Fine Gael Deputy Ciaran Cannon has welcomed a submission to the Galway County Development Plan by Minister Eamon Ryan and the Department of Transport, urging Galway Co Council to develop the Quiet Man Greenway connecting Athenry to Milltown.
The formal submission was made last Friday (30/7/21 ) and requests Galway Co. Council to include the development of the Quiet Man Greenway as a specific objective of the County Development Plan 2022 - 2028 which will be published early next year.
“This is a most welcome intervention by Minister Ryan and his officials in the Department of Transport. They set out very clearly that the development of the Quiet Man Greenway connecting Athenry to Milltown should be prioritised by Galway Co. Council, alongside the development of the Galway to Dublin Greenway and the Connemara Greenway.
“All of these greenway developments will transform life in rural towns and villages across County Galway and Minister Ryan wants to see that transformation happening as soon as possible”, said Deputy Cannon.
“Objective GBW1 of the Draft County Development Plan sets out an ambition to develop an integrated strategic greenway network across Co. Galway to include the Galway to Dublin Greenway and the Connemara Greenway. It also sets out to maximise connectivity between greenways in the county.
“It makes absolute sense that we would connect the Galway to Dublin Greenway and the Athenry to Milltown greenway at Athenry, thus making the town a national greenway hub, providing connectivity all the way north to Enniskillen. It’s really encouraging to see the Department of Transport also recognising this potential and asking for the Quiet Man Greenway to be included under the same Objective GBW1.
“The Department is also funding the carrying out of a feasibility study of the Quiet Man Greenway which is about to get underway and will be completed by the first quarter of 2022. By the middle of next year we could be ready to move to the design and planning phase of the Quiet Man Greenway. There is a massive national budget for the development of greenways and we really need to see a major investment being made in East Galway. I’m urging all of our public representatives, national and local, to get fully behind this project, the time for procrastination is over”, concluded Deputy Cannon.
