‘No margin for error’ – How a Galway road’s new layout leaves just 8cm between passing buses
Councillors and residents in Galway appear increasingly united in their frustration over an ongoing active travel scheme on Ballybane Road and Castlepark Road, warning that narrowed lanes are leaving buses passing within centimetres of each other and long queues of traffic forming behind them.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, councillor Shane Forde said buses currently have no designated space to pull in while collecting or dropping off passengers, forcing cars to wait in line behind them. Plans for the scheme, he noted, do not propose any change to this arrangement once the works are completed.
The most immediate concern, he said, is the new carriageway width, which leaves buses passing within just 8cm. “When works are complete, two private buses will not be able to pass one another,” he said. “There will be no margin for error.”
That concern is shared by Frankie Burke, transport manager for Burkes Bus, which operates the Tuam–Galway service. He said he supports the objectives of active travel but warned that the project’s design is creating potential hazards.
“I completely support the active travel scheme for what it is looking to achieve. The biggest problem we have is the narrowing of the carriageway,” he said. “If you make something difficult for a car, it’s going to be difficult for a truck or a bus.”
Drivers are required to be “perfect all the time”, he added, because “there is no room for error”. He warned the layout brings cyclists extremely close to vehicles, with as little as three inches between a bus wheel and a cyclist at points along the route. “Our number one concern are pedestrians and cyclists,” he said.
Mr Burke said he wrote to Galway City Council earlier this year urging engineers to visualise the experience for a bus travelling at 30kmh with only three inches of clearance on either side. “When thinking about these plans dealing with pedestrians and vehicles, the question is: can it be safe in the worst-case scenario?” he said.
The Active Travel Scheme provides funding for safer walking, cycling and commuting routes, with engineers constructing cycle lanes, pedestrian paths and new traffic layouts under nationally set guidelines. However, several councillors argue that a national design template cannot be a “one stop shop” for every road, particularly in Galway’s older suburbs.
Cllr Helen Ogbu visited the site during Storm Bram this week to assess issues raised by residents. She said the scheme is “not putting into perspective local roads” and warned that plans designed with Dublin in mind may not be suitable for Galway. “If a national masterplan has an issue locally, then what is to be done?” she asked.
Cllr Forde went further, describing the scheme as the “bane of his life since getting elected”, citing the volume of complaints from constituents and what he believes is a lack of due diligence.
Once completed, large buses and coaches will be expected to adapt to the new layout. Mr Burke noted that altering routes is not an option, as each service is licensed with specific stops.
No solution has yet been proposed to address the traffic concerns. Other active travel projects in Galway, including Dublin Road and Monivea Road, are expected to proceed once the Ballybane and Castlepark works are finished.
Cllr Forde said construction is now nearly 70pc complete and scheduled for completion in April 2026.