M6 - Galway City Ring Road [planning decision pending]

G-bird · 13-11-2025 11:27AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984184#Comment_123984184

I cant seem to recall or find any info on this consultation and am surprised that there were only 28 submissions received. Anyone have any info?

Seth Brundle · 13-11-2025 11:29AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984520#Comment_123984520

As the councils own data says that this will make traffic congestion worse, how exactly is it in the "public interest" to force it through?

marno21 · 13-11-2025 11:40AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984551#Comment_123984551

The city is growing, so traffic congestion is going to get worse ring road or no ring road.

Maybe after a few years, this road will be congested for an hour or two in the morning and evening. The rest of the day it'll be a useful way of getting around the city. If it is really busy, better to have the traffic on a motorway outside the city than outside the Westside Playing Fields

Seth Brundle · 13-11-2025 11:41AM

You've not answered my question. You've just said that congestion will get worse so lets build it anyway. No attempt to actually tackle traffic congestion by encouraging mass transit, for example?

markpb · 13-11-2025 11:50AM

ACP's role is to ensure that development happens in line with all legislation and regulations. The government might have GCRR on it's roadmap but that has very little influence on a planning decision - TII are an applicant just like you or I.

KrisW1001 · 13-11-2025 11:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984520#Comment_123984520

No, really it’s time for GCC to get real and produce a road that is proportionate to the size of Galway and the future needs of its population. Galway county council has allowed the most appalling car-dependent sprawl to develop to the west of the city over the decades, and it should not be the national road network that suffers to fix their mistakes: the proposed design just perpetuates the harm, kicks the can down the road for 15 years, after which we’ll be back where we are now. Why the hell does a city of 80,000 people located at the very edge of the network with no other cities beyond it need a 40,000 AADT capacity highway around it?

In its current design, the proposed road isn’t nationally useful - it will draw national traffic right into Galway’s local congestion, creating the same shitshow as N40 in Cork.

To improve the national network, something like this is really all that’s needed, and neither of these would need to be more than a 2+2:

Galway still has traffic problems, and I’ve no problem with them spending the same money on roads: but spend it on urban distributor roads within the city to enable a fast, reliable bus service and safe cycleways to displace thousands of the cars that currently have no option but to crawl through every day.

GBXI · 13-11-2025 06:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984520#Comment_123984520

Absolutely. Utterly embarrassing for a developed country like this for 3 full years to have past since the high court decision and they're still fluting around between ABP/ACP and city/county councils.

GBXI · 13-11-2025 07:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984622#Comment_123984622

The current plan is so much better than what you have suggested and much more comprehensive. Building the panned road makes having busses corridors, bike lanes, restricted access in the city centre, much more likely. It's a major step in the right direction.

hans aus dtschl · 14-11-2025 11:14AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123985816#Comment_123985816

Unfortunately you've used the word "likely" there. One consistent problem is that the parties proposing the new road have a poor track record of progressing anything meaningful in terms of bus corridors, bike lanes etc. Using the word "likely" in that context requires a lot of trust.

Those parties have carefully avoided any explicit linkages between this project and the other projects you mention, even though creating that linkage would contribute strongly to progressing this project.

So what you're saying is of course reasonable, but we live in a country with a very modest track record of doing things correctly, and the parties in question have a reasonably poor track record compared to others locally. Their actions on even just this project have been quite poor.

Put it this way: I believe that if they did directly link this road to the things you describe, then the project would have proceeded by now.

GBXI · 14-11-2025 01:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123987338#Comment_123987338

Your last line is a very fair criticism. However, I say it's more likely not because of trust in the parties who make the decisions but because the momentum, the data, and the need behind more bus corridors and cycle lanes becomes overwhelming and it has to happen. Building this road as planned focuses density of development inside that area and further encourages the development of bus corridors and cycle lanes. Hopefully in time enough density that it merits a tram on the west and north side of the city.

hans aus dtschl · 14-11-2025 01:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123987662#Comment_123987662

I think we'd all love if you were right. But some elected representatives are right now championing this road as a means to expand the city outwards. The opposite of what you seem to be hoping for.

