The Government is fully committed to making travel in Galway smarter, making roads safer, and getting people back on their bikes, that is according to Minister Alan Kelly who opened the Public Bike Symposium this week.
The Minister for Public and Commuter Transport was in Galway on Tuesday for the Public Bike Symposium which is the last of four such events organised following the announcement on November 3 by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, of the Government’s intention to explore the rollout of a public bike scheme, similar to that already in action in Dublin, to regional cities.
A recently published report commissioned by the National Transport Authority (NTA ) found that a bike scheme in Galway is very feasible at a scale of between 200 and 250 bikes at 23 docking stations within a four square kilometre area centred around the city centre. However the scheme will require both public and private funding. The scheme is estimated to cost €1.7 million in capital and almost €4 million in operating costs over 15 years, plus the apportioned cost of a national control centre.
Business interests, elected representatives, and members of the public joined Minister Kelly and Anne Graham, director for public transport services at the NTA, for the symposium to discuss the findings of the report, debate the issues involved, and make submissions in relation to the scheme.
Minister Kelly said the symposium was important in order “to articulate all the issues for Galway, assess the local appetite for a bike scheme, have an informed discussion around funding, site a scheme within Galway infrastructure development plans, and bring the views of Galway's key stakeholders to the table”. He added: “The Government has given a clear signal that the Programme for Government commitment to explore bringing public bike schemes to our regional cities will be fully implemented. In the current economic climate, Exchequer support to fund a scheme for Galway is necessarily constrained, so we are seeking private sector partnership to make this a reality.
“There has been much good work undertaken here in Galway by the transportation unit in the city council to make travel in Galway smarter, and the great cycling culture in the city is being built on all the time. Investment in the necessary infrastructure is happening. Under the Jobs Initiative, this Government has allocated €400,000 to a variety of projects here in Galway, including an integrated traffic management control centre, variable message signs, and traffic control upgrades. My department has also provided funding for the construction of a Greenway high quality walking and pedestrian route from NUIG to Galway Cathedral to tie into the city's strategic cycling network, and the Galway to Clifden route at a cost of €250,000. Now we just have to get more people back on their bikes.”
