By Avril Horan

ACTIVE Travel works on the Ballybane and Castlepark Roads have come under fire from both Galway County and City councillors.

At this week’s meeting of Galway County Council, Cllr Noel Thomas (Ind) said the roadworks on the Ballybane Road were “an absolute disaster.”

“It’s madness what they are doing,” he said.

“We need to be careful in Galway in relation to Active Travel. We had a fine piece of road up there, and now they’ve set it up so buses can’t pull into a bus stop. It’s a disgrace. We need to have serious discussions before anything takes place with Active Travel.”

With works starting on the second side of each road, construction of the Ballybane and Castlepark Road Cycle Network Scheme is due to be completed in Q3 of 2026.

It consists of a 2m protected cycle track and 2m footpath on both sides of the Ballybane Road and Castlepark Road and reduction in road carriageway widths.

Cyclists will be prioritised with a straight-through cycle lane on all side road junctions and the scheme is funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF).

At a recent meeting of Galway City Council, Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) said the safety situation in both Castlepark and Ballybane was “atrocious.”

He voiced concerns that barriers were not being replaced and were posing a danger to traffic.

Cllr Shane Forde (FG) described the situation as “the greatest nightmare since we have been elected.”

He requested that council staff meet residents in the East Ward and “walk it with us” to identify issues, adding that “we need to bring something forward to appease people”.

The lack of bus lay-bys, where buses can pull in off the main road, is a key area of contention — some that had previously been there have been removed.

Cllr Helen Ogbu (Lab) said she had received numerous complaints from residents in Castlepark.

“Traffic during rush hour is really affected,” she said, and she suggested the council invest in virtual reality technology to clearly outline project proposals to elected representatives in advance of decision-making.

Cllr John McDonagh (Lab) also highlighted the difficulties posed by buses stopping in the carriageway.

“Buses can be stopped for five minutes loading passengers,” he said.

“Cars come up behind them and people take chances overtaking. We need the lay-bys.”

City councillors were told by officials that bus lay-bys were not part of the current national design standard and that funding would not be forthcoming if they were included.

Officials added that site teams were available to meet residents and elected representatives.

Cllr Declan McDonnell (Ind) requested that councillors be given full design details in advance of all Active Travel projects going forward.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.