We might all be "enlightened" on here, we might all know that this one additional road is not going to solve overall traffic issues, but we are in the small minority unfortunately. Those same people who we depend on to prioritise and champion the other measures are almost uniformly against those other measures. I wish this was not the case.

Amplifying this issue, the project is not being tied to specific long-term traffic improvement projects. In the latest submission they did take care to mention GTS and also mentioned aspirations of progressing other schemes, but they carefully stopped short of specifics.

When we can clearly see what the M20 team and other project teams are doing (and even though the progress of this project might depend on it) that omission seems to either be incompetent or calculated (given past actions and words, it could be either).

marno21 · 04-12-2025 07:14AM

https://connachttribune.ie/ring-road-decision-now-due-in-january-653/

Decision from ACP due in January, so this should be arriving back for its latest lap of the courts in March

seanin4711 · 04-12-2025 09:03AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984590#Comment_123984590

planning the ORR seeme to be a job for life at this stage.

imho we need a complete scrub of all current plans and start over but this time actually do it!

for the ORR , we needed this 20 years ago now we need 2 bridges built for current and future traffic.

same amount of infrasturcture but traffic has increased 100+%

everyone hits the motroway to get stuck at the end of it and limp through the city.

all it takes is for one accident to grind the city to a halt.

other options in combination

dedicated Park & ride all year round seems to work in the majority of cities i have visited and used it particularly in UK

P&R hubs located at entry points to the city eg

West - Barna

East & South - Oranmore

North- Claregalway

Don't make it as a pure profiteering exercise - e.g. 5€ return as can also park in Galway all day for not much more than that atm

gilly1910 · 08-12-2025 10:53AM

The sad thing is that no more than us talking about it on here, nothing has ever been done to try and alleviate Galway's chronic traffic, and whether it's a ring road or better public transport, we all know it will be well into the next decade before anything will be done, and that's working on the premise that anything actually ever will be done. Living in Dublin now, I am somewhat immune to the joys of Galway traffic, however I went down to a family do on Saturday in Salthill. I reached the end of the motorway at 14:09, however it was almost 15:30 before I got to my parent's house in Salthill. For a relatively small city, that is absolutely crazy, and I genuinely feel sorry for the people of Galway sitting in that gridlock day in day out. I have always said, that even for a country that to all intents and purposes is currently thriving, we are quite a subservient race, and let our political masters away with doing sweet FA. Galway City Council have sat on their backsides for decades and allowed the traffic situation to get progressively worse and worse, and we all know that deep down they probably will continue to do nothing, which unfortunately is also our fault!!

CatInABox · 08-12-2025 12:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124040909#Comment_124040909

That is, of course, assuming that ACP actually finds a way to approve it in the first place 🤣🤦‍♂️

KrisW1001 · 08-12-2025 12:10PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124052157#Comment_124052157

In the case of Galway, it’s not subservience from the electorate, but a lack of political backbone from the elected representatives, and the wrong assumption on their part that people won’t tolerate anything less than being able to drive door to door wherever they want to. The people in charge of Galway’s transportation seem to think that it’s 1962 and they are living in Los Angeles: it’s cars or nothing. (Ironically, LA probably has more efficient land use than Galway’s hinterland)

Galway also suffers from the County-council/City-Council tension where the problems of the city have been repeatedly exacerbated by the actions of the County government. Look at the super-low-density sea of one-off housing all the way out to Ros a’ Mhíl - who gave planning for every one of those houses?

