From this week’s Galway City Tribune – An Bord Pleanála has said it will be the end of October before a decision is made on the Cross-City Link BusConnects scheme – over six months later than anticipated.

The Board was due to have considered the scheme, which involves 31 Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO), by April 3 after the Council submitted its application last September.

But in a letter to interested parties this week, An Bord Pleanála said “it would not be possible/appropriate” to make a decision in that timeframe “because of the necessity for further consideration of the case”.

Local Councillor Níall McNelis (Lab) said the delay was very regrettable and said problems at An Bord Pleanála were adding to Galway’s two biggest issues – housing and transport.

“An Bord Pleanála is rejecting housing applications in the city because of poor public transport, but at the same time holding this up. We need to get people out of their cars and BusConnects is a major part of that. There really seems to be a lack of joined-up thinking,” said Cllr McNelis.

The project seeks to facilitate a direct route for buses traversing east to west in the city, spanning 6.7km from University Road, over Salmon Weir Bridge, through St Francis Street, Eglinton Street, Williamsgate Street, Eyre Square, Forster Street, College Road, Lough Atalia Road and on to the Dublin Road.

An Rabharta Glas-Green Left representative for Galway City East, Conor Dowd, said he had made a submission during the public consultation period for the project, raising concerns about the demolition of residential buildings and the absence of an east-west bus route that didn’t require crossing the city centre.

He said it was his belief that it was better to delay the decision and for the Board to give proper consideration to what would be a huge infrastructural project.
This is a shortened preview version of this column. For more Bradley Bytes, see the April 14 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.