Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is no sense of urgency with the NTA. Absolutely none. It is 2022 and it is slowly looking at park and ride on one side of the city when in 2005 the elected members voted to roll out park and ride. A climate emergency was declared years ago now and then there is biodiversity yet we are still looking at unsustainable levels of traffic in Galway and no bold measures. I have absolutely no confidence that the NTA will carry out a feasibility study for light rail because it is clearly on record as saying that it will not suit Galway. The people of Galway have led us as the Minister of State knows. Some 22,000 people signed a petition imploring the then-Minister to carry out a feasibility study. We cannot blame motorists if we do not offer them alternatives. We must lift the traffic off the road. I am a cyclist but we are getting bogged down in minutiae of small cycling, little stretches, without looking at the overall plan of a sustainable city with sustainable transport. People will move if we provide that.

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