An advocate for cycling infrastructure in Galway has labelled the city’s newest cycle and pedestrian bridge as ‘pointless’ for people on bikes travelling from the Cathedral to Newtownsmyth.

Galway City Council and National Transport Authority (NTA) said the bridge would remove conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic on the existing bridge.

And it would also facilitate the BusConnects Cross-City Link scheme over the 200-year-old bridge, which is currently with An Bord Pleanála.

But Shane Foran, a cycling campaigner and community member of the Council’s Transport Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), claimed there is confusion whether people on bikes can access Newtownsmyth by turning right off the new bridge.

He said that a review of the BusConnects proposal, “shows them to be inconsistent with the claimed purpose of the new bridge”.

“According to the drawings, there is to be a new one-way street arrangement at Newtownsmyth going north. There is no apparent provision for cyclists to move ‘contra-flow’ to the south.

“Therefore how are cyclists travelling east-west to lawfully access the new cycle bridge from the Newtownsmyth side? The new legal restrictions will arguably also make it pointless for most eastbound cyclists, coming from the university direction, to use the new bridge to travel west to east,” Mr Foran said.

In a submission to An Bord Pleanála on the BusConnects plan, he sought clarity on whether cyclists can travel both ways along Newtownsmyth, to and from the new bridge.

“From my reading of the plans, that would be forbidden. You would no longer lawfully be able to do that,” he said.

A similar submission to ABP was made by the Galway City Community Network.

“It is not the intention of the proposed scheme to restrict access for cyclists to or from the new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge,” the Council said in response.

“The proposed scheme intends that Newtownsmyth will be made a cul-de-sac utilising retractable bollards. The section of Newtownsmyth between the bollards and St Vincent’s Avenue is proposed to act as a shared space for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Both pedestrians and cyclists will be permitted to traverse Newtownsmyth in both directions when the bollards are up, permitting access and egress in both directions for cyclists.

“References in the design to one-way relate to vehicles exiting Newtownsmyth during the loading window when the bollards are retracted and are not intended to restrict cyclist permeability,” it told ABP.

But Mr Foran was not convinced. “What happens when the bollards are down and if that section is made one-way for vehicles what legal mechanism makes it two-way for bicycles?” he asked.