Galway can start to solve some of its problems right now by implementing P+R bus schemes at the edges of the city, investing in cycling infrastructure in and around the city itself, and removing private-car capacity into and across the city (to nudge commuters onto buses), but this latter measure will be unpopular with a small but very vocal share of the population.

hans aus dtschl · 08-12-2025 12:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124052157#Comment_124052157

Yes it's very frustrating. The Galway LA's seem to be doing very little. What's also mad is that Galway has high-ish (for Ireland) numbers or people willing to use other modes. Galway's 2022 census % of people walking, taking the bus and cycling are higher than Cork and Limerick. Only Dublin performed better in Census 2022.

But the Galway LA's seem lethargic even in comparison even with Cork (where I currently am, and would have always complained about the LA's progress). I'm expecting Galway's mode shares could possibly be overtaken by Cork in the next census (2027): one area's trying to move loads of transport infrastructure forward simultaneously, the other shows little sign of activity.

Also looking at the census data, the "sprawl" of commuters travelling to Galway for work is huge, it's nearly the same size as the sprawl of people travelling to Cork. You'd have to wonder if more could maybe be done for local employment in Gort/Athenry/Tuam/Claremorris rather than having so many of those people travelling to Galway every day.

hans aus dtschl · 08-12-2025 12:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124052348#Comment_124052348

Seems there could be a case for expanding the Galway City boundary too?

I feel like since 2019 boundary changes Cork seems to have sort of turned a corner (but maybe I'm being overly optimistic).

KrisW1001 · 08-12-2025 01:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124052439#Comment_124052439

Really there should be a merged authority - Galway is maybe 270,000 people, of which 90,000 live in the city. Limerick is a single Local Authority, so is Waterford. Cork is the only remaining separate city/county authority pair, but given that its newly-enlarged boundaries now cover 210,000 people, Cork City Council is now a bigger authority than most county councils.

seanin4711 · 09-12-2025 04:51PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124040909#Comment_124040909

kick it on down the road once again!

SeanW · 12-12-2025 09:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984551#Comment_123984551

Worst case scenario, it becomes like the M50. Congested at peak hours, a perfectly good bypass for the entire region the other 20 hours of the day, and all day on weekends.

In Dublin, the N1, N4 and N11 used to meet at O'Connell Bridge. That's no longer the case and regardless of anything else, everyone benefits from that no longer being the case.

By contrast, the anti-motorist brigade cannot point to any benefit of forcing everyone up and down the Headford Road. None, nada squat, because the beneficiaries of the "no bypass" solution do not exist.

Is "induced demand" an issue? Perhaps. Is that a reason to never build a road anywhere in case people use it? Not so much.

Seth Brundle · 12-12-2025 10:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124065677#Comment_124065677

Worst case scenario, it becomes like the M50. Congested at peak hours, a perfectly good bypass for the entire region the other 20 hours of the day, and all day on weekends.

So, let's spend over a billion euro replicating an infrastructure failure all whilst doing absolutely nothing else to improve traffic around Galway? Plus, the M50 is not a failure for just four hours each day!

Honestly, I thought you would have better ideas than that Sean!

By contrast, the anti-motorist brigade cannot point to any benefit of forcing everyone up and down the Headford Road. None, nada squat, because the beneficiaries of the "no bypass" solution do not exist.

What or who are the anti-motorist brigade or is that just a lame attempt to troll because you are unable to actually justify the current project plan which itself admits will fail the people of Galway? FWIW, I dont think anyone on this thread is against motoring despite your pathetic but predictable slur. What I understand is that people (those you attempt to belittle with your slur) want better travel options around Galway and for some reason the councils are against that.

Is "induced demand" an issue? Perhaps. Is that a reason to never build a road anywhere in case people use it? Not so much.

Of course Induced Demand is an issue. This is how the councils own predictions show that congestion will worsen. However, on its own, it may not necessarily be a reason to not build the road but coupled with the complete absence of any actual concrete long term transport alternatives, the road is always going to be a failure for the people of Galway.

SeanW · 12-12-2025 10:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124065898#Comment_124065898

No, the M50 is a "failure" for 4 hours, each weekday. The other 148 hours per week it is perfectly fine.

And remember - that's the worst case scenario.

