City Hall officials cannot ignore a report which they commissioned which says that a proposed new bus corridor for the Dublin Road must not run through Merlin Park Woods.
This is the view of Independent city councillor Declan McDonnell who is “alarmed” by a proposal to run a bus corridor through the woods. He is now demanding that City Hall find a new route for the corridor and “avoid damage to one of the city’s prized natural assets”.
The Galway City Council and The Heritage Council commissioned a report on the proposed bus corridor from Doughiska to the Dublin Road. The consultants Dr Amanda Browne and Dr Janice Fuller stated in the document that it was imperative the environment and the woods must be protected and that no bus corridor should run through the woods.
However Cllr McDonnell is questioning why the report was not presented to city councillors and he has also accused City Hall officials of “ignoring the recommendations of the consultants they hired”.
“Why commission reports and consultants at huge cost, if the officials’ minds are already made up?” he asked. “I am particularly annoyed that we were not made aware of this report and I would question how many other reports the councillors were not made aware of.”
Cllr McDonnell said that while the city needs better infrastructure and bus corridors, “none of this should happen at the expense of the environment and this report clearly states that the environment in Merlin Park Woods must be protected.”
