gives her thoughts on the Salthill bike lanes in a piece in thejournal.ie. A very well written piece
Also interviewed on local radio
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w6.vanillicon.com/v2/62877c35768f143f69acd7bb6cd43f3c.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w7.vanillicon.com/v2/72de65773e6e5863593f1e54e75c7035.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wc.vanillicon.com/v2/c35e2064eebb340babc88df28d447168.svg)
