Funding announced for controversial Salthill cycle lane

Photo by David Cendon Garcia

A controversial cycle lane in Salthill has been granted funding by the Department of Transport as part of a €23m investment for city travel projects.

Funding has been approved for the temporary Salthill cycleway, between Gratton Road to Barna Road, as part of the government’s latest investment in active travel projects announced yesterday.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan had promised in September last year that the project would be funded by government.

The amount of funding which has been approved specifically for the Salthill cycle path has not been announced, but Galway City as a whole was granted €23 million for active travel projects.

Other projects which have been earmarked for funding in the city include the new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge, and the development of a traffic light system at the Martin junction.

The cycle path has been a subject of controversy since it was proposed by Mayor Colette Connolly at a meeting of Galway City Council in July of last year.

Councillors voted in favour of the proposal by 17 to one in September, but opposition to the project has grown since.

It’s due to be in place by March this year, and the development is currently open to public submissions until this Friday.