Lmst

Taoiseach ignores the evidence of his own advisors and insists on throwing away €1 billion on a road that will make congestion worse and lock in car-dependency for decades to come.

https://connachttribune.ie/taoiseach-insists-galway-ring-road-needs-to-be-built/

#GCRR

Letter from An Bord Pleanála this morning re the Galway City Ring Road.

The additional information has been found to be significant enough to warrant re-advertising which means anyone can submit an observation, not just those who had previously submitted observations.

#Galway #GCRR

Letter from An Bord Pleanála stating that the applicant has been instructed to publish notice of the further information and to make it available for inspection and/or purchase, and to invite submissions.

The accompanying letter to the applicant (not shown) says that "the Board considers that this additional information contains significant additional data in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed road development and the likely consequences for proper planning and sustainable development in the area"

Discussion of the Galway City Ring Road on Galway Bay FM earlier with John Connolly TD and Ciarán Cannon.

(starts about 17mins in)

https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-ggi2f-18c2658

#Galway #GCRR

Is that the sound of a penny dropping?

https://connachttribune.ie/government-report-concludes-ring-road-wont-solve-citys-traffic-587/

#Galway #GCRR

Scan of newspaper article. The headline reads "Ring roads are an idea from another time - we need innovative thinking".

The text of the article discusses the lack of progress on the Galway City Ring Road project and the ongoing traffic problems in Galway city. It also analyses the recent submission by Galway County Council to An Bord Pleanála and the Department of Transport report on the cost of congestion, both of which point to an increase in congestion in Galway if the ring road is built. Finally it discusses alternative transport options - bus, light rail, commuter rail, walking and cycling.

I have an op-ed in the Examiner today on the absurdity of the Galway City Ring Road.

(Subscriber-only, I'm afraid, but I'll try to get a scanned copy to share.)

#GCRR #Galway
https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41639635.html

You can read the full report here https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-transport/publications/the-economic-cost-of-congestion-in-the-regional-cities-2022-2040/ #GCRR

Galway County Council are in an awful hurry to spend our money on a dead end project.

https://connachttribune.ie/council-to-seek-tii-funding-to-begin-design-of-galway-city-ring-road-ahead-of-approval/

#GCRR #Galway

The map on the left below is included in the new Environmental Impact Statement to illustrate the decrease and increase in traffic flow on roads within the city. Again, the consultants have gone with a green/blue colour scheme which makes it very difficult to get a clear picture.

I've recoloured the blue as red on the second map, and coloured the new bypass in yellow. The idea that this project is going to improve traffic congestion in Galway is clearly nonsense.

#GCRR #Galway

Map of Galway showing roads colour in green and blue - the existing bypass is coloured green. The poor contrast between the green and blue colours makes it difficult to identify which other roads in the city will see increased traffic

The same map with the blue roads re-coloured as red. There is increased traffic on five of the main arteries going into the city as well as on many roads within the city itself.

Updated traffic figures from the latest submission by Galway County Council on the Galway City Ring Road.

57% of traffic is entirely within the city boundary and just 1% is bypass traffic. How GCC and TII can justify spending €1bn to cater for that 1% is beyond understanding.

#GCRR #Galway

Map of Galway city showing existing private car travel patterns. 57% of all traffic is within the city zone, 13% is accessing the city from the west, and 30% is accessing the city from the east. Just 1% is actually bypassing the city (obviously there's a rounding error there somwhere)

"The Project is predicted to result in a permanent moderate adverse effect on climate, which is considered to be significant"

From Galway County Council's Further Information Response Report in relation to the Galway City Ring Road. The full submission is now available to view on the An Bord Pleanála website at https://www.pleanala.ie/en-ie/case/318220

#Galway #GCRR #ClimateAction #SustainableTransport

I too drove to Galway on Good Friday to spend the Easter break with family. The worst congestion we experienced on the journey was on the M50. It took us the best part of an hour to get from Rathmines to the M4 - by contrast, we crossed Galway city in no more than 20 minutes.

This isn't the argument for a bypass that Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh thinks it is.

https://archive.fo/kyq2U

#GCRR #Galway

The 2025 Climate Action Plan goes before cabinet today. Also today, Galway County Council will submit revised documentation to An Bord Pleanála in an attempt to show that the Galway City Ring Road is compatible with the Plan.

RTE news : Climate, competitiveness and economy before Cabinet

http://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2025/0415/1507665-ireland-politics/

#GCRR

Yesterday the government published the draft National Planning Framework. The section on Galway City is full of sensible plans for compact urban development and sustainable transport.

The Galway City Ring Road looks like an anomaly stuck in there near the end, almost like it was added in at the insistence of politicians rather than something the planners view as essential.

#Galway #GCRR #Planning #SustainableTransport

First of two pages on Galway City and Metropolitan Area which sets the context and talks about the legacy from urban sprawl and reliance on private cars and the need to meet ambitious compact growth targets including improved public transport and sustainable mobility options.

The second of two pages which lists "Key future growth enablers" for the city. It focuses on regeneration and infill projects supported by public transport infrastructure, public realm and amenity projects. Down near the end, after the development of a strategic cycleway network, it mentions the Galway City Ring Road.

Interesting to see this report on the housing market in Galway which was published around the same time as my own article.

We both agree that the ongoing saga with the Ring Road has impacted on efforts to deliver housing at scale in the city, but I think our reasons for coming to that conclusion might differ a bit.

"Galway ring road plans are preventing housing improvement in city, says leading estate agent"

https://archive.fo/xY214

#Galway #GCRR

A post I put up on LinkedIn last week about the Galway City Ring Road prompted a lot of discussion so I thought it was worth a more detailed exploration of the timeline of events which have brought us to where we are. Thank you to @irishcycle for publishing my article.

At what point do we cut our losses and admit to ourselves that this road is going nowhere?

https://irishcycle.com/2025/04/08/on-the-road-to-nowhere-the-continuing-saga-of-the-galway-city-ring-road/

#Galway #GCRR

A graphic showing the timeline of the Galway City Ring Road going back to the opening of the Quincentenary Bridge in 1987. It shows that we have already spent over 26 years and €45 million trying to build a second bypass around Galway and have nothing to show for it but a history of failed planning applications and lost court cases, and the costs continue to mount. At the same time we have failed to implement the recommendations of report after report telling us that we need a sustainable transport solution in Galway.

It has taken two and a half years for Galway County Council to concoct an argument that the Galway City Ring Road complies with the national Climate Action Plan. In that time Galway County Council has been allocated €8.4 million towards the road.

I look forward to reading their submission - it must be some document for that amount of money!

https://connachttribune.ie/galway-ring-road-goes-back-to-planning-authority/

#GCRR #Galway

The government is throwing another €2.4m at the Galway City Ring Road this year, on top of the €3m it spent last year, for a project that has yet to be granted planning permission. Even if they manage to convince An Bord Pleanála that it complies with the Climate Action Plan, its unlikely to survive legal challenges. We're just throwing good money after bad at this stage.

But hey, what about that Leinster House bike shed?

#GCRR #Galway

https://www.thejournal.ie/633-million-funding-national-roads-6661811-Mar2025/

Edit: €2.4m not €3.2

I think @tomflood must have had Galway City Council in mind when he created this artwork.

#Galway #GCRR