An online petition has been set up urging changes to be made to the Salthill cycleway so that it does not make beach access more difficult for people with disabilities.
At Monday’s meeting of the Galway City Council, details of the proposed cycleway options were revealed with plans proceeding to start the trial in March. Changes to public transport and car parking will need to be made in order to facilitate the new cycleway.
However, Shauna Finnegan, a mother of a child with cerebral palsy, has set up the online petition asking for amendments.
Runways
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“It just seems to be putting a lot of people out,” Ms Finnegan told the Galway Advertiser. “I am all for cycleways. I am definitely not against them. I am all for cycleways and safe cycling areas. I just think that they could have done it better.
“Runways have been made down to near the water so people with disabilities or walking frames or wheelchairs can access the beach.
“Unfortunately these might be items that won’t be able to be used after spending thousands on them because what person with low mobility would be able to make their way from a car park to Ladies Beach, the beach they are associated with,” she said.
'Everyone is going to be affected'
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“You can imagine that the footfall in Salthill would be less because obviously people will want to go to beaches where they can park and where there are amenities in place rather than having to walk, because not everyone is able to walk,” Ms Finnegan said. “Then you have the traffic side of things, if they are bringing it down to one lane there are obviously quite a lot of people who would use that as their route home.
“I understand the environmental benefit of it, but I don’t think they took into account the people,” she said.“In the summertime, it is so lovely to go out to see the crowds in Salthill. Everyone is going to be affected, even the businesses, who have been hit so hard with Covid already.”
She also added that people are likely to visit beaches elsewhere instead.
The online petition is art https://www.change.org/p/galway-city-council-and-county-council-against-the-idea-of-a-trial-cycleway-in-salthill-galway
