Galway Bay fm newsroom - A temporary cycleway will be introduced on a trial basis in Salthill from March and will remain in place for the summer months.
Galway city councillors were appraised last evening of the proposed route which will extend from the Grattan Road area out onto the Barna Road.
It's likely to involve one way traffic in parts of Salthill and the possible displacement of hundreds of parking spaces, some of the along the promenade.
However, the meeting was told that there would be alternative parking facilities.
Engineering staff put forward three scenarios as regards the cycleway. one involved doing nothing and the other two options involve installing the cycling route in different directions in the general area from Grattan road out to the Barna Road.
A real time study that begins next march is likely to be controversial and that mood emerged at last evenings city council meeting with tetchy exchanges between some councillors and Mayor Collette Connolly.
Parts of the main road in Salthill would be a one-way system and hundreds of parking spaces could be lost along the promenade depending on the route chosen.
There was concern that an iconic viewing point to the bay would be significantly changed.
A study showed that 1,000 vehicles an hour pass through salthill at peak times and councillors such as Donal Lyons said there would be inevitable extra delays because of re-routing and that business would be affected.
However, councillor Owen Hanley - while not ruling out some difficulties - said the new plan was a great opportunity.
A public consultation will get underway in the new year.
