About the Galway Cycling Campaign

Formed after a large public meeting in 1998, the Galway Cycling Campaign is in essence a group that exists to forward the interests of ordinary everyday adult bicycle users, we have the following core aims.

* Safer conditions for cycling
* Planning that gives equal priority to all road users
* Improvement of existing facilities
* Secure parking for bikes
* Recognition of the rights and responsibilities of all road users by all road users

When people think of cycling safety such things as cycle lanes and cycle tracks automatically spring to mind, the thinking behind such segregated facilities is often based on the premise that the roads cannot be made to work for all road users.

Unfortunately cycling safety is a complex issue governed by many different factors. Total segregation is often impossible to achieve and partial segregation can make matters worse, unless you also try to make the roads work for all road users, clearly a circular argument. For this reason many cycling activists now prefer to focus primarily on other issues such as speed limits and speeding by motorists, road designs (especially junction layouts,), traffic calming and so on. Increasingly there is the issue of whether motorists should have a more clearly defined duty of care towards more vulnerable road users.

Another issue which is becoming more prominent concerns the fact that it continues to be legally permissable to import, to purchase, and to use, cars that are designed to break Irish law. Since our formation the GCC has made it our business to gather as much information as possible on what currently constitutes best practice in transportation planning and in “Road Safety”. This information is then used to draw up position documents on a range of issues, which are then submitted to relevant local and national authorities. We are constantly monitoring the situation for cyclists in Galway City and reviewing the implications for cyclists of all new developments.

In order to do this work effectively we need to have “eyes and ears” everywhere. Thus, we are always on the look out for new members and volunteers.

If you are interested in getting involved then contact us via the GCC, c/o The Galway One World Centre, Bridge Mills, Galway.