Planning bid for Athlone to Galway cycleway not due until 2023

This month's announcement of the outlined route for the Athlone to Galway cycleway was greeted with a largely positive response, but the project is still some years away from becoming a reality.

In a statement last week, the cycleway project team indicated that it would be 2023 before a planning application for the amenity was likely to be submitted.

Following the publication of the route outline - or 'emerging preferred route corridor' as it's more formally known - a new public consultation got underway focusing on the specifics of the chosen route.

The public can make submissions on this between now and January 31 on the Galway to Athlone cycleway website.

"Extensive landowner engagement is underway and will continue in 2022," stated the project team.

"Following this process, a preferred route will be selected, where the project team can be confident that a route can be delivered with the consent and agreement of the majority of landowners.

"The project team is hopeful that they will be able to progress that process during 2022 with a view to bringing an application for planning consent to An Bórd Pleanála in 2023."

The outline of the route westwards from Athlone passes by the Shannon Callows before continuing in a south-westerly direction, along a Bord na Mona railway, to Shannonbridge.

It then travels through east and south Galway, taking in Portumna, Gort, Kinvara and Oranmore, before reaching the City of the Tribes.

Banagher councillor Clare Claffey welcomed last week's announcement that the route would take in parts of West Offaly.

"This is a very scenic area with fantastic heritage and I'm so proud of all the local people who worked so hard to make sure that Shannonbridge would be recognised as a major location on the new route," said Cllr Claffey.

"I'm delighted to see the East Galway area included too, with the cycleway passing just over the bridge from Banagher and on to Meelick and Portumna, which again will bring much-needed visitors to Banagher, as well as providing wonderful family friendly cycling infrastructure for the people of West Offaly."

The project team said the route corridor was chosen to maximise the use of publicly-owned land where possible, including Bord na Móna lands, Coillte forest roads and ESB lands.

"This emerging preferred route corridor varies in width, being narrow in places where we are proposing to use existing paths, such as Bord na Móna railways and Coillte forest roads, and broader in areas where we will need to use privately-owned land," said Jim Cullen, CEO of Galway County Council.

The Athlone to Galway cycleway, which will form the western half of the national Dublin to Galway route, has been talked about for close to a decade.

Planning for it was ‘paused’ by the Government in 2015, due to opposition from affected landowners, but the process then resumed last year.

The cycleway project team said they would welcome any information from the public and landowners that would help in finalising the route within the chosen route corridor. Submissions can be made at: www.galwaytoathlonecycleway.com