I notice that you did not take up my point about:

Who would have benefitted had the M50 not been built and the N1, N4 and N11 still met at O'Connell Bridge?
Who benefits from forcing everyone in the Galway region to go up and down the Headford Road?

I suspect that no answers will be forthcoming.

And as to my so-called "slur" it has been my experience that there's a certain kind that just wants to crap on motorists. Not just on boards but throughout society.

Dr Robert · 13-12-2025 08:24AM

Why not have better transport facilities and the bypass?

Galway needs both.

CatInABox · 13-12-2025 09:34AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124066364#Comment_124066364

Indeed, the case most people make against the M6 is that it could be done cheaper and more efficiently with a smaller, more appropriate sized bypass, and significant public transport improvements.

KrisW1001 · 13-12-2025 02:03PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124066414#Comment_124066414

Exactly.. A proper 2+2 orbital road further outside the city for regional traffic to avoid Galway , and at least two new urban distributors closer in, with cycle and bus lanes designed in from the start, plus Park and Ride at the edges... cheaper than what's planned, and would actually work to reduce congestion.

Sam Russell · 13-12-2025 06:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124066920#Comment_124066920

There is already such a road - the M17. The mistake was to build it too far east, and not satisfying this need.

What is needed is a Luas from Oranmore to Knocknacara abd Claregalway to CC. This with a P&R at Claregalway, and another near Oranmore/N6.

Add a proper traffic management circulation system within the city and traffic might start moving.

gilly1910 · 15-12-2025 11:25AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124067621#Comment_124067621

A LUAS in Galway would be ideal, but we all know even if it ever does happen it will be a minimum of another 25 - 50 years to ever see a sod turned for a LUAS in Galway, look how long Dublin is waiting for a Metro? Also if a LUAS ever does happen outside of Dublin, Cork & Limerick would mmore than likely get one before Galway, as they have vastly superior city councils, and obviously much better policiticans in general representing their cities. It's also quite sad to see the abuse of those on here who favour the bypass, as per SeanW been labelled a troll. I would still favour a bypass along with public transport options, but sadly I don't ever see it been built. Yet traffic will continue to get worse and worse in Galway and nothing bar soundbites will ever be done about it. It's an absolute joke, and it destroys what is arguably one of the best cities in Ireland to visit.

xckjoo · 15-12-2025 01:10PM

The problem on here is that some people have decided this M6 proposal is essential and anyone against it is the enemy. If you read the posts against it they're generally pretty reasonable and more concerned with the implementation than the overall idea of a new road/bridge. So a "pro-M6" poster comes on and posts an emotive post about how it's essential and anyone against it is terrible and people replying and disagreeing are accused of being "anti-progress", "anti-car", "anti-whatever-other-buzzword". Then the poster disappears for a while only to reappear a few months later with the exact same pattern. So things can get a bit heated.

Not specifically talking about Sean here. Dunno if he's one of the regular re-posters and couldn't be arsed checking. But there's probably some new posters that get caught in this overall issue.

gilly1910 · 16-12-2025 01:11PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124071347#Comment_124071347

Fair enough, but for those who are against it, I certainly don't see them coming up with any realistic alternatives. Yes a LUAS for Galway would be great, but sadly this is Ireland and for anyone over 40, it's highly unlikely to happen in their lifetime. Also I cannot understand how a ring road around Galway would be a bad thing, yes I know Galway is a very small city by International standards, but could you imagine Dublin without the M50 or London without the M25 etc. Yes these roads might be gridlocked a lot of the time, but they are still removing traffic from the city or surrounding areas. So say if I am driving from Dublin to Clifden and the proposed ring road means I can get off the M6 at Doughiska, get on the ring road and drive around to the N59 without going anywhere near the city, how is that a bad thing? Honestly we have been literally starved in Galway when it comes to road infrastructure, so I will take anything we can get, as it's decades overdue.

M6 - Galway City Ring Road [planning decision pending]

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