Candidate Web Site North & East Ward   Kieran Cunnane
	East of the River
Renmore..  Mervue..  Ballybane..  Ballybritt..  Doughiska..  City Centre..  Tirellan..  Menlo..  Sandy Rd..  Riverside..  Castlegar..

Why not build an Outer Bypass ?

The bypass can be sold to someone if they are stuck in traffic, particularly if no alternatives are proposed other than building another road or bridge.

 What’s the problem with the bypass

• It's a waste of money. Over 250 million for 21Km of road. Because of the delay, there's now a plan to toll the road.

• Its a 21Km road which replaces a 9Km journey. Averaging 25mph on the existing road would be quicker than averaging 55mph on the new road. The bottlenecks getting off the road would not be solved.

• It goes against Galway's plan for housing which, is mainly concentrated around the new town of Ardaun on the East side of the City.

• It's about opening up land for development. As in Carrickmines, the likelihood is that some local and National politicians have a vested interest in this project going ahead.

• It involves the destruction of Special Areas of Conservation. Would you build a motorway through the Burren ? This SAC has the same designation as the Burren.

• It goes against public transport and perpetuates pollution. Kyoto fines are expected for Ireland, this project will increase the risk. If every City had a bypass think of the Global Warming affect.

• It destroys Galway's best scenic spot at Menlo Lake.

• Can it be built on a bog or dobe ? – perhaps some Civil Engineers can confirm if the road will sink or crack ?

• How much material will they excavate and where will it be deposited. It looks like the SACs are to be completely destroyed.

Destruction of SACs

The SAC at Bushypark consists of wetlands and a Limestone Road. One plant is also protected under the 1999 Flora Protection Act.

Below the Graveyard where the road is proposed on the Menlo side is also an SAC.

I witnessed the serious destruction of the limestone road area of the SAC on the Bushypark side. Here's a summary:

• The soil has been compacted on top of the road preventing water escaping from the land to the lake. This is causing  flooding.

• The Council and NRA are boring holes to test bog depth. The newly exposed bog is 2-3M deep and the exposed surfaces are creating a quicksand effect. These surfaces are not fully fenced off and are both a human and animal hazard.

• Farmers can’t let their animals onto the SAC any more because of safety and flooding issues.

• Locals couldn’t touch it or get planning permission for years, but now the diggers are riding roughshod over it and knocking through ditches.

Other information

• The County Council took the protesters to court over land access and the Council lost.  The court found many inadequacies in Council procedures.

• It's illegal for people to obstruct the road developers driving through their yards and accessing their land. This, despite the fact that often very little care is shown by the road developers for the land.

We should publicly question all our Councillors and TDs if they have any property planned adjacent to the road. Anyone with conflicts of interest should not be allowed to speak publicly on the